NICE bus cuts leave local residents without transportation

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Amy Lubliner and her husband, Jerrold, moved into the Wyndham House apartments on Atlantic Avenue 18 years ago because the Nassau Inter-County Express bus stopped across the street. They have relied on the N36 to get to their doctors’ appointments, because they cannot drive.

Amy suffers from epilepsy and cerebral palsy, and uses a walker. Jerrold has learning disabilities, leg issues and diabetes.

Because the Nassau County Bus Transit Committee approved NICE’s plan on Feb. 16 to cut 10 bus routes, including the N36 — the only line that serves East Rockaway — the Lubliners will need other transportation in April. One option is Able Ride, but it requires advance scheduling and costs $1 more than the N36.


At a public hearing in Garden City, the committee voted 5-2 in favor of the cuts, which also eliminated shuttles in Freeport, Hicksville and Wantagh, the N19 Freeport bus to Sunrise Mall and the DeMott Avenue/Long Beach Road bus in Rockville Centre. The reductions become effective on April 9, and will affect some 5,400 Nassau County residents, NICE spokesman Andy Krause said in a statement.

The cuts were necessary, NICE Chief Executive Officer Michael Setzer said at the hearing, because the county reduced funding by $6.8 million. In a Feb. 17 letter to riders, Setzer wrote that NICE relies on the county for 5 percent of its operating budget, which was $131 million in 2016.

The Nassau County budget slated only a $2.5 million subsidy to NICE as part of its 2017 budget, the minimum necessary for the bus system to continue receiving $67 million in state transit aid from the New York State Operating Assistance, according to Krause. This funding helps transit agencies in New York cover operating costs based on mileage and passenger revenue.

“We should be, and could be, and would be putting more service on the street to serve our customers if we could,” Setzer said. “But we’re stuck with the revenues available to the county.”

The N36 bus usually has 10 to 20 passengers during rush hour, but NICE always threatens to cut the line, according to Tommy Warner, of East Rockaway. “I’ve been riding this bus for 14 of the last 20 years,” he said, “but every two or three years Nassau County cuts the funding, and the 36 is always on the chopping block.”

Warner, who uses the bus to get to his job at Pam Narrow Fabrics in Freeport, said he believes NICE should keep the line for rush hour and cut it during the middle of the day to save costs. Warner can walk to the Lynbrook train station and take a train to Freeport, but recognizes that others cannot. “For the elderly people, this is really going to be a drag,” he said.

For Kathleen McHale of East Rockaway, who takes the bus every week to get to Nassau Community College, where she is an adjunct professor, options appear limited. Now in her 80s, McHale boards the bus around 8 a.m. and gets to her job at Bradley Hall around 9 a.m. She takes the N36 to Freeport and then transfers to the N43 bus, which brings her to Garden City.

One alternative for McHale could be to walk to Lynbrook or Oceanside and take a bus from there. But the walk is difficult and her commute would then take three hours. “That’s ridiculous, but that’s OK because I’m a senior citizen,” she said, “and I can do that, right?”

She could also take a taxi, as NICE officials suggest, but that would be costly. “What would be the point of working if half of my paycheck goes to taxis?” McHale said, adding that the last time she took a cab about four years ago, it cost her $14 to go from Freeport to Garden City. As a senior citizen, she pays only $1.35 per ride on a NICE bus.

McHale said she doesn’t want to rely on her children to drive her to work or to doctors’ appointments in Rockville Centre. “You can’t always depend on people for that kind of thing,” she said.

Amy Lubliner plans to speak to government officials to express her concerns. East Rockaway Mayor Bruno Romano said that he and the village board of trustees have fought to keep the bus line.

On Feb. 22, they wrote a letter to Setzer, saying that the cuts would devastate the village’s business community, which had to rebuild after Hurricane Sandy. “While we understand the financial strains placed upon governments, we continue to provide top-notch services and programs for the lowest possible cost, without cuts,” the letter read. “We wish the same could be said of NICE.”

Bus riders are planning to hold a rally to save the N36 on March 11 at the Lynbrook train station. For more information, email Dan Caracciolo, at rikkisdad007@gmail.com, or visit the Facebook page, “#SavetheN36 Rally and Press Conference.”

Brian Kacharaba and Vanessa Parker contributed to this story.