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Transportation & Environment
Application by inter-city bus operator MJM Travel Group, Inc, for a bus stop on Broadway between 52nd and 51st Streets, in front of 1651 Broadway
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, September 12, 2019, the following resolution passed with a vote of 42 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, MJM Travel Group, Inc seeks approval from the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) of an Application to operate a bus service between New York City and Woodbury Common, New York on the west side of Broadway Ave between West 52nd and 51st Sts; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes four (4) daily pickups between the hours of 7:00 AM and 10:00AM; and WHEREAS, The Applicant proposes two (2) daily drop-offs between the hours of 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM.
WHEREAS, The Port Authority Bus Terminal currently operates at or above capacity; and
WHEREAS, In response, several companies began offering low-cost inter-city bus services from on-street pickup and drop off locations without formal authorization from DOT; and
WHEREAS, Without regulation, a high concentration of inter-city bus services developed in certain areas of midtown Manhattan, quickly resulting in increased sidewalk congestion, traffic gridlock, and increased on-street bus parking and double parking, all of which combined to create safety concerns for drivers, pedestrians, local business owners, and residents; and
WHEREAS, The State Legislature adopted Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1642-a in 2013 to address these concerns, empowering DOT to create a permitting system; and
WHEREAS, This law authorizes the City to:
- prohibit inter-city buses from loading or unloading passengers on City streets, except at designated on-street bus stop locations;
- require inter-city bus owners and/or operators to submit an application for each proposed on-street bus stop location;
- establish criteria for assigning on-street bus stop locations, including traffic considerations and the applicant's preferences;
- provide for consultation with the local Community Board and, where appropriate, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey;
- authorize DOT to issue inter-city bus permits and to charge a fee; provide for the relocation of an existing permitted on-street bus stop, upon 90-day notice to the permit holder and the local Community Board;
- grandfather existing inter-city bus services that currently have designated on-street bus stop locations, by granting a permit to continue to use those locations for up to three years; and
WHEREAS, No other inter-city bus service currently uses this location, which is currently allotted to the defunct tour-bus brand Big Bus; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five assessed this application on a range of criteria in accordance with its
past assessments and found this stop to be significantly less burdensome than the average application,
while offering a service not currently satisfied by competing bus operators; and
WHEREAS, Neighbors and community organizations including the Times Square Alliance generally
expressed support for the location as more appropriate than alternatives in the area; therefore be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of MJM Travel Group, Inc’s application
for a bus stop on the west side of Broadway Ave between West 52nd and 51st Streets.