Deutsch Announces New Express Bus Stop To Avenue R
City Council member Chaim Deutsch (D-Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Marine Park, Midwood, Sheepshead Bay) announced a new B44 Select Bus Service (SBS) bus stop coming to Avenue R and Nostrand Avenue yesterday.
For more than four years, commuters have been advocating for the additional bus stop along the express SBS route that begins on Shore Parkway in Sheepshead Bay and ends in Williamsburg.
Since taking office, Deutsch, along with Assembly member Helene Weinstein (D-Flatlands, Sheepshead Bay), State Senator Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie, East New York, Brownsville, Mill Basin, Sheepshead Bay, Bergen Beach, Marine Park, Flatlands, Mill Island, Georgetown, Ocean Hill, Starrett City) and City Council member Alan Maisel (D-Mill Basin, Canarsie, Flatlands, Bergen Beach, Floyd Bennett Field, Gerritsen Beach, Marine Park, Plum Beach) have been at the forefront of the effort to petition the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) to implement the change.
The distance between the two stops nearest to Avenue R is more than a mile, the largest gap between any two SBS stops in Southern Brooklyn. Additionally, Avenue R, which is a transfer point to two bus routes, the B2 and the B31, that connect Sheepshead Bay, Marine Park, and Gerritsen Beach residents to the only local train – the Q line – has been in dire need of better transit service. The lack of expedient B44 service has had a significant impact on seniors and people with disabilities in particular, who often find themselves waiting in inclement weather for the slow local buses for 20 to 30 minutes, even as near-empty SBS buses pass by every few minutes.
“I am thrilled to have been able to successfully advocate for the installation of an SBS B44 stop at Nostrand Avenue and Avenue R, the culmination of years of effort. Commuters, particularly our senior and disabled neighbors, deserve reliable, accessible transit. This new bus stop will ensure that they are offered timely transportation along Nostrand Avenue,” said Deutsch.
The new SBS bus stop is slated to be installed during the first two weeks of September.
“I am overjoyed that the MTA has heard our pleas and will be placing a Select Bus Service Stop at Avenue R and Nostrand Avenue. I thank MTA President, Andy Byford, for responding to the needs of our Madison neighborhood commuters and elderly constituents,” said Weinstein.
“All of our constituents deserve hassle free, reliable, affordable, safe, and dependable ways to get to around. That is why I am so pleased with the installation of an SBS B44 stop at Nostrand Avenue and Avenue R. This is excellent news and I will keep working with my colleagues to improve the quality and accessibility of our mass transit options,” said Persaud.
“It is a delight to hear that this new bus stop at Avenue R and Nostrand Avenue will be installed in early September. The new stop will provide better accessibility for all of our constituents, “ said Maisel.
Malliotakis Applauds Denial of Parole For Lennon’s Murderer
Assembly member Nicole Malliotakis (R-Bay Ridge, Staten Island) applauded the ew York State Parole Board’s decision to deny parole to John Lennon’s murderer yesterday.
Mark David Chapman was denied parole this week after review from the state parole board. Chapman pleaded guilty to the murder of John Lennon and admitted it was a premeditated act in 1981. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and since the year 2000, the parole board has reviewed his case every 2 years, denying him parole each time.
In recent months, Malliotakis has been critical of the parole board’s decisions to release convicted murderers including convicted cop killer Robert Hayes.
“Today’s decision by the New York State Parole Board on Mark David Chapman was the correct one and the board should be applauded for their action. Going forward they need to be as judicious in their actions on the cases of all murders; including those whose victims are not celebrities. In the future, the Parole Board should reflect long and hard before releasing cop killers like Herman Bell or child murderers like Marybeth Tinning,” said Malliotakis.
Jeffries Blasts Trump Administration Effort To Arm Teachers
Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, Bed-Stuy, Brownsville, East New York, Canarsie, Mill Basin, Coney Island, and South Ozone Park and Howard Beach in Queens) blasted the Trump Administration yesterday for their proposal to use taxpayer dollars to arm teachers.
The Department of Education (DOE) is looking at allowing states to use academic enrichment funds for firearms, according to the New York Times. The federal grant being considered for this purpose is one that does not specifically prohibit buying weapons. However, Congress forbids using federal funds for school safety to purchase weapons.
In the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in March that left 17 people dead, US lawmakers passed a $50m school safety bill that approved spending on metal detectors, locks and other security – but expressly forbade the purchase of guns.
“It appears Betsy DeVos has lost her mind. Our schools are in desperate need of books, computers, smart boards and state-of-the-art teacher supplies. Flooding American classrooms with possible weapons of mass destruction is wrongheaded and dangerous. Arming teachers is not a step forward in the fight to make our children safer. It is a step backward and we will not allow it to happen,” said Jeffries.
Cornegy To Hosts Civilian Complaint Review Board Office Hours
City Council member Robert Cornegy Jr. (D-Bedford-Stuyvesant, Northern Crown Heights) announced that he will open his District Office doors to his constituents and citizens of Brooklyn to hear from the New York City Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) today.
As an extension of City Hall In Your Borough: Brooklyn, representatives from the CCRB will conduct a full presentation, complete with an overview of the agency, process of filing complaints, and other information regarding street encounters with the New York Police Department (NYPD). During and after the presentation, CCRB investigators will be on-hand to accept complaints.
As part of the CCRB’s Community Partnership Initiative, on the fourth Friday of every month, civilians are able to schedule an appointment to visit Cornegy’s district office, where they can meet with an investigator to file their complaints in-person.
The Community Partnership Initiative was launched to accommodate civilians who—due to work, child care, school, or other reasons—can’t travel during business hours to CCRB’s Lower Manhattan office to give investigators their in-person statements.
The event is slated for 4 p.m, today, Aug. 24, at 1360 Fulton Street, Suite 500 in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
