To The Editor:
I have to applaud Shavana Abruzzo’s “A Britisher’s View” column on the “MTA not going your way” for focusing on the arrogance and indifference of the MTA board to the daily plight of New York City commuters (“MTA not going your way,” 6-26 issue).
How can the Vice Chairman, David Mack, and the Board Chairman, H. Dale Hemmerdinger, who are wealthy real estate developers, empathize with those using mass transit.
On June 12th, the Albemarle Neighborhood Association met with Norman Silverman, MTA Vice President of Intergovernmental and Community Relations. He was invited to the meeting by Assemblyman Jim Brennan, to discuss the re-routing of two of the Command Bus lines (the BM 1 and BM 2), from Kensington, Brooklyn. We had, until the MTA altered the routes, 4 buses that stopped at East 7th Street and Church Avenue.
Assemblyman Brennan, and members of the Albemarle Assoc., complained about the impact that this decision, by the MTA, had on our community, where individuals had to wait up to 45 minutes for this “express” bus to arrive, to take them to Manhattan. There were elderly commuters who had doctor appointments (and some needed dialysis and others chemotherapy). To add insult to injury is to have these senior citizens wait in the heat. This is unconscionable.
My wife also had problems with the Command Buses, recently, and because of the delay she was very late for a meeting. She stated that nearly empty BM1 and BM2 buses past by her stop. A woman who was waiting with her, missed a civil service test, a few days before.
The MTA simply issues a fiat, without prior community involvement, or notification. The directive goes into effect, and we must comply.
The greatest irony is in the title of this agency. M is for mass, but decisions are made by the few. T is for transit, where few of these wealthy board members use on a daily basis. And, finally, A for authority, which the commuters don't have.
Alan Braverman
Gravesend
