N. Merrick residents angered by MTA cuts

At a North Merrick Civic Association meeting on Monday, residents spoke out against proposed cuts to the N53 and N62 Long Island Bus routes, local shuttles that run -- among other places -- to the Merrick Long Island Rail Road station.

The shuttles, which make loops in North Merrick and Freeport, are at risk of being discontinued because of low use, as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority struggles with a budget gap of around $800 million for 2010, according to an MTA spokesman.

"This is just a local shuttle service, and for whatever reason there aren't more people using it," Jerry Mikorenda, a spokesman for Long Island Bus, said of the N53 shuttle, which circles around parts of North Merrick. "Fiscally, we aren't able to do it at this point."

A Long Island Bus service-reduction report put the average number of riders on the N53 at just five per trip, making the average cost per passenger nearly $20. The report found that by ending the route, which runs on weekdays only, the MTA would see a net annual savings of $130,000.

But to local residents and legislators, particularly those incensed by what many consider inadequate parking at the Merrick, Bellmore and Freeport train stations, cuts to local shuttles are unacceptable. "The people in North Merrick, I feel they are being slighted," civic association President Claudia Borecky said. "The people move into an area expecting to have transportation."

Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg, a Democrat from Merrick, said the cuts are unfair to Nassau County residents, who pay the second-highest MTA payroll taxes in the statewide, behind only New York City. "Nassau County pays more for its MTA bus service than any other county in the state," Denenberg said. "Yet now the MTA seeks service cuts in Nassau County. This is outrageous."

Community members also voiced their discontent with the lack of train station parking. "It's part of the reason I don't work in the city anymore," North Merrick resident John Lufrano joked, adding that the civic association will ask the Town of Hempstead Council for support.

Aaron Donavan, an MTA spokesman, said that the agency is sensitive to the feelings of public transportation users throughout New York state. "We have to take numerous actions to close the budget gap, including painful service cuts around the region we serve," Donavan said, pointing to cost-saving actions taken outside Nassau County, including 1,000 MTA employee layoffs announced on Tuesday.

The MTA will hold a series of nine public hearings statewide between March 1 and 8, including a March 1 hearing at Chateau Briand in Carle Place at 6 p.m., at which concerned residents can express their opinions on the proposed service cuts. At the end of the hearings, the MTA Board will vote on which services it will discontinue and which it will save.

For more information, visit www.mta.info.

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