A ruling on the fate of the Flushing busway approaches
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A Queens judge will receive paperwork Monday before ruling on the fate of the Flushing Main Street busway plan after issuing a temporary restraining order last month. AP Photo/Frank Franklin II
By Rachel Vick and David Brand
A Queens Supreme Court justice will soon rule on the fate of a planned bus-only route along Main Street in Flushing after he receives paperwork Monday from parties involved in a legal fight over the project.
Justice Kevin Kerrigan issued a temporary restraining order that stopped the Department of Transportation from installing signs or painting the roadway to mark the busway between Northern Boulevard and Sanford Avenue on Nov. 13. DOT work crews had already begun preparing the busway along the 0.3-mile stretch of Main Street.
A collection of business leaders filed an Article 78 lawsuit challenging the plan, arguing that it will hurt local businesses by restricting car travel and parking. They are seeking a temporary injunction and, ultimately, a permanent injunction to block the busway.
On Monday, the DOT and the plaintiffs will submit final paperwork to Kerrigan and await his decision.
The business group is represented by attorney Randall Eng, a former administrative judge in Brooklyn federal court, who said the busway would further erode businesses hard-hit by the COVID-fueled economic crisis.
“This is a particularly inopportune time for something like this to be implemented,” Eng told the Eagle last month. “Businesses are just beginning to recover. All that is at risk if access to the Main Street business district is compromised in some way.”
Under the plan announced by Mayor Bill de Blasio in June, cars would be banned from traveling the length of Main Street between Northern Boulevard and Sanford Avenue. Vehicles that turn onto Main Street will be permitted to travel one block before making the first available turn.
“Mass transit is the future of this city. It’s the key to fighting climate change and it’ll be the engine of our long-term economic recovery,” said DOT spokesperson Brian Zumhagen.
Other busway projects in New York City have survived similar legal challenges, most notably along 14th Street in Manhattan. The bus-only rules transformed the thoroughfare from one of the slowest bus corridors in the city to one of the fastest.
“All the courts that have looked at this issue have ruled that the city and the mayor can do this work on the street,” said Riders Alliance Policy Director Danny Pearlstein.
Pearlstein noted that another Queens judge, Justice Joseph Esposito, has already sided with the city in a challenge to a bus lane on Fresh Pond Road in Ridgewood. Esposito determined that the DOT had authority to make such changes on city streets.
“It’s not about whether you think this is a good idea or not, it’s about whether the [DOT] commissioner has the authority to do this, which they do,” Pearlstein said.
Bus lane advocates in Flushing say that the project will not only speed public transportation, it will also boost business by allowing more commuters to visit the commercial district. Parking is already a challenge on the congested street and more than 150,000 people travel the route by bus every day, according to a study by the Mayor’s Office.
“We need to use every tool we have to bring these businesses back, whether it’s making Downtown Flushing more accessible to buses, walking or bicycles,” Transportation Alternatives Queens organizer Juan Restrepo told the Eagle. “We need all of it.”
