Queens parents rally for school bus service

Miller Photography

Meeting with Assemblywoman Grace Meng (left) are (from second left) parent Ann Marie Murphy, Kessler and PS 29 teacher Keith Johnson.

Miller Photography

Student Nikolas Singleman (holding Metrocard), who isn’t eligible to take the school bus, flanked by (from left) Assemblyman Michael Simanavitz, City Councilmen Peter Koo and Dan Halloran, George Washington Carver HS teacher Andrew Rocco, who organized the rally, and Assemblyman Ed Braunstein.

Around 50 parents, educators and local politicians rallied against cuts to yellow school bus service in the College Point section of Queens on Nov. 4, carrying signs that read, “We have the buses. Where are the children?” The protesters were angry about a Department of Education decision, announced just one day before the beginning of school in September, to eliminate yellow bus service for 7th- and 8th-graders in the neighborhood, leaving them to fend for themselves as they travel more than five miles to and from the nearest junior high school. Parents and educators are particularly concerned about the trek now that winter is almost here and the mornings are increasingly dark. They say the journey can take as long as 90 minutes and requires students to take as many as three city buses. “We’re supposed to protect our kids,” said Joe Kessler, the UFT’s representative for District 25. “So why are they cutting yellow bus service? It’s a safety issue.” The DOE claims the move is a cost-cutting measure, but Kessler said it is unclear how it will save any money since the same bus lines are running, but now at less than half-capacity. The rally, which was held at a yellow bus stop before school began, highlighted just that fact, Kessler said. That morning, only one student got on the bus at the stop, where 15 students were once picked up.