Bronx Community College (BCC) students can now commute safely to and from their homes to the college thanks to a new shuttle bus service made possible by a $325,000 State and Municipal (SAM) grant from State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33).

 

BCC officials held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the college on Nov. 2 to celebrate the new service to and from its University Heights campus, in addition to the formal unveiling of newly installed outdoor fitness equipment near the main college throughway between Gould Hall and Ohio Field, which was also funded through the same grant.

 

“Bronx Community College is constantly striving to provide resources for students to accomplish their academic goals and enjoy their higher education experience,” said Rivera, whose current district encompasses some or all of the neighborhoods of Norwood, Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil, North Riverdale, Riverdale, Fordham Manor, Fordham Heights, Mt. Hope, Allerton, Pelham Parkway, Belmont, Little Yemen, Van Nest, Indian Village and Morris Park.

Though he lamented no longer representing University Heights, since redistricting took effect at the beginning of 2023, the senator added, “I am honored to contribute to BCC’s efforts and support its students by securing State funding for their shuttle buses and outdoor gym.”

 

The shuttle service will be provided free-of-charge to and from three local transportation hubs, including the corner of Fordham Road and University Avenue (next to St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church), the corner of Fordham Road and Jerome Avenue (in front of City MD), and at Burnside and Jerome (in front of 9 West Burnside Avenue).

 

According to college officials, the shuttle buses, which are ADA accessible, are scheduled to arrive at these stops on average every 20-30 minutes, except in cases of heavy traffic or accidents. They said the service will operate Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9.30 p.m. when classes are in session, with no service from 3.30 to 4 p.m. daily or on Fridays. Pick-up and drop-off are in front of Meister Hall at BCC.

BCC Interim President Dr. Milton Santiago said of the service, “I want to thank Sen. Rivera for making this possible. We are always looking for ways we can assist our students by easing the burden of juggling a busy home life and making it less stressful getting to and from campus, and the outdoor fitness area will help provide a convenient way for our students to maintain a healthy lifestyle.”

 

Student Government Association (SGA) President Krishta Fernandez and BCC Director of Public Safety Saul Fraguada also attended the event. “We are pleased to be able to offer safe and reliable service to the college community, especially during the evening hours and in inclement weather,” Fraguada said.

 

During her remarks, Fernandez referred to the public college, part of The City University of New York, as a diamond in the rough. “We are strong, we are resilient, and I am happy that light is shining on us once again, and during my presidency,” she said referring to the bus service launch. Fernandez added that she hoped the college would continue to grow and show the rest of the world what BCC can do.

Norwood News previously reported on heating problems at the college which BCC students and staff had endured during prior winter seasons. We asked Fernandez if the issues have now been resolved. She replied, “That’s actually at the top of my list because that was actually something I was unaware of because at the time, I wasn’t on campus.”

 

She added, “That is something that is being addressed first and foremost because we’re actually expecting a very cold winter this semester. The boiler in question has been replaced. The other ones we’re actually inspecting each one to make sure each one is running, and if repairs need to be made, or if it needs to be replaced, that is something that we’re going to look into.”

 

Later, we also spoke to BCC student, Nicholas Fernandez who, as it turned out, is an older brother to the SGA president. We asked Nicholas Fernandez if he had far to travel to get to college. “I am normally a walker, but I do know many students, especially the late students because I’m also a late student, that were waiting for the shuttle buses to come back,” he said. “We eagerly waited for it. Thank goodness they are now here.”

Nicholas Fernandez, who is studying business administration with computer applications, said most of his peers [late students] have responsibilities throughout the day, and said having the bus service at night was especially helpful to them to manage their schedule.

 

Given the focus on ensuring the new BCC shuttle buses were ADA-compliant and given that the MTA falls under the responsibility of the State, we asked Rivera if perhaps he had any inside knowledge on the start date for the installation of the long-awaited elevator at Mosholu Parkway subway station in Norwood, which serves both North Central Bronx Hospital and Montefiore Medical Center.

 

The senator said, “Well, it is part of the priorities that I give the MTA for my district, certainly, but as you know, there’s a lot of priorities which a lot of my colleagues also have for the MTA, and then we need to figure out what can be done, and can’t be done,” he said.

 

Rivera mentioned he had recently helped facilitate an elevator installation at Tremont subway station. “There’s a larger goal for the MTA to make the entire system accessible within a time period but I know that it [Mosholu Parkway] is one of the stations that we are trying to have prioritized.” He recommended raising the issue again when the budget rolls around because he would have more clarity on what resources were available.

“But you can be sure that I will always prioritize things that have as broad an impact as possible,” the senator said. “I believe deeply in public transportation, and we should make it a more effective and efficient system so that people can rely less and less on their personal vehicles, and more and more on the public transportation system. If we’re going to ask people to give up their cars, we need to make the public transportation system better and more reliable. So, I certainly remain committed to that idea, and I will try my best to make that priority a reality as it relates to the elevator.”

 

In the interim, we’ve noticed that construction barriers which had been erected on one side of Jerome Avenue underneath the subway station have since been opened up to allow sidewalk access on that same side of the street, where previously there was no access, and a new sign has been placed on the barrier indicating that the elevator installation should be completed by Q3 2025.

 

Back on the topic of the shuttle bus, student, Linmi Aviles, was also glad of the new service, saying, “Yeah, in the fall semester, it was such a great blessing because I live by Botanical Garden, so it was a direct transfer and because it was cold and it was dark, you know, going home alone in the dark is scary.” Aviles described the female BCC shuttle bus driver as “an angel” who she said drops her where she needs to be. “I know that a lot of schools have [their own] transportation so this is a blessing,” Aviles said. “I look forward to using it let me tell you!”