BRONX, NEW YORK — Today, Thursday 9, 2026, Council Member Pierina Sanchez, local electeds, local leaders, and Bronx Community Board 5 held a press conference to call on the MTA to meaningfully engage with the community regarding the removal of the bus stops along the Bx40/42 bus route in 2022. Despite multiple requests over the years to restore the removed bus stops, the MTA has not meaningfully engaged the community regarding safety concerns raised by local residents.

Community members have been clear that this change reduces accessibility to major subway stations, in a corridor with several senior and assisted living facilities, and many neighbors with mobility limitations. Local commuters demand and deserve meaningful dialogue that acknowledges the hardships they face and alternative solutions that prioritize their safety.

“New Yorkers with limited mobility, including older adults, deserve safe access to public transportation,” said NYC Council Member Pierina Sanchez, District 14. “Since 2022, when these bus stops were first removed following MTA’s Bronx Bus Redesign, local leaders and electeds have voiced our concerns to the MTA with no real path forward offered by the agency. In an intersection as vast as the Grand Concourse, with 10 active lanes, the safety of our commuters is a top priority. The MTA must provide a community-driven alternative to ensure the bus route ‘efficiencies’ do not come at the expense of the very riders whose safety and security the MTA means to serve. I thank our local leaders for holding me accountable to ensure our public transportation is safe and accessible for the riders who depend on it most.”

“Our community’s needs are clear. The MTA must restore the bus stops on Burnside and Grand Concourse. This is not just about convenience but about safety for all our residents including our seniors, disabled riders, and families,” said Assembly Member Yudelka Tapia.

“Fast bus service shouldn’t come at the expense of accessibility. Restoring these two bus stops will ensure seniors, children, and people with disabilities can get where they need to go while keeping our buses moving efficiently and our streets safe. We are challenging the leadership of the MTA to join us and members of the community on a ride-along so they can experience firsthand the challenges residents face and better understand why restoring these two bus stops is so important,” said Assembly Member Landon Dais.

“Community members, with the help of community leader Ms. Sallie, have been raising concerns about reinstating the bus stop for years. As leaders of our communities it is important that our voices are heard. Community board 5 has listened and that’s why we passed our resolution. Now we’re calling on MTA to do the same by working with community members, and putting the safety and needs of everyday New Yorkers first,” said Osiris Guzman, Chairperson, Bronx Community Board 5

BACKGROUND

In 2019, the MTA Board approved the Bronx Bus Network Final Plan, which altered 13 Bronx bus routes, including Bx40/42. As a result, two of the bus stops removed in 2022 were eastbound (E Burnside Av S S/R & Grand Concourse) and westbound (E Burnside Av & Grand Concourse) bus stops for the Bx40/42 buses at the intersection of Burnside Avenue and Grand Concourse Ave.

Since the removal of the bus stops in 2022, community members have shared concerns with local electeds, during community board meetings, and directly to the MTA about the impacts of this removal.

While MTA shares that the average bus rider along Bx40/Bx42 saves 3 minutes of commute time with the route changes, this does not take into account the impacts to a large population who now have to add in additional commute time to bus stop, especially at the intersection of Grand Concourse and Burnside Ave., where commuters must also face the dangers of incoming traffic across 10 lanes. This change reduces safe accessibility to major subway stations, in a corridor with several senior and assisted living facilities, and many neighbors with mobility limitations.

On May 27, 2026, Bronx Community Board 5 passed a resolution demanding the MTA restore both bus stops on either side of the Burnside Ave. and Grand Concourse intersections on the Bx40/Bx42 lines. This resolution shares that from 2012-2025, there have been over 7,000 crashes with over 700 pedestrians injured and 18 pedestrians killed along the Concourse.

The MTA has since shared openness to community feedback since the Community Board 5’s resolution. Local residents continue demanding that the path forward be driven by community feedback and priorities.

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