Say goodbye to Fifth Avenue as it runs through the proposed Atlantic Yards footprint. The street is being “de-mapped” on May 27. This news was delivered at the Community Board 6 meeting in Park Slope on Wednesday night as part of an announcement that the B63 bus route is being changed. There was jeering at the meeting about the announcement, as New York City Transit had not consulted with anyone at the community level, other than to deliver a notice of the service revision.

CB6 District Manager Craig Hammerman writes:

Currently, the B63 travels northbound along 5th Avenue and makes a left (westbound) turn onto Atlantic Avenue. Given the potential de-mapping of 5th Avenue between Flatbush and Atlantic Avenues, the B63 riding northbound along 5th Avenue will now make a left turn onto Flatbush Avenue, then another left turn onto Atlantic Avenue to proceed westbound. DOT will be revising signage on northbound Flatbush Avenue at Atlantic Avenue, which currently prohibits a left turn, to read “No Left Turn Except Buses.” Also, the bus stop at the southeast corner of 5th Avenue and Atlantic Avenue will be eliminated.

(Had there been an opportunity to discuss this with either agency, I’m confident that someone would have pointed out that by eliminating the only B63 bus stop on the eastside of Flatbush Avenue they would now require all northbound B63 riders to have to cross Flatbush Avenue to get to the Atlantic Center, Atlantic Terminal, future Atlantic Yards, and any other destinations on the eastside of Flatbush Avenue.)

Even with litigation to determine the outcome of Atlantic Yards still in the courts, changes associated with the project, from demolitions to “de-mapping” of streets are starting. A copy of the letter and proposed B63 reroute map is available here at the CB6 website.