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TWU joins Coltons fight to bring back the B64

April 20, 2012 Denise Romano

BROOKLYN MEDIA GROUP/Photo by Denise Romano

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Talk about teamwork.

Members of the Transport Workers Union Local 100 are joining up with Assemblymember Bill Coltons in an effort to restore the now-truncated B64 service so the bus goes all the way to Coney Island once again.

This is a huge boost to the cause, since Colton began a petition to bring back the full route last fall, a story which this publication reported first. The B64 which originally ran from Bay Ridge to Stillwell Avenue in Coney Island had its route shortened in June, 2010, and now only runs to 25^th and Harway Avenues.

We decided to make a commitment to residents to restore bus cuts on the B64, said Henry Butler, an organizer for the TWU, during the April meeting of Community Board 10 at the Knights of Columbus, 13^th Avenue and 86^th Street. Residents have to deal with fare increases while services keep getting cut.

Butler urged residents to reach out to local officials to reestablish the B64s original route. Make the MTA do whats right, he said.

The TWU knows first-hand what the bus provided and what is now being missed because the bus is not available to transport seniors, students and those with disabilities, Colton told this paper. We are very serious in demanding that the MTA restore a cut that has had a devastating impact to the quality of life, businesses and organizations, not only in the area but in a whole broad part of Brooklyn.

With the new attractions coming to Coney Island this summer, including Grimaldis and a new Scream Zone, extra transportation is needed more than ever, Colton said. Those traveling from Bay Ridge have no other choice but to take two subway trains, something that not everyone is able to do.

The cut was made even worse because a few years ago they cut the B82 only one of two buses goes to Coney Island now, Colton noted. Now you have seniors, students and those with disabilities having to navigate across Cropsey Avenue and wait in the winter for 30 minutes for a B82.

Colton added that when the MTA decided to cut back on B64 service, they underestimated the power of the people. One of the things they were counting on was that it affected a very limited area, he explained. We are going to show them that they are wrong.

The MTA has said it cannot comment on the petition drive till the petition has officially been submitted to the authority.