The Petition of the following citizens of the State of New York residing in the City of New York request MTA prohibit the RELOCATION of an already operable and accessible commercial entrance from East Broadway to Rutgers Street for the proposed restaurant and bar to be located at 168 East Broadway.

The new commercial entrance would be directly above a heavily trafficked stairwell of the East Broadway station on the F Line with the only access to an escalator, and sharing the sidewalk of the southbound M9 bus stop at Essex / East Broadway.

There are also a total of nine known intercity bus depots that service both legally and illegally operating private bus charters, within two blocks, unloading thousands of customers who rely on both of these public transportation access points.

A new entrance at Rutgers Street could impede pedestrian traffic flow in the area that is already congested and delay emergency responders in the event of an emergency. Complicating matters will also be delivery-induced congestion from food & beverage vendors frequenting the business and the reliance on on-demand car services by future patrons (Uber, Lyft, Via, etc)--both of which will be jostling for the same space among other delivery trucks, yellow cabs, M9 bus, bicycles, and pedestrians entering and exiting the East Broadway F subway.

It is in the public interest to weigh the adverse impact on public safety, vehicular traffic patterns, pedestrian circulation, disabled and elderly riders who depend on the escalator, and the impediment to emergency responders and all subway riders and transit workers in the event of mass evacuations from system malfunctions, fires, or other unforeseen catastrophic events.

[CLICK HERE] and read the full report prepared by OSBA, & ROTB with support from the LES Dwellers to the MTA New York City Transit: Thomas Prendergast , CEO Veronique Hakim, President Rajen Udeshi, MTA Outside Projects Dept, Mayor Bill De Blasio, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Malone, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, State Senator Daniel Squadron, Assemblywoman Alice Cancel, Manhattan Borough President Brewer, CouncilWoman Margaret Chin, Community Board 3, Chair Gigi Li, Community Board 3, and Community Board 3, SLA Chair Militano

Quick Overview:

East Broadway Subway F Line Subway Station & Entrance at East Broadway & Rutgers

• This the only subway station that services this part of the Lower East Side & Chinatown with 4,576,662 riders annually as of 2015, and an average of 14,228 riders on a weekday.
• Ridership at this station has increased in 2015 by 196,753 commuters, which is a 4.5% increase in congestion.
• This station is ranked #107 in the city for number of riders annually. This station has a ridership that is among the top 25% of all stations. (Source: http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership...)
• This particular station entrance is serviced by the only escalator in the area that takes passengers 4 levels underground. It is heavily trafficked by the disabled, commuters, tourists, the large elderly population and families with young children and strollers who rely on this escalator. Note: “Seniors comprise 15 percent of the population (the third highest concentrations of elderly residents in Manhattan) and 70 percent of seniors in CB3 are foreign born. Additionally, 9 percent of the total population and 33 percent of seniors in CB3 live with a mobility disability. These statistics indicate that a large share of residents in CB3 are elderly and mobility impaired” making this station entrance even more critical since it has the only escalator in the area.
• The nearest subway stations to this location are the Grand Street station eight blocks away (1,682 feet), and the Delancey Street station five blocks away (1,720 feet).

M9 Bus Stop

• This bus stop is in front of the location where the operator proposes to move their entrance.
• The M9 ridership has increased in 2015 and has an average weekday ridership of 5,257, an increase of 2.3% over the previous year. (Source:http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership)
• The nearest bus stop from this location is the M15 one block away and the route runs on Allen Street from Harlem down to the South Ferry which services an entirely different route.

Intercity Bus Depots (Private Charter Bus Lines)

• There are a total of nine known intercity bus depots within two blocks of the F line subway station and M9 bus stop at 162 East Broadway / Rutgers where numerous private bus operators make an estimated total of 261 daily arrivals and 288 departures.
• There are also numerous illegal bus operators at any given time that use the nine intercity bus depots as well as unsanctioned pick-up and drop-off points in the same vicinity.
• The intercity bus passengers, predominantly tourists and weekend-transients, arrive and depart this area after originating from routes along the Northeast corridor and in the South, taking advantage of the low-cost bus service to and from New York City.
• An overall increase in ridership via the East Broadway F Line subway and the the M9 bus is related to the increase in intercity bus depots and expansion of legal and illegal private bus operators in the immediate area.
• The increase in additional users at the specific entrance at East Broadway and Rutgers can most likely be attributed to reliance on the escalator, attracting visitors with luggage and shopping bags.