Lawrence school bus issue drives resident anger

A problem that arose in late summer has continued to vex a number of Lawrence School District residents as winter nears. Inwood community members who live near the Harris Avenue field, by the Number Four School, remain angry that the recreational area was torn up by roughly 60 Seth Transportation school buses that were parked on the field for more than two months beginning in late August.

What Superintendent Dr. Ann Pedersen called a temporary situation has lasted too long for the residents and members of the Inwood Civic Association, even though most of the buses have been moved to Lawrence High School. Some of them remain parked at the Number Four School.

“We all share the same concern, and would like to think this is a temporary situation,” Pedersen said. “We are obligated by law to provide transportation for all the school-age children in the district. I appreciate and understand the urgency and the community’s concern about the timeline. This is something we are dealing with.”

From the first day that the Brooklyn-based Seth Transportation buses showed up on the Harris Avenue field, residents began asking why the school district would allow them to park on land that the community has used for years for recreation.
When school began, the bus drivers parked their personal vehicles along Harris Avenue, started up the bus engines and drove the buses off and, later in the day, back onto the field each school day.

“We did not want the buses there at all, impacting our daily life, taking away our children’s space,” Inwood resident Jennifer Jonas said at an Inwood Civic Association meeting on Dec. 3, when the issue dominated the discussion.

By early November, what was a pristine grass field in September had been turned into a rutted, torn-up space with deep, muddy tire tracks. “We were told this was an emergency situation, and in an emergency you stop the bleeding, but it didn’t stop,” civic association member Pete Sobol said at the meeting. “The field is a mess; there is emissions from the buses.”

Pedersen noted that although the field has in the past been used by both the community and the school, the district has closed it to all school activity because of the coronavirus pandemic, and has not permitted any community groups to use it. “There is a plan in place, as soon as the weather allows, to regrade and reseed this field,” she said.

Residents took issue with the disrespect they said the district showed the neighborhood by parking the buses on the field and not communicating with residents until there was a problem. “This neighborhood has been stabbed in the gut,” Sobol said. “We are not represented, and there is a lack of respect. Common courtesy is to knock on doors. There is no consideration for the neighborhood.” Residents noted that the buses were not removed from the field until the community held a news conference on Nov. 12 to highlight the problem.

For its part, the district had to quickly find another bus company after the Inwood-based Independent Coach opted to drop roughly half the routes it was covering. Dealing with that challenge, and many others created by the pandemic, Pedersen said, “was not an easy lift.”

Transportation contracts call for Independent to be paid $8.85 million and Seth Transportation, $4 million. Independent has a separate agreement for $150,000 for athletic team and field trip transportation. Seth’s contract allows it to have an office in the Number Four School, and use district resources such as electricity for engine starters.

Aiming to help solve the problem, some civic association members, led by Sobol, sought another location where the school buses could park. He contacted the Greiner-Maltz company, a commercial real estate firm that has worked with the school district.

In a Nov. 25 letter, Greiner-Maltz sales associate Kyle Maltz wrote that he would be happy to help. “My firm is very active in the area and I would like to pass along some listings in order to secure a long-term space,” the letter read. “In fact, the property on Brown Court in Oceanside that I sent you yesterday may be a great fit for [the buses’] use.” Sobol said that the Brown Court space could be rented for $6 per square foot.

Other vendors, Pedersen said, have kept their vehicles on school property, including its food provider, the Islandia-based Whitsons Culinary Group.

Residents on and around Harris Avenue and the civic association are planning a rally, and said they would ask people from other communities across the district to join them. The details have not yet been finalized.

Have an opinion on the Lawrence school bus parking issue? Send a letter to jbessen@liherald.com.