By Howard Koplowitz
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority agreed to extend Access-A-Ride service into Nassau County from Queens, ending a two-year fight waged by two borough legislators whose legislation to force the move had been vetoed by the last two governors.
“This is a very important step for people who take Access-A-Ride,” said state Assemblyman Mark Weprin (D-Little Neck), who sponsored a bill in the assembly to extend the van service five miles across the Nassau border. “In the end, I think it was a question of fairness that [the MTA] answered.”
Access-A-Ride is used by the disabled who cannot ride fixed-route buses.
The extension is expected to go into effect in the next few weeks, said Weprin.
Currently, Queens residents who use Access-A-Ride can only go as far as the Parker Jewish Institute or the Long Island Jewish Medical Center campus, both in New Hyde Park.
If borough Access-A-Rider users want to go to doctors' offices in Nassau, they now have to take the vans to the Nassau-Queens border and then make an appointment with Access-A-Ride's Long Island counterpart, Able Ride, to get to their destination.
The inconvenience can lead to missed doctors' appointments and longer commute times, said Weprin and state Sen. Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose), who sponsored the Access-A-Ride bill in the Senate.
“With this expansion of Access-A-Ride service, we are fixing a major inconvenience for local paratransit riders by making public bus transportation more accessible and affordable for seniors and disabled riders,” Padavan said.
Although the legislation passed both houses in 2006 and 2007, it was vetoed by former Govs. George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer.
Pataki gave vague reasoning for his veto, saying it was unconstitutional but not on what grounds.
When Spitzer nixed the legislation last year, he said it violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act because the bill's language was too broad. He also said the extension would have been too costly for the MTA to institute and he was concerned that other localities near county borders would want the same type of service.
Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at hkoplowitz@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173.
