Buses Clog Stretch of East Side, Prompting Action

By: Grace Rauh

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Every night during rush hour, a single East Side block is inundated with MTA buses that idle, double park and spew pollution and noise into the air, which frustrates nearby residents and business owners. NY1's Grace Rauh filed the following exclusive report.

Buses clogging the street, double parking, idling along the curb: it’s a view one might expect to see near the Port Authority, but the scene actually plays out each weeknight along East 57th Street between 3rd and Lexington Avenues.

“A lot of the residents and the store owners want to do a class action suit against the MTA because what they are doing is actually illegal and dangerous,” said Bob Schagrin, owner of Crush Wine & Spirits on 57th Street.

Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick says more than 500 buses stop each day on the north side of the street alone.

“The buses are extremely loud, they are extremely disturbing. You can actually taste the exhaust when you are standing out there,” Garodnick said.

Garodnick and other local politicians sent a letter to the Metropolitan Transit Authority and the city's Department of Transportation this week detailing the conditions and the serious problems caused by so many buses.

“I've actually witnessed several people getting hit from buses turning off of 3rd Avenue and onto 57th Street,” Schagrin said.

The MTA itself last year said that the intersection of East 57th and 3rd had the most bus accidents in the city in 2009.

There's also the question of noise and pollution. The manager of this restaurant says he can no longer open windows in the summer, at least not during the week. Not only are residents frustrated by the idling buses, but also by those that turn off their engines and sit for long stretches of time along the sidewalk, blocking entrances to buildings and businesses.

“Anyone who is looking from the other side of the street can't see the store. And we pay very high rent just for the street view,” said Mark Shapin of Belmora Pizza.

A spokesman for the MTA says it is trying to find additional space for buses to wait nearby, but so far it hasn't come up with a suitable location. The spokesman says idling isn’t allowed, and violations will be issued to drivers who do not follow the rules.