Gary Buiso of The Brooklyn Paper reports that the Taxi and Limousine Commission--now headed by former Brooklyn City Councilmember David Yassky--has approved a plan to turn the former B71 route into a dollar-van route.
As best I can tell, this doesn't mean we'll actually have dollar vans running up and down Union Street. The TLC just approved the concept. No dollar-van operator has actually said he or she will take the route.
Writes Buiso:
The Taxi and Limousine Commission quietly approved the privatization initiative that will allow livery vans to operate along bus routes eliminated by the cash-strapped state agency — including the B71 route that once journeyed from Columbia Street through tony Carroll Gardens and Park Slope on its way to Crown Heights.[...]Under the plan, the vans will only be allowed to pick up passengers at specified locations — but drop-offs can be at locations negotiated by the driver and commuter.
Some neighborhood activists are dubious about this proposal:
“Oh my god, it’s insane!” said Maria Pagano, president of the Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Association. “You’ll have guys dive-bombing in and out on Union Street between school buses.”
Roy Sloane, president of the Cobble Hill Association, added that the “public-private partnership” leaves a bad taste in his mouth.
“The government should be providing essential services that don’t necessarily make a profit,” he said. “The government and this administration seems to be keen on privatizing all the services that [they] used to provide.”
What do you think?
