Council Members Costa Constantinides and Daneek Miller (Photo: NYC Council)
Jan. 9, 2020 By Kristen Torres
City Council Members Costa Constantinides (District 22) and I. Daneek Miller (District 27) introduced a bill Wednesday that would require the Department of Transportation to develop transit plans for each of the five boroughs.
Under the bill, the DOT would be tasked with assessing conditions for transit in every neighborhood within each borough. The DOT would also have to identify neighborhood “transit deserts” while working with community boards and government agencies.
The council members said the bill comes amid shifting changes to where New Yorkers live, work and leisure, with a greater demand for mass transit that’s focused on traveling between neighborhoods.
“For years, residents of Queens have contended with lack of service and inefficient routes, disconnecting entire neighborhoods,” Miller said in a statement. “Eastern Queens, in particular, remains an extreme transit desert, despite decades of outreach and advocacy.”
The bill would require the DOT to submit its findings, along with its recommendations for improving transit systems in each borough, within a year of the bill’s passage.
“This legislation will help facilitate the hyper-local analysis our transit system desperately needs as we work to provide better options for all residents of the borough,” Miller said.
The bill comes amid community outcry against a new draft plan released by the MTA on Dec. 31 to overhaul the Queen’s bus system. Under the proposed plan, some local bus service in Jackson Heights—which is represented by Constantinides—would be eliminated.
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