Friday, July 15, 2011

Is the MTA screwing Bay Terrace?


From the Times Ledger:

Riders traveling on the MTA’s Q28 bus from Flushing to Bayside are finding their feet on shaky ground when they arrive at the Bay Terrace shopping center.

For years the owners of the center have allowed the authority’s buses to use its private road, but now they are considering sending the Metropolitan Transportation Authority packing if the city will not pay to repair damages the vehicles are causing to the asphalt.

Cord Meyer Vice President Peter Galletta said he estimates it would cost between $20,000 and $30,000 to install a concrete bus pad, finally putting an end to years of repairing the streets at his own cost. He said he asked the MTA to pay for the bus pad, but the agency told him that the city Department of Transportation was responsible for repairing roads. When he contacted the DOT, he was told it did not fix private roads, Galletta said.

Galletta said he agreed more than 10 years ago to allow the MTA’s buses to turn off of 23rd Avenue onto 213th Place and make a left through the shopping center’s parking lot where they turn onto Bell Boulevard and head back down 23rd Avenue on their return trip to Flushing.

Galletta claims that representatives from the MTA said they would sign an agreement covering some kind of maintenance contract, but that did not happen, and in subsequent years he has written letters complaining about the damages.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Is the MTA screwing Bay Terrace?"

Rhetorical question alert !

Truth be told the MTA screws everybody, just some more then others.

Anonymous said...

yeah - you want buses to bring patrons directly to your mall's doorstep but complain about the street wearing down and don't want to pay for it. You cannot have it both ways and taxpayers going to pay for private enterprise expenses.

Queens Crapper said...

I guess you didn't read the entire article. The mall would be perfectly happy not having the MTA bus on its property at all.

Reelect Honest Joe Crowley said...

If everyone got after the developers and politicians as much as they whine and complain about the MTA and Con Ed this would be a far better city.

But you all bellyache about these agencies because you take your cues from the pols - who are simply passing the buck = because your silence in all the other abuses demonstrates that almost all of you have the capacity to put up with any abuse and say nothing.

Anonymous said...

Bid deal!
So close it.

The next stop outside the mall is just a piddly short half block away.

How lazy can a shopper get?

Most folks use their cars that shop there anyway.

It ain't gonna affect nuthin' diddly hoo-hoo!

It's that Bayside Jewish crowd that always bellyaching about something or another.

Vus machen mit der kindler?

Anonymous said...

This is another Queens whiner trying to get over on the government. The MTA isn't perfect but they also don't have a magic money tree.

According to the article he is “'definitely seriously contemplating' getting rid of the stop, which he said is used by senior citizens and the center’s customers and employees."

If the MTA gets rid of this stop/line in the next round of cuts watch this dude start complaining that the MTA got rid of the stop and that the MTA is killing Bay Terrace.

I think it's a lot of bluster by a private corporation trying to get the government to pay for repairing a private road.

Furthermore, I'm going to guess the senior citizens, customers and employees bring in more than 30K$ worth of revenues to the Bay Terrace corporation annually.

Anonymous said...

That particular bus stop in that picture is NOT on Bay Terrace property, it's on 213th Place. The mall property begins at the stop sign. 213th Place is between the tennis courts and the apartment building on that street.