Change.
David Bowie sang a paean to it. Staten Islanders don’t react well to
it. I know this. I have been listening carefully to both these past
17 years.
Although it’s far from perfect we love our borough, and changes
that affect the essence of who and what we are not only merit strong resistance,
but demand it. There are sometimes
changes that I as Borough President - and you as Staten Islanders – must fight
hard to deflect, particularly if the change alters the character of our neighborhoods
or the nature of our institutions.
But there is an approaching moment in time when we as a
community must open our minds and be willing to, even if grudgingly, force
ourselves to accept change. In fact, I firmly believe that in this case the
benefits to our island and its commuters will be so positive that we should not
merely accept, but whole-heartedly embrace these changes – and the more radical
the better.
I am referring to the Comprehensive Bus Study being
undertaken by the MTA at our request, and which emanates from the two Bus
Summits we held at Borough Hall last year. For the past several months they have
been surveying Staten Islanders, crunching data and crafting a plan. It
is, in fact, so challenging a problem that I cannot see how nibbling at
the edges will lead to a solution. Fine-tuning this, modifying that - how
does that get to the heart of the matter and meaningfully improve our commutes?
And here’s the rub: even though Staten Islanders agree the commute into
Manhattan is hellish – they will still have a tendency to resist radical
alterations.
I believe it’s time to “turn and face the change” as the
late, great Mr. Bowie so compellingly put it.
Consider, please, that these routes were established fifty
years ago, and over the years have been given only minor tweaks. Now think about how the population of the
Island has exploded in that time; think about how many neighborhoods have
experienced dramatic changes in median age and other demographics; think about
how many more vehicles are congesting our roads, and it’s quite apparent that
public transportation needs to be re-evaluated from the ground up.
Here is not-so-surprising fact: commuting times are
bad. Really bad. And in this case I’m pretty sure you don’t get to
“good” by thinking small. So if you’re the kind of person that considers the
relocation of a bus stop ten yards further away is cause to claim “the sky is
falling,” this is a call for a cold, hard look in the mirror.
And sorry, here’s a “politician” telling you this is not
about “you,” it is about “us” as Staten Islanders. The goal here is to
help as many people as possible improve their lives by improving their
commutes. That won’t happen by putting lipstick on a pig; we’re talking about a
full makeover. So get the mirror out and talk to yourself if need be - and
then join me in hoping the MTA thinks out of the box and goes a bit rad.
We are beyond the point where we can reject much-needed
improvements because it causes a small measure of inconvenience for a small number
of people. The status quo is
unacceptable.
I don’t know exactly what the MTA will release in a few
months, but I for one want to see some very serious changes. I don’t think
they are planning on scrapping the whole system of existing routes and starting
from scratch, but you know what? If they proposed that I’d sure listen
first before reflexively having a fit.
By the way, before you take fingers to keyboard, you will
definitely have your say on these ideas after the initial draft is released.
This process will continue to be inclusive in every possible way, and if you
want to voice your opinion to me I’m good with that. If you want to voice your opinion to those
who are doing the study – all the better.
By early summer the MTA will release its initial report.
They will articulate some new concepts and then allow the community to
react. In the fall there will be public hearings, and there, the public
will have its say.
My only ask is that you think about it, and join me in
welcoming what hopefully will be some very real ch-ch-ch-changes.