MTA Not Involved In 'Machiavellian' Bus Plot, Byford Says

EAST NEW YORK, BROOKLYN -- City transit officials denied they were embroiled in a "Machiavellian subplot" after a local news outlet reported the MTA dumped its worst rides on the Brooklyn's poorest neighborhoods.

New York City Andy Byford denied the New York Daily News report that found East New York and Brownsville residents rode a disproportionately high number of older, diesel-burning buses.

Byford said at an MTA press conference Monday that it was "ludicrous and absurd" to suggest the MTA was involved in "some conspiratorial or machiavellian subplot."

The Daily News compared bus routes in East New York and Flatbush — both areas with a median annual income of less than $40,000 — to those in wealthier neighborhoods such as Park Slope and Williamsburg.

Their analysis found nine of eastern Brooklyn's 17 lines have buses with an average age of more than 10 years, while only three out of 17 lines in those wealthier regions had the older buses.

But Darryl Irick, MTA Bus Operations president, argued the Daily News got its math wrong and contended eastern Brooklyn depots have the same percentage of older buses as any others.

"We totally disagree with the characterization of the article that came out this weekend," said Irick. "There's a lot in this report that does not make sense to us."

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams sided with the Daily News and called for oversight hearings to investigate how the MTA allocates buses in East New York and Flatbush.

Adams argued 168 diesel-fueled buses was 168 too many, and called on New York state legislators to fund the city's FastForward Plan, which he argued would provide clean-energy, electric buses to every New York City neighborhood.

"Brownsville and ENY deserve ... access to clean transportation options, esp. since asthma rates in these communities surpass those of wealthier neighbors," Adams tweeted.

"We need to prioritize our resources to those communities in most need."