The MTA is redesigning the Queens Bus Network, and after years of public input, is out with its final proposal. But some Queens residents are not happy it's being revamped.

The Q10 carries South Ozone Park residents to the A train at Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue. Otherwise, there is no subway access.

“Our concern is that in the new redesign plan, MTA is planning to change the route for the Q10,” Bibi Shah, a community advocate, said.

The current route of the local Q10 travels along Lefferts Boulevard from Kew Gardens, then loops around Rockaway Boulevard and 130th Street past Conduit Avenue to the John F. Kennedy International Airport. The limited Q10 makes fewer stops and stays on Lefferts Boulevard. The Q9 will replace it south on 130th Street.

The redesign plan will follow the limited route.

Elderly and disabled residents say they are worried.

“I have problems with my foot, my back, and that’s I go and get my doctor, therapy, buying food,” rider Shelly Persaud said. “A lot of things beneficial for me for the Q10.”

She and many of her neighbors shop on Liberty Avenue and go to doctors in Kew Gardens by the Q10. Under the final proposal, to get to Liberty Avenue would mean taking three buses.

“If we use three buses, the up and down climbing up, I can’t manage that,” Persaud said.

And for those who commute to Brooklyn or Manhattan, they’d either have to endure a longer bus ride or also make several transfers to get to the A train. Taking the new bus route would mean connecting with a less convenient subway line.

“Some people moved and place because of the Q10,” rider Mohammed Whad said. 

The rerouting of the Q10 is not just an inconvenience, parents whose children attend PS 124 say it threatens the students’ safety by moving the bus stop, which is currently across the street, several blocks away.

“And when they get out of school, the school safety ensures that they’re safe,” Kaaba Dowe, who has school-aged children who ride the Q10, said. “They’re outside at dismissal. Because they had a lot of issues with the sex offenders being at the school.”

There is a men’s shelter just legally far enough from the school where registered sex offenders have been known to live. According to Dowe, the men sometimes hang out at a speedway on North Conduit Avenue.

The Q9 would stop a few blocks north of that, forcing the children to walk past there and across busy Conduit Avenue.

“The children should come first,” she said.

NY1 reached out to the city Department of Education, who deferred to the MTA.

In a statement, the agency said the redesign is intended “to deliver more efficient service, reduce travel times, and better match current travel patterns. We continue to take into account community feedback.”

Local elected officials are concerned as well. City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who represents South Ozone Park, said in a statement, “Concerns raised by Speaker Adams’ constituents and residents throughout the borough about the impacts of the Queen Bus Network Redesign should be seriously considered and addressed by the MTA to ensure its final plan meets community members’ transportation needs. It is critical that upgraded bus routes not only increase bus speeds for riders, but also maintain [an]adequate service for commuters relying on public transit to meet their daily obligations and access opportunities.”

Even in other areas, there are worries. State Senator John Liu sent a letter to MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber urging restoration of cuts to some express service into Manhattan and rerouting the Q31 away from Bell Boulevard.  

The MTA encourages riders to attend the next public hearing on July 24. More information on the hearing can be found here.