Serrano Fumes Over Bus Depot Debacle

 
State Senator José M. Serrano (D-Manhattan/Bronx) today responded to a New York Daily News report that a four-year-old diesel bus depot in East Harlem is already "buckling and shedding bricks" and will require $1.1 million in renovations.
 
"Six of seven diesel bus depots in Manhattan are located north of 96th Street," said Senator Serrano. "It's not enough they burden us with bad fumes. The MTA cannot ensure safe construction in the facilities they plop down in our community."
 
"My constituents need more public transportation, but we too often find ourselves on the wrong end of the tail pipe," said Serrano, who sits on the Environmental Conservation committee in the State Senate.
 
"When, for example, will Bus Rapid Transit finally be implemented along the First and Second Avenue corridor?" he asked, referring to a long-anticipated plan to upgrade service on the M15 route, one of the busiest in the nation.
 
"I don't want my constituents to lose faith in our public transit system, a system that has always been a hallmark of this city. But right now businesses in my district are failing due to the construction of the Second Avenue subway, riders continually dread fare hikes, and now the bus depots are buckling above our heads," said the Senator.
 
"I will continue to fight as hard as I can for increased transport funding from Albany, but the MTA must at the same time do everything in its power to increase efficiency, and treat Northern Manhattan with more respect."