(Starting in July, the B4 disappears on weekends. Photo credit: Brian Hedden)

[UPDATE Jan-23-2010] The MTA released a much more detailed – and slightly revised – service reduction plan a few hours after I posted this. The story has been updated to reflect this revised plan. New cuts are in italics, saved routes are struck out.

Nobody likes the MTA’s proposed service cuts – not even an MTA apologist like me. But Dyker Heights residents probably have more reason to be upset than most. The service cuts that are currently on the table would eliminate weekend service on two of the bus routes that serve the transit-poor neighborhood (the B4 and X28), and cut weekday hours on a third (B16). So unsurprisingly, members of the Dyker Heights Civic Association signed not one, but two petitions aimed at staving off service cuts. (YourNabe.com)

I went through the MTA’s comprehensive list of proposed cuts and listed the ones that affect South Brooklyn below. These changes are scheduled to go into effect in July.

Subway Changes

• M-train – no more rush-hour service between Bensonhurst and Manhattan
• N-train – no changes to Brooklyn service, but after the Manhattan Bridge, it will change from the Broadway Express track to the Broadway Local track in order to replace W-train service
• All trains – Decreased frequency all times except rush hour and very late night

Bus – Routes Eliminated

• B23 – Borough Park/Flatbush (via 16th Ave & Cortelyou)
• B37 – Bay Ridge/Downtown Brooklyn (via 3rd Ave)… BUT the B70 will be rerouted to replace the Bay Ridge portion of this route
• X29 – Coney Island/Midtown (via Coney Island Avenue)
• X37 – Bay Ridge/FDR Express (route consolidated with X27 to make stops between Downtown and Midtown)
  
• X38 – Sea Gate/FDR Express (route consolidated with X38 to make stops between Downtown and Midtown)

Bus – Shortened Lines

• B3 – Bergen Beach spur discontinued (E.  73rd and E. 74th Street service)
  
• B4 – Sheepshead Bay service discontinued (between Coney Island Avenue and Knapp Street)
• B8 – Bay Ridge service discontinued (between the VA Hospital and 4th Avenue)
  
• B64 – Coney Island service discontinued (between 25th Avenue and Stillwell Avenue subway terminal)
  

Bus – No More Weekend Service

• B2 – Kings Highway Q Station/Kings Plaza Mall
• B4 – Bay Ridge/Sheepshead Bay (via Bay Ridge Parkway, Neptune Ave, Emmons Ave)
• B7 – Flatlands/Bedford-Stuyvesant (via Kings Highway) [saved]
• X27 – Bay Ridge to Midtown
• X28 – Bensonhurst to Midtown

Bus – No More Overnight Service

Gerritsen Beach will lose its overnight access.

• B7 – Flatlands/Bedford-Stuyvesant (via Kings Highway)
• B31 – Gerritsen Beach/Kings Highway Q station
• B64 – Bay Ridge/Bath Beach (via Bath Ave)

Bus – Shorter Hours During The Day

• B2 – Kings Highway Q Station/Kings Plaza Mall
• B9 – Bay Ridge/Kings Plaza Mall
• B16 – Bay Ridge/Lefferts Gardens (via Ft. Hamilton Parkway, 13th/14th Aves)
• B70 – Fort Hamilton/Sunset Park waterfront (via 8th Ave) [saved]
  

Bus – Rerouted Lines

• B1 – East of 13th Avenue, continues straight down 86th Street to 4th Avenue instead of Bay Ridge Avenue to Owl’s Head Park
  
• B64 – East of 13th Avenue, goes down Bay Ridge Avenue to Owl’s Head Park instead of down 86th Street to 4th Avenue
  
• B70 – Between Bay Ridge Avenue and 92nd Street, goes down 3rd Avenue instead of 7th/8th Avenues

Fares

• Student MetroCard discount reduced from 100% to 50% for the 2010-2011 school year, and eliminated begining with the 2011-2012 school year.

A few random thoughts:

1. Idle speculation: I think there’s a 50% chance Albany and/or City Hall fully funds the student MetroCard program. 0% chance they restore any other cuts.

2. No one is happy about the subway cuts, but I think the worst part of the plan is in the loss of overnight and weekend buses – i.e. the loss of the Dyker weekend routes, the loss of the Gerritsen overnight route.

3. I’m going to miss having the B4 on weekends. I can, and often have, taken the N-to-the-R to get to some parts of Bay Ridge, but the B4 is still my lifeline to places like The Salty Dog, and it’s a must for getting to the heart of Dyker Heights.

4. It’s theoretically possible that Dyker Heights and Gerritsen Beach can save its bus routes, but the money just isn’t there. The only plausible scenario is that another bus service that isn’t currently on the chopping block gets axed in order to save these routes. So don’t hold your breath.

5. You already know how I feel about the misplaced MTA-hate that’s been churning lately. I’ll also echo On Transport’s myth-busting.

6. We call it Doomsday, but it could be worse. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that it doesn’t get worse.

Tags: B1, B16, B2, B23, B3, B31, B37, B4, B64, B7, B70, B8, Dyker Heights Civic Association, M-train, N-train, Student MetroCards, X27, X28, X29