MTA Cuts: Activists Gear Up For Thursday’s Public Hearing

Thursday night, residents in Manhattan will have a chance to speak out about the MTA’s proposed service cuts. A public hearing is scheduled to take place at the Fashion Institute of Technology (7th Avenue & 27th Street), beginning at 6pm. There’s obviously been a lot of coverage detailing the MTA’s plan to close its $800 million budget gap. You’ve, no doubt, heard of the controversial proposal to start charging students for Metrocards. Subway service would become less frequent, especially in the evenings and on weekends. But it’s the cutbacks in bus service that will hit most people in this neighborhood the hardest. Their plan would:

• Discontinue M6, M18, M27, M30, B39, B51, X25 and X90.

• Discontinue M8, M21, M22, M50, Bx20 and Bx33 on weekends.

• Discontinue M1, M8, M16, M22, M50 and M66 overnight.

• Reduce operating hours on M11, M20, M21, M98, M100, M116, Bx20 and Bx33.

• Reroute or discontinue portions of M1, M3, M5, M9, M10, M15, M21, M22, M42, M98 and M104.

• Extend portion of M5 and M20.

Last week, Community Board 3 passed a resolution strongly opposing the service cuts. They said, “the Lower East Side will be severely impacted by many of the proposed… service reductions.” They highlighted a number of top concerns, including:

• The elimination of weekend and overnight service on the M22, a critical link into Chinatown which, CB3 said, “is in a transportation crisis.”
• The elimination of weekend and overnight service on the M8, which travels to and from the East/West Village.
• The elimination of bus service on Avenue B by rerouting the M9 along Avenue C. Service from the LES to the World Financial Center would also be eliminated by rerouting the M9 beyond Chatham square, terminating at City Hall.
• The elimination of weekend service and the reduction of overnight service on the M21 (crosstown bus between Bellevue Hospital & the West Village).
• The reduction of  service on the M103 (to City Hall).
• The elimination of the B39 and B51 buses, which would eliminate the only link between the LES and Brooklyn.

If you would like to speak at the hearing, you can sign up in person Thursday night. But you’re probably better off registering online. Here’s the link.