Opinion: Time for a change in Southeast Queens

Kids are back in school, and the holiday shopping season is fast approaching, but the stresses of navigating Southeast Queens have gotten worse for both drivers and commuters alike. 

The city Department of Transportation’s mission to improve speeds in Downtown Jamaica along Jamaica Avenue via dedicated bus lanes, or busways, has led to a headache for people trying to go to work, attend school and pray. Busways have led to fewer visitors in the region, plain and simple.

Nearly two dozen organizations, and I am sure there are more, have reported fewer visitors in the Downtown Jamaica area due to dedicated bus lanes. Drivers have been directed away from the avenue, and exorbitant ticketing fees have meant less foot traffic for small businesses and parishioners turning away from their places of worship.

The Golden Krust Caribbean Restaurant, which was located on 165th Street on Jamaica Avenue, permanently closed as of July, which I’m sorry to hear about. This comes months after the business reached out to DOT about the exorbitant fees it received while attempting to use its loading dock, which can only be accessed from a lane that has been converted into a busway. In March, the owner paid nearly $1,500 in fines as its crew waited for the loading dock to open and close, because of automated cameras on buses. 

Parishioners of Grace Episcopal Church, a predominantly Black historic church in Jamaica, have said the bus lane outside the institution hinders churchgoers, especially the elderly, from attending. The automated camera enforcement measures have led to up to $500 in tickets for them and their family members who drop them off to worship. A churchwarden suggested the punitive measure could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

Another historic church, First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, said that new visitors to the church have been penalized with parking tickets as they try to navigate the maze that is Downtown Jamaica, especially on Good Friday, Easter, and Mother’s Day. The church’s pastor said the confusion has led to people having difficulty traveling in the area and more idling by vehicles, creating additional air pollution and negating the very purpose of the busways. 

King Manor Museum, a major historical site in Southeast Queens, has also said the busways contribute to air pollution – another example of the busways having the opposite effect. She added that the lack of foot traffic to nearby businesses due to the busways has led to fewer people finding the museum. 

The busways are also hurting the area’s economy.

The Downtown Jamaica Partnership Business Improvement District reported that in 2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the area had vacancy rates of 6.7%, about half the citywide rate. By December 2024, after the implementation of busways, the vacancy rate had nearly doubled to 11.8%. Many business owners reported a 30% to 50% loss in revenues in 2024 compared to the previous year. 

The president of the BID said drivers from Long Island no longer want to commute to the area because they are getting exorbitant fines every time they go to shop, and that StreetPlus, a waste removal company that helps beautify the region, has been ticketed. 

A former president of Greater Jamaica Development Corp. said the busways have made Downtown Jamaica less accessible, undermining the investments that have made in the area. Southeast Queens is an area with high home ownership, and those homeowners aren’t taking buses to get to Downtown Jamaica; they’re either driving to or being driven to the area, and then being given fines because of the automated cameras.

The current situation is clearly not working, and a compromise is needed. I think that the busways should have specific hours. Peak and off-peak hours should apply, and service should be scrapped on weekends.