BY COLE SINANIAN
Several dozen seniors rallied at the Q60/Q32 bus stop in Sunnyside Friday afternoon to demand the Department of Transportation scrap plans to relocate it as part of the MTA’s Queens Bus Network Redesign.
The bus stop is located at 39-01 Queens Blvd. directly in front of Sunnyside UP Pre-K and Sunnyside Community Services (SCS), whose programming serves Sunnyside’s young children and older adults.
The MTA’s redesign will see the stop for the Manhattan-bound Q60 and Q32 buses moved one block west, from its current location at Queens Blvd/39th Pl to Queens Blvd and 39th St. This would require seniors and children leaving SCS or Sunnyside UP Pre-K to cross 39th St to get to the bus stop, which activists at the rally said could be dangerous for young children who are less visible to drivers and seniors who use canes and walkers.
“People don’t understand that one block is difficult for people who have difficulty walking,” said SCS Older Adult Center Director Kerly Serrano at Friday’s rally. “They think, ‘oh, it’s only a block away.’ Yeah, for you it’s only a block away. But not us.”
The bus stop’s relocation is part of Phase 2 of the MTA redesign, which began on August 31, 2025 and once complete, will have added one new bus route, eliminated one and modified 37. Phase 1 of the redesign took effect on June 29, 2025, and will add 16 new routes, eliminate five, and modify 67. All told, the Queens Bus Network Redesign will increase the total number of bus routes from 113 to 124.
The MTA has touted the redesign as a much-needed modernization effort that’s the result of some 250 public outreach events and 18,000 public comments. Once completed, it will simplify the bus network and cut down travel times by balancing the spacing between stops, officials have said.
But at Friday’s rally, protesters — many of whom were older Spanish speakers — held signs with slogans like “Access is safety,” “Leave the stop where it is!” and “Moving the stop hurts those who need it most.” One young boy dressed in a yellow chicken costume held a hand-drawn that read “Don’t make me cross the road.” The crowd cheered each time a bus pulled up to the stop, and several cars honked their horns in approval as they passed.
Speakers included State Senator Michael Gianaris, Deputy Queens Borough President for External Affairs and Special Initiative Michael Mallon, State Assemblymember Claire Valdez’s District Director Carlos Munoz, and Judy Zangwill, executive director of Sunnyside Community Services.
“God forbid they move it and something happens,” Gianaris said to the crowd. “The MTA knows this will be on their heads. We’re actually gonna help the MTA, because by keeping it here they’re gonna avoid the responsibility for anyone that gets hurt crossing that extra street.”
“Moving this stop means crossing 39th St, a two-way corridor heavily used by trucks— that’s what we’re asking seniors and young children to navigate?” said Mallon. “That’s a terrible idea. It’s bad design.”
