Manhattan CB4 transportation committee renews Hudson River Park bus request
With the M12 arriving every 30 minutes, committee members want more frequent service to a park that nearby routes do not reach easily.
Two hosts walk through the week’s edition in conversation — renewed request for increased/expanded bus service, review of draft statement of district, and what’s coming next. Generated by Aware, from this week’s verified summaries.
Speakers said a bus that comes every 30 minutes can lose riders who decide walking is quicker than waiting for the next one.
The Hudson River Park corridor still lacks frequent north-south buses. The Manhattan Community Board 4 — Transportation Planning Committee voted unanimously to renew a request for better bus access along Route 9A and the park, with a focus on the M12. Members said its 30-minute schedule makes the route less useful for people trying to reach park amenities. The request follows work with neighboring community boards CB1 and CB2; CB1 passed a related action the previous week.
Speakers pointed to residential and commercial growth in Battery Park City and along West Street over the past 20 years. They said the M20 runs several blocks from the park, while a missed M12 can mean another half-hour wait. One speaker suggested two additional drivers could bring M12 service to every 15 minutes. Committee members noted that M12 ridership rose from 2024 to 2025, though the route starts from a relatively small base.
The request is an appeal for expanded frequency and improved access, not a service change already scheduled. A public commenter familiar with the MTA said agency guidelines tie service increases to ridership thresholds and argued the M12 had not yet reached them. The unanimous vote puts the Transportation Planning Committee’s support behind reviving the request with CB1 and CB2. Whether the MTA changes service remains unresolved.
Review of draft Statement of District Needs: introduction, district information, and trends section
Manhattan Cb4 reviewed a clean draft of its Statement of District Needs, focusing on the introduction, district information and trends. The chair said a version showing edits remained available, but asked members to focus on substance rather than minor formatting changes. The goal is to have the document ready for the full board meeting in November.
Members discussed how to make major trends clear in the online submission system. Its separate text boxes may strip out headers, italics and other formatting when the draft becomes a PDF. Rather than rely on bold type, members suggested plain headline sentences and paragraph breaks. They considered describing population growth since 2010 and expected growth tied to planned development, without adding unverified resident or housing-unit counts.
The group asked whether the trends section repeats the immediate issues section or the top three pressing issues. The chair drew a distinction: trends provide background, while top issues tell agencies which concerns need the most attention. Members were asked to review the narrative and comments before the November meeting.
CB4 committee seeks West 21st, 22nd Street study
The Manhattan Community Board 4 — Transportation Planning Committee unanimously backed asking DOT to study traffic calming on West 21st and West 22nd Streets, rather than endorsing one design. A block association representative cited speeding, fast turns and poor crossing visibility; residents raised concerns about noise and access.
DOT’s review could weigh safer crossings against noise, parking and emergency-access concerns before any street changes are chosen.
CB4 committee weighs curb space and parking changes
The Manhattan Community Board 4 — Transportation Planning Committee heard a member’s proposals to shift curb space from free private parking toward shared uses, including loading zones, bus access and bike lanes. DOT staff described its new Office of Curb Management, while committee members raised curb-cut accessibility and parking enforcement questions.
Changing curb rules could affect where delivery vehicles stop, where buses load and how much street space remains for parking.
CB4 committee backs PS 11 Open Streets application
The Manhattan Community Board 4 — Transportation Planning Committee unanimously supported PS 11’s Open Streets application for West 21st Street between 8th and 9th Avenues. DOT staff said the application had already been approved; the principal described school-day uses, including arrival, dismissal and outdoor learning, with bicycles allowed through slowly.
The street arrangement limits car traffic during school activities while allowing slow bicycle passage near PS 11.
CB4 committee requests West 42nd parking review
The Manhattan Community Board 4 — Transportation Planning Committee unanimously backed asking DOT to review and change parking regulations on West 42nd Street between 10th and 11th Avenues. Members said angled parking and striping still reflect earlier NYPD use of a building on the block, creating confusion about how the street should work.
Updated rules and markings could clarify where vehicles may park and how much roadway remains open.
- Manhattan Community Board 4 — Chelsea Land Use Committee. Two members of the public commented on the 695 6th Avenue proposal. One supported the storefront lighting and quality-of-life improvements but raised concerns about potential illegal street vending. Another suggested planters/trees via DOT revocable consent, asked about bike racks, and cautioned that a longer canopy could invite people to sleep under it and that corrugated glass can get dirty.
What we didn’t fit in this Sundays edition
Manhattan Cb4 had 16 more items this week. Here are sixfour — the rest are on Aware.
- GOVERNANCECommittee reviews District Needs Budget requests, including a DCP impact study. Members reviewed requests involving agency coordination, emergency repairs, NYCHA elevators, cruise-terminal drone delivery and a DCP cumulative impact study. They discussed clarifying the requests’ wording and specifying what DCP should study about development impacts.
- GOVERNANCENew business public comments: bike lane garbage collection conflict, bus route turning/curbside issues, bike signal confusion, bus stop shelters and tree pits, and other street operations concerns. During new business, multiple public commenters raised operational street issues: garbage collection blocking a bike lane on West 26th Street, bus route turning and lane loss concerns near 18th Street/10th–11th Avenues, confusion about bike signals at intersections, and difficulties installing bus shelters due to tree pits. Committee members suggested follow-up via email, site visits, and coordination with elected offices.
- GOVERNANCENew business: inquiry about abandoned fire-damaged building at 25th Street and 10th Avenue; committee process note. In new business, a member asked about the status of a fire-damaged, blighted building at 25th Street and 10th Avenue. The chair said they would investigate and report back. Another member briefly noted a recent Hell’s Kitchen Land Use Committee meeting and suggested members watch it for discussion of voting frameworks on housing applications.
- GOVERNANCECommittee backs 695 6th Avenue restoration plan with conditions. The application proposes storefront work, sidewalk and vault replacement, a smaller marquee and rooftop equipment at 695 6th Avenue. Public comments raised concerns about canopy length, vending and maintenance; the committee supported the application unanimously with conditions on vault lights and canopy style, and encouraged streetscape coordination.
- GOVERNANCEBoard reconciles and adopts District Needs Budget request items. The board reviewed budget requests from multiple committees, resolving duplicates and conflicts and deciding where items belonged among expense, capital and continued-support categories. It adopted the working group’s reconciled list without opposition for the district needs statement.
- GOVERNANCECommittee supports Sephora signage at 401 West 14th Street. Sephora’s representatives presented plans for a dimensional-letter sign on the existing canopy and an illuminated blade sign at 401 West 14th Street. The committee voted to support the Landmarks application and send a letter, with one member opposed.
- GOVERNANCEBoard uses survey results to revise its Statement of District Needs. Members reviewed survey responses and 311 complaint data while discussing priorities including affordable housing, public safety, quality of life and social services. They revised the draft statement’s introduction and trends, discussed how to reflect survey rankings and limitations, and assigned edits to integrate the results and other themes.
- GOVERNANCEAgenda item postponed to November (presenter unavailable). The committee noted the next agenda item was postponed because the presenter could not attend, and it was deferred to the November meeting.
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