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Transportation & Environment
Request by Go New York Tours, Inc., dba Topview Sightseeing, for a Sightseeing Bus Stop on Fifth Avenue between 35th and 36th Streets
At the regularly scheduled monthly Community Board Five meeting on Thursday, October 13, 2022, the following resolution passed with a vote of 33 in favor; 0 opposed; 1 abstaining:
WHEREAS, the Applicant, Go New York Tours, Inc., dba Topview Sightseeing, has applied for a sightseeing bus stop location on Fifth Avenue between East 35th and East 36th Streets, located closer to East 35th Street, on the west side of the avenue; and
WHEREAS, The proposed stop is a relocation of an existing Go New York Tours sightseeing bus stop further north on Fifth Avenue; and
WHEREAS, The current parking regulation at the proposed location is No Standing; and
WHEREAS, The proposed bus stop would share the location with three existing Metropolitan Transit Authority (“MTA”) bus lines including SIM10, SIM31, and BXM4C, with an additional seven bus lines on the north end of the block, bringing the total bus lines on the block to eleven; and
WHEREAS, Pickups and drop-offs for the proposed location are Monday to Sunday from 9:42 a.m. to 5:12 p.m.; and
WHEREAS, New York City Department of Transportation (“DOT”) has inspected and recommended the location between 35th and 36th Streets and considers it appropriate and capable of accommodating another bus company: and
WHEREAS, DOT has not provided quantitative assessments of traffic and/or pedestrian safety at the proposed location for the new bus stop, and has not provided context explaining why their recommended location between East 35th and East 36th Streets was considered most appropriate and why other locations south of 34th Street were discounted; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant also applied for alternative locations for this stop on Fifth Avenue between East 31st and East 36th Streets, and is willing and able to operate their bus stop anywhere along those blocks; and
WHEREAS, Residents of the block between East 35th and East 36th Streets have indicated that the traffic on that block is hazardous to pedestrians, being noticeably higher than at other nearby locations further south on Fifth Avenue, which only have commercial buildings; and
WHEREAS, Should the application be denied, then during the interim the Applicant will still be allowed to operate their existing bus stop several blocks north of the proposed stop; and
WHEREAS, Community Board Five’s Transportation & Environment Committee determined that due to the stated concerns of both committee members and local residents, there was widespread concern about added congestive bus stops on the recommended block, and there was broad consensus that the locations south of 34th Street, particularly the block between 32nd and 33rd streets on Fifth Avenue, are superior options for the proposed bus stop due to lesser congestion and commercial storefronts in those areas, and the Applicant has expressed similar willingness to operate at these other locations; and
WHEREAS, The Applicant has indicated that current and potential buses operated at the requested stop will not use amplified sound for tour purposes, relying instead on personal headphones, and that amplified sound capability on vehicles will be limited to emergency situations only; and
WHEREAS, The Transportation & Environment Committee of Community Board Five agrees that if no more suitable location is found than the DOT-recommended location between 35th and 36th Streets, then DOT must make provisions to mitigate sound and traffic congestion of any new bus pickups and drop-offs on the block; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, Community Board Five recommends denial of DOT’s recommended location for a Go New York Tours sightseeing bus stop on Fifth Avenue between East 35th and East 36th Streets; and be it further
RESOLVED, Community Board Five strongly recommends that DOT consider more suitable locations for this bus stop on Fifth Avenue south of 34th Street, as also amenable to the Applicant; and be it further
RESOLVED, Community Board Five requests that DOT provide any context for their initial recommendation between East 35th and East 36th Streets and, if no alternate location can be found, that DOT outline sound and traffic congestion mitigation provisions for the location between East 35th and East 36th Streets as requested by the community.