Local Community Groups Mobilizing To Re-Establish B71 Bus Route Between Carroll Gardens And Park Slope

The B71 back in 2010, before it was eliminated

Back in 2010: Protests to save the B71 bus route

In 2010, the Metropolitan Transit Authority announced the elimination of the B71 bus, which had connected Carroll Gardens and Park Slope via Union Street for years. The route was used  by many school-aged kids, the handicapped and the elderly.  It also provided easy public transportation to Prospect Park, the central Brooklyn Library, as well as the Brooklyn Museum for Carroll Gardeners.

Despite several protests and petitions by local residents and elected officials, the route was suspended in June 2010.  

Efforts are now on the way to bring the B71 route back.  An online petition addressed has been circulation this past week and a demonstration is scheduled for tomorrow, October 13th at 10:30 PM at the corner of Union and Smith Streets.

Below is an email on the subject by Councilman Brad Lander.

When the MTA eliminated the B71 bus route that ran along Union Street in June 2010, they cut a vital transportation link for our neighborhoods. Students lost their route to school. Seniors lost the bus that took them to the grocery store and shopping on Fifth Avenue. The link up to Prospect Park, the Library, and the Brooklyn Museum, or down to Columbia Street and Brooklyn Bridge Park was severed.

We fought hard at the time. Now -- with a growing number of families and businesses all along the route -- it's time to renew that fight.

If you agree that we need the B71 back, sign this petition and join the campaign.

Thanks to the work of advocates in our community, momentum is growing to bring back the route. Building upon the work of longtime advocates for the route, like former Assemblywoman Joan Millman, advocates in the Park Slope Civic Council led by Michael Cairl, with help from Community Board 6’s Eric McClure, and Community Board 8’s Rob Witherwax, are mobilizing to bring back the bus. Residents of the Columbia Waterfront, Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens, Gowanus, Park Slope, and Prospect Heights are organizing together (you can read about it in an article in this week's Brooklyn Paper).

Their new proposal for the route (see maps of Eastbound andWestbound service here) improves upon the old route by extending it all the way to Pier 6 on one end and to the Brooklyn Children’s Museum on the other. The proposed route also avoids congestion along both Union and Eastern Parkway that led to the unreliability of the old B71, and would extend service later into the night. It’s a smart proposal. I support it, and I hope you do too.
Sign the "Bring Back the B71" petition to show your support!

This Tuesday morning, NY State Assemblymember Joanne Simon, along with State Senator Daniel Squadron, City Council Member Steve Levin, other elected officials, local community groups, and the TWU, is organizing a press conference for residents:
Bring Back the B71
Tuesday, October 13 at 10:30 AM
Corner of Smith and Union Streets

Please join the press conference if you can. Please sign the petition, and forward this e-mail to other interested neighbors. (In addition to showing growing support, we'll also make sure to keep you updated on other actions in the campaign).

Thanks for your help. Together, we can bring back this vital transit artery.

It will be interesting to see if the MTA is more receptive to the community's wishes, five years after the B71 was eliminated.


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"We Take The B 71": Local Residents Protest The MTA's Elimination Of Local Bus Route

Councilmembers Letitia James and Brad Lander

Yesterday afternoon, local residents took part in a rally to save the B71 bus, which will be eliminated by the Metropolitan Transit Authority on June 27th as part of the agency's cost saving measure. The B71 connects this community to Park Slope and is used by many school children, the elderly and handicapped.

Standing at one of its stops on Union Street at the corner of Smith Street, the protesters were joined by New York City Council Members Letitia James (35th District) and Brad Lander (39th District.) Representatives of Assemblywoman Joan Millman and of State Senator Daniel Squadron were also on hand, as was Doug Biviano, NYS Assembly Cadidate

Holding up signs which read "I take the B 71 to the Botanical Gardens/ the Brooklyn Museum/ the Park" politicians and residents pleaded with the MTA to reconsider the service cut.

The B71 will stop running on Monday. It is unlikely that the MTA will change its mind before then. However, it was impressive to see such a large group come out to protest the elimination of a bus route. And maybe, as Councilman Brad Lander told the protesters, it may not be a done deal yet.

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On June 27th, Say Good-Bye To The B71 And B75 Bus Lines

The Metropolitan Transit Authority is going ahead with its plan, put forth back in January, to eliminate the B75 and the B 71 bus lines, because of the agency's mounting budget woes. The idea had been floated by the M.T.A. numerous times in the past, but at the last minute, the money was always found to save the service. Not this time.

Both the 71 and the 75 will be eliminated on June 27. The B75 will be replaced by both the B57 and the B61. Unfortunately, the B71, which connects Carroll Gardens to Park Slope and is the lifeline of many school-aged kids, the handicapped and the elderly, will be totally eliminated.

The service cuts were made despite strong opposition and demonstrations by our local elected officials and area residents. Public transportation is vital for our neighborhoods and makes sense ecologically. The inability of the MTA to manage its finances and to balance its budget so that it can provide the services that its ridership rely on, is pitiful.

Though it seems as tough the cuts are definite, there still is a petition out there to save the
the B71 Bus. If you wish to sign it, click here:

http://www.petitiononline.com/saveB71/petition.html

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