In Queens, much ado about busing

Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) is considering bringing a similar suit against the city due to bus cuts in Woodside, according to a spokeswoman.

While the DOE typically only provides busing for students through sixth grade, the city had granted a variance for seventh and eighth grades at certain schools. The city said last week it would discontinue the bus service for those grades to save money.

In Ulrich’s district, several schools in the Rockaways were affected. Seventh and eighth graders attending PS 114, St. Francis De Sales, Scholars’ Academy, St Camillus, St. Rose of Lima, and PS 47 are affected. Many students from Howard Beach, Ozone Park and Woodhaven had been using the yellow buses to commute to some of those schools.

“The city has left the residents of Rockaway and other neighborhoods to fend for themselves and is placing thousands of children at risk by making it difficult for them to get to and from school,” said Ulrich. “Nevertheless, I am optimistic that the judge will eventually rule in our favor when presented with all the evidence.”

In Woodside, parents and elected officials also railed against the city’s decision, saying students that had received busing through what is known as a “hazard variance” would be at risk, since they now have to cross service roads for the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and other potentially dangerous intersections without crossing guards if they walk to school. The DOE said it would provide crossing guards for dangerous intersections.

Other borough students who lost busing as part of the city’s cuts are those who attend PS/IS 266 in Bayside

Dmytro Fedkowskyj, the Queens representative to the citywide Panel for Educational Policy, blasted the city’s decision to cut yellow bus service.

“Yellow bus service has been provided since the beginning of time in these affectedparts ofQueensand nothing has changed to warrant any kind of discontinued service,” he said. “The needed access and hazard variances are necessaryto safely transport students to and from school.”