To The Editor:
I take exception to your one-sided reporting “Bus stop mystery solved.”
While I sympathize with homeowner Judith Marmo’s plight, your reporting gives the impression that the “outrageous” behavior of “some” waiting for the bus was a daily occurrence.
In reality, I doubt it if the problems she experienced over a 35-year period occurred more than a half dozen times. The Ocean Avenue bus stop was very lightly used, averaging zero to two people at a time with a maximum of about five or six during peak times in the summer.
I wonder how the owners at Falmouth Street feel with 60 people congregating at the side of their house every 10 minutes on hot summer days.
Ms. Marmo bought her house knowing there was a bus stop there. Imagine what would happen if everyone with a bus stop near their home were successful in getting it removed. Don’t the bus riders count?
The “some” she is referring to who caused trouble is an extreme minority. And how does she know that the people who broke into their home were bus riders? Did she ask them?
You devoted one-third of the article, stating Ms. Marmo’s side, and the remainder discussing New York City Transit and Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz. You never mentioned the plight of the bus riders who formerly used the stop, other than the quote from Ms. Marmo calling myself and the others “the most selfish self-centered people.”
There are 54 of us according to New York City Transit’s March bus counts, probably at least 100 in the summer. We now have over a thirty percent chance of missing the bus by having to walk to the next stop, having to wait at least an extra 10 minutes for the following bus.
For the elderly and those afflicted with an ailment like sciatica, which I had for several months, even walking one extra block can be difficult or extremely painful. So who is being selfish?
Allan Rosen
Manhattan Beach
