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Transportation & Environment
Request by ABM Industry Groups, LLC, for an inter-city bus Stop on the Northeast Corner of West 31st Street and 8th Avenue
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, February 10, 2022, the following resolution passed with a vote of 37 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, ABM Industry Groups, LLC (“Applicant”), seeks approval from the New York City Department of Transportation (“DOT”) of an Application for a bus stop on the Northeast corner of West 31st Street and 8th Avenue for pick-ups and drop-offs; and
WHEREAS, The proposed location is an existing bus stop for Academy Express LLC & Gunther Charters Inc; and
WHEREAS, The current parking regulation is No Standing; and
WHEREAS, There will be 13 daily pick-ups from Monday to Sunday taking place every 15 minutes between 7:00am and 10:00am; and
WHEREAS, There will be 12 daily drop-offs from Monday to Sunday taking place every 15 minutes between 4:00pm and 7:00pm; and
WHEREAS, The bus will travel within New York City; and
WHEREAS, The current bus stop length at the proposed bus stop location allows the addition of another bus company; and
WHEREAS, The new bus company will provide shuttle service with an expeditious boarding process and the passengers will not carry luggage; and
WHEREAS, Without regulation, a high concentration of intercity 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 2014 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; and
- 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; and
- provide for consultation with the local Community Board and, where appropriate, the MTA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; and
- 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; and
- 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, Community Board Five’s Transportation and Environment Committee assessed this application and viewed the location of the Northeast Corner of West 31st Street and 8th Avenue; and
WHEREAS, Neighbors and community organizations including Community Board Five generally had no objection to additional use at this location; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends approval of the ABM Industry Groups, LLC, application for a bus stop on the Northeast Corner of West 31st Street and 8th Avenue, as long as the stops do not interfere with other buses and there is no conflict in any way with MTA buses.