B37 fans have an ally at the MTA
Board member supports full restoration of bus line
Elected officials, community activists and transit advocates who have been pushing for service to be fully restored on the B37 bus now have a surprising ally in their battle with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority – an MTA board member.
Allen Cappelli, who was appointed by the governor to sits on the 23-member transportation board, spoke at a “Bring Back the B37” rally in Bay Ridge on Friday, telling a crowd of protesters that he supports their effort to get the MTA to have the B37 route go from Bay Ridge to Court Street when the line is restored in June. Under the current MTA plan, the B37, which was eliminated by the agency in 2010 as a cost-cutting measure, will be put back into service in June, but with a shortened route.
The current plan has the route ending at the Barclays Center on Atlantic Avenue. Before it was scrapped four years ago, the B37 ran from Bay Ridge to Court Street, stopping outside the New York State Supreme Court to let people off for jury duty on its way to its last stop. Passengers rode the B37 to travel to and from downtown Brooklyn for jury duty, shopping, doctor’s appointments and other chores.