Five days away from the official start of summer, Brooklyn’s most popular shoreline –– Coney Island, received yet another blow to its transit-starved community.
The westbound B36 bus stop at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street – the intersection where commuters can catch both the Q and the F trains – has been temporarily suspended. The abrupt closure adds additional walk time to straphanger’s already long daily commute time, inconveniencing disabled patrons, commuters and the area’s large senior community.
The change, according to Assemblymember Pam Harris (D-Coney Island, Bay Ridge), came as a surprise to early morning commuters trying to make their way to work. She only became aware of it after constituents told her they were on the bus expecting to get off at Surf Avenue and West 8th Street when the driver bypassed the stop merely gesturing that riders get off at the next stop.
“Public transportation is meant to be dependable – there are schedules and routes for a reason,” said Harris. “Throwing this into upheaval without consideration for the people who’ll be put out is downright reprehensible.”
The MTA has not listed the change on their site, nor did they advise city officials of the closure. Rather, a paper sign was posted near the bus stop site.
The MTA did not get back to KCP with a response in time for this post, but Harris’ office looked into the situation, and through back government channels, received a response from MTA Government and Community Relations Assistant Director Melissa Farley.
“The bus stop in question (westbound B36 at Surf Ave, farside West 8th St) was eliminated to minimize conflict between buses and vehicles at the new development/construction at 825 Surf Avenue. The stop at West 10th Street is close by and is within bus stop spacing guidelines between stops. In addition, the mirrored eastbound stop is at Surf Avenue, farside West 10th Street,” said Farley.
Surf Avenue and West 8th Street is also the main stop at the New York Aquarium –– an attraction for which many New Yorkers and tourists visit throughout the year.
This most recent transportation snuff to Coney Island comes after the area was excluded from Mayor de Blasio’s NYC Ferry plan which opened 20 new waterway routes to interborough commuters.
The South Brooklyn Ferry has two routes with the first one, which opened last month, starting on Rockaway and literally ferrying right past Coney Island to a second stop in Sunset Park. A second route, which started this month, ignores the southern tip of Brooklyn totally, starting in Bay Ridge with stops in Sunset Park, Red Hook and two stops at Brooklyn Bridge Park before ending in Lower Manhattan.
The ferry decision was announced only weeks before the MTA rescinded their proposal to reinstate the F-Express –– a remedy to straphanger woes that would have minimized travel time up to 6 – 7 minutes for Coney Islanders.
While the infamous amusement section of Coney Island is right off the subway train, thousands of the neighborhood’s residents – including many seniors and residents that live in public housing – reside in the western part of Coney Island and need to take a bus to get to the train.
Among these busses is the B36, which runs from the western edge of Coney Island from Surf Avenue and West 37th Street to Sheepshead Bay, leaving Harris and commuters all the more furious about the most recent cutting of the bus stop.
“This isn’t just a brief inconvenience – it’s a serious blow to the commuters and large number of seniors who take the B36 day in and day out,” said Harris. “The reason cited for the closure is local construction, but the minor bus traffic is hardly enough to warrant getting rid of a stop that connects to the train which so many people use.”
