Cuts To Myrtle And Dekalb Avenue Buses Face Town Hall Meeting

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — A series of service changes that will slow down B54 buses and eliminate a stop along the B38 will face a town hall meeting next week, officials announced.

Elected officials have set up a public meeting for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4 to talk about changes to the B54 and B38 lines, which were announced along with 29 bus schedule changes the will take place this fall across the city.

The meeting will be hosted by Assembly Member Walter Mosley, City Council Member Laurie Cumbo and state Sen. Velmanette Montgomery and will take place at St. John's College building at 245 Clinton Street.

It's unclear whether the elected officials hope to change the service cuts with the Town Hall feedback or just provide information, especially considering that some of the changes will likely already have started by the time the meeting is held.

Transit officials said earlier this month that the changes to the B38 bus stops along Dekalb Avenue could take place as early as Labor Day.

Those changes, which include elongating certain stops and eliminating others, are to make way for new, 64-foot articulated buses that are going to replace the regular fleet of 40-foot buses along the bus route.

The Fort Greene portion of the route will only lose one stop, at Ashland Place, but the rest of the route, which runs from Queens to Downtown Brooklyn, will see three stops taken away.

The B54 changes are also set to start in September, and have already gotten pushback from residents who say it will make it difficult to get around for people who rely on the bus as their only nearby transit option.

The changes would mean waiting three minutes more for a bus during midday or evening hours and one more minute during the morning rush. Nearly 800 have already signed a petition against the changes set up by the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District.

Transit officials contend the changes to all 29 bus routes would have a "minimal impact" to customers and will allow the agency to save a combined $7 million.