Mar. 14, 2023 Elijah Hamilton
A Glendale resident voiced her concern about the MTA’s proposed Brooklyn Bus Redesign that would impact the B13 route that runs through Queens during last week’s Community Board 5 (CB 5) meeting at Christ the King High School in Middle Village.
During the meeting, a letter from Glendale resident Deloris Bachmann was read in which she stated that the proposed changes along the B13 line would make it harder for her and other senior citizens who use that line to go anywhere.
“This is a hardship for the many senior citizens and handicapped people who live in my neighborhood, not to mention an inconvenience in bad weather,” Bachmann said in the letter. “Without reliable bus service, how will be able to shop, visit doctors, go to Wyckoff Heights [Medical Center], visit friends, go to church or the library?”
The MTA revealed their Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign back in December that proposed the B13 reroute to the Ridgewood Reservoir and Cypress Avenue, which would eliminate stops along Cooper Avenue, Fresh Road Pond Road and Gates Avenue.
“Queens is already a transit desert — why create another?” Bachmann said in her letter. “This plan may look good on paper, but the MTA has not considered the welfare of those who live along that line.”
CB 5 has reached out to the MTA in the past regarding the MTA Brooklyn Bus Network Redesign and getting reliable bus service to the Ridgewood Reservoir.
In their letter to the MTA, CB 5 stated that the residents will be negatively affected by the proposed changes.
“The currently proposed B13 Bus route change is very likely to negatively affect bus riders in parts of Ridgewood and Glendale, Queens, who would, if the plan is adopted, lose helpful transit links to areas north and south of where they live,” the letter read.
CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano told QNS that MTA needs to find a solution that would benefit both parties.
“They gotta find a way,” Giordano said.