Cambria Heights Residents Reject Lubavitch Bus Stop

Dozens of residents slammed a proposal by an area synagogue to create a layover zone for charter buses that transport congregants to the facility in Cambria Heights, which is adjacent to the cemetery where the Orthodox sect’s beloved leader is interred.

Hundreds of pilgrims, members of Congregation Ohel Chabad Lubavitch, visit the site each day and thousands stop by on special religious occasions. The group’s rabbi, Abba Refson, said the bus stop would also prevent engine idling, a problem that the community has consistently complained about.

A public hearing on the matter was held at Community Board 13’s Transportation Committee meeting on Tuesday night at the Alpha Phi Alpha Senior Citizens Center in St. Albans, where the proposal was voted down 66-0 with no abstentions. It will go before the full board on Sept. 24.

As for the exact location of the layover zone, the city Department of Transportation is considering a spot on Francis Lewis Boulevard somewhere between 227th and 228th streets. It would be just for religious parking, meaning buses that have been coming to the facility already. The Lubavitchers are not looking to make the Ohel a commercial tourist destination.

“It would take these buses off of the street, and prevent them from blocking traffic, and put them along the sidewalk and those buses would let people out,” said Attorney Lyra Altman, who was speaking on behalf of the congregation. “People would walk to the facility and the buses would be turned off. There would be a sign that says no idling, so that drivers would know idling is not permitted.”

The sect’s leader, the late Rabbi Menachem Schneerson and his father-in-law, Rabbi Yosef Schneersohn, are buried at Montefiore Cemetery. Congregation Ohel Chabad Lubavitch abuts the graveyard, and provides a place for pilgrims to reflect and pray before going to the burial site

Normally public hearings are not held for requests like bus stops, according to Tanya Cruz, the head of CB 13’s Transportation Committee, but the city has requested the board’s input with all matters having to do with the site, due to past problems with noise and traffic, and a pending proposal by the congregation to expand its site.

Altman added that the buses would not idle at the stop, even in extreme cold or heat. They would park and the drivers would come into the congregation’s building, located at 226-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., to keep cool or stay warm until the passengers are ready to leave.

But the crowd found that hard to believe. Several people said they didn’t think the layover zone would prevent idling. Others suggested the stop be put on Springfield Boulevard, a commercial strip with more room, that is away from the residential community. And others recommended that the buses stay in the cemetery parking lot.

Altman said Springfield Boulevard is too far away from the site for the congregants to travel by foot, and added that the cemetery wouldn’t provide the synagogue with a long-term lease for parking on the property because they plan to sell the land in the future.

Donice Redding, president of the Cambria Heights Civic Association, said her group opposes the plan especially since the city Department of Transportation has not conducted a traffic study of the area, something she said they have been asking for for the last six months. “Even parking cars on that block is just impossible,” Redding said. “Buses coming in will just make it more difficult.”

Queens Chronicle