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MTA cuts may hurt East Village people


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M8 is A dead bus rolling.

 

The MTA's grim 2009 budget proposal eliminates the local crosstown route, which links the East Village and the West Village in Manhattan, the Daily News has learned.

 

"It's horrifying, and in my opinion, it's just not fair," Kathryn Haapala, 67, said while riding the crosstown yesterday. "In this part of the East Village, it is the way to get to the West Side with any kind of convenience."

 

At least three express routes also won't survive if the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's plan is approved and implemented, sources said.

 

On the subway side, the (N) train will no longer make local stops in lower Manhattan below Canal St. between midnight and 6:30 a.m. Instead, it will use tracks over the Manhattan Bridge, which it now uses during rush hour and most other times.

 

Today, the MTA will officially release the budget, a harsh combination of fare hikes, higher tolls and service cuts drafted to close a $1.2 billion budget gap projected for next year.

 

In picking routes for scaled-back operations or total shutdowns, the (MTA) focused on routes with relatively low ridership, sources said.

 

The M8 - which makes stops on Eighth, Ninth and 10th Sts. and Christopher St. and St. Marks Place - carried no more than 15 riders at a time during a complete run late yesterday morning. One driver said he typically picks up between 40 and 50 riders during a rush-hour run from one side of Manhattan to the other.

 

The (L) subway line and other crosstown bus options are just blocks away on 14th St. Still, losing the local bus would be more than inconvenient for some straphangers.

 

"I'm in constant pain, and it's hard for me to go up and down stairs in the subway," Joe Ponsonpy, 68, retired and disabled, said yesterday.

 

Express bus routes also facing the end of the road include the QM22 between Jackson Heights, Queens, and midtown Manhattan; the X25 between Grand Central Terminal and the World Financial Center, and the X32, between eastern Queens and the Bronx High School of Science.

 

Fare hikes and service cuts will be required next year unless Gov. Paterson and the state Legislature craft a bailout package, (MTA) CEO Elliot Sander has said. A state commission is set to recommend fiscal fixes next month.

 

Like state and city governments across the country, the MTA's finances have been pummeled by declining tax revenues as the economy deteriorated. A longer-term cause of the crisis, according to many experts and elected officials, is the state and city's failure to provide adequate financial support for the nation's largest mass transit system.

 

BY CAT CONTIGUGLIA and PETE DONOHUE

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November 21st 2008

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Houston Street is more of a major street than 14th Street. Suppose you are on the East River Drive in the 60's and you need to get to the Holland Tunnel in the fastest time possible. Your best bet is to get off on the Houston Street exit, go straight down to Varick Street and make a left turn till you see the Holland Tunnel apporach. Try doing that with 14th Street.

 

Also, if your vehicle is low on gas, just to to the Mobile gas station on Avenue C and East Houston Street.

 

You should amend your previous post to incluse the M21 and Houston Street. While you are at it, busfan the M21. I bet it would become one of your favorite bus routes in Manhattan.

 

No, I believe 14th St. is more of a major st. to (MTA) because it's where tourists go. Union Square, you know, those kinda places. It transports people from the east side to west side and the west side to the east side. Houston Street is more important to drivers but not the (MTA).

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If Union Square is a tourist attraction, then how come businesses are relocating, downsizing, and closing down? You tell me that.

 

While 14th Street is on the decline, Houston Street and SoHo is seeing some sort of tourist boom. These days, I see a lot more people shopping in SoHo than the entire lenght of 14th Street.

 

Have you ever taken the M21 ever in your life? If you haven't, I highly recommend you to do it.

 

Nah I haven't taken the M21 for a minute-no second in my life. Sigh. :D

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More for the precendent it sets on shutting down Manhattan routes than what impact it has for its riders (of which I have been one), I'm against this. This puts the M50 and M27 closer to the axe as well, and these routes do take some strain off their neigbors. If anything, there should be an 18th, 28th and even an West End / 11th Ave route. Obviously those are not coming any time soon, but this is galling in comparison.

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M21 slow? I don't think so. You should ride the M21 early in the morning to see where I'm coming from.

 

The M8 is a complete waste. Eliminate it and increase service on the M9 and M21.

 

 

 

The M8 does nothing to help out the M14. It just makes the commutes of M14, M9, and M21 a nightmare at times. Eliminating the M8 would benefit the three routes. Add more runs to both the M9 and M21 would help ease the load on the M14.

 

The M9 is on 14th Street for a reason. The M21 exists because it could take the load off the M14 along Avenue C. In addition, eliminating bus service along Avenue D is a must. I want to the the M14C make a much needed comeback.

 

Before you make another statement, make sure you understand the buses in the East Village area.

 

 

OK 33rd Street. I used to work nearby for former (now retired)NYS Assembly Man Steve Sanders as an 'intern' about 4-5 years ago on east 16th between 1st and 2nd Ave. Although i dont live in east village, I do know about the weekday aspect of it.

 

And while i never seen the M8 SRO during rush hours i seen on occasion an almost full bus on the M-8.

 

And again 33rd Street why are you against the M14 being taken off Avenue D? How about the B12 in Brooklyn along East NY Ave passing thru the 'hood'?

Or the Q22 in the Rockaways passing by housing projects much worse than those on Ave. D?

 

Plus the area around Ave D though still not great late nights is much better than the 1970's and 80's when those projects were among the worst in NYC. What happened if you lived in the East Village in that era 33rd would you get a heart attack?

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