Brooklyn Borough Hall – Council Member Simcha Felder and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz, together with other elected officials and transit advocates denounced the latest proposed MTA fare hikes and service cutbacks that impact Brooklyn neighborhoods, and proposed alternative revenue sources to close the MTA’s budget shortfall.

In addition to fare increases for subway, bus, express bus, and Access-A-Ride, the MTA is proposing the elimination of the Z subway line; terminating the M train in Lower Manhattan—ending service to Brooklyn; skipping the Court Street and Lawrence Street stations during late nights along the N line; and terminating G trains in Long Island City—reducing the number of options for commuters wishing to travel between Brooklyn and the far reaches of Queens without going through Manhattan.
 
Bus service would also be slashed, with the proposed elimination of the B23, B37, and B39; weekday service cuts on the B25, B51, and B75; weekend service cuts on the B2, B4, B7, B16, B24, B48, B57, B65, B69, B71, B75, and X27 and X28 express buses; nighttime cutbacks on the B7, B14, B31, B45, B48, B57, B64, B65, B67, and B77; and service reductions affecting the B13, B16, and B70.
 
“The MTA’s latest round of proposed fare hikes and service cuts is, in a word, unacceptable,” said BP Markowitz. “Yes, these are indeed tough economic times, and we all must do some belt tightening, but we can’t resort to exorbitant fare increases and subway and bus service cuts—or East River bridge tolls—which selectively punish certain boroughs and neighborhoods for what is a regional and state responsibility. Brooklyn already represents the largest proportion of mass transit users in the City, and it’s downright discriminatory—especially against our immigrant communities and those hard-working residents who sometimes have no other way to get around—to impose tolls, increase fares, derail subway service or bring buses to a screeching halt when our borough is already paying its fair share.”
 
“The MTA wastes money left and right, then asks the riders to pay for it as it cuts service,” said Felder. “Lets open their books and see if they’re properly using the money they have, before they start hiking fares and cutting service.”

(Moshe Altusky – YWN)