After Albany County Executive Dan McCoy backed away from a proposed bus terminal in Albany's South End, a different bus terminal project has been gaining attention. Albany Chief City Auditor Sam Fein and a local public relations executive Joe Bonilla are promoting plans for an intercity bus terminal to be housed at the Empire State Plaza. WAMC’s Sajina Shrestha discussed the idea with Fein and Bonilla.
Sajina Shrestha: Tell me about this plan. What was the origin story for it?
Sam Fein: So, Joe and I were talking a few months ago, and you know, Joe brought this idea up to me about the putting the bus terminal at the Empire State Plaza. When he explained it, at first I thought to myself, ‘This makes so much sense, it's almost too good to be true, you know.’ There must be a reason why, why this hasn't happened, or why this isn't being considered. So, we started thinking about, you know, the idea. At the time, there was a proposal to put the bus terminal in the South End. There were some concerns about that, but as that opposition grew, I started to think about this idea more, more seriously. Also, started to hear other people talking about it as that opposition grew. What’s interesting is a lot of people, I think, independently came to this idea because they're familiar with that bus terminal, the CDTA, you know, space where it's pretty much made to be a bus terminal, right in the plaza. So, Joe and I connected and talked about it, and felt [like] now is the time to put this idea out there, because we're going to get a lot of public support, a lot of people that are going to want to see this happen.
Joe Bonilla: I would add that, you know, if you have taken the bus between Albany and any point to New York City, Boston, etc. Kingston, you know the state of our inner-city bus service, right? You either have a decrepit bus station that we have currently for Greyhounds, or, quite frankly, you have a Trailways shack, right? So, let's say, you miss that train, you missed the last train at Penn Station, you head over to Port Authority in New York City, you take the 1201 bus back up to Albany, you get off at a curb at 3 o'clock in the morning in a parking lot district. That is not the way we want to present our region, our first-rate Capital Region in this way, which is deplorable, quite frankly, and so working with Sam, we developed this concept called the Empire Plaza Terminal. It’s going to convert and utilize the existing bus station that is already underneath the Empire State Plaza inside the concourse. It hits every mark, it's well lit, it's secured by state police, and also security through OGS. There are many food amenities. It's dignified more than anything. It's a dignified space that's accessible right from Madison Avenue for passengers.
Sajina Shrestha: One of the hurdles that the South End Bus Terminal faced was that there wasn't a lot of public input. You know, a lot of the residents came to the bus terminal hearings, they went to legislator meetings and said, "Why weren't we included in this?” Have you heard any push back now that you've brought your plan forward?
Sam Fein: One, I want to say, you know, I think any plan has to have the opportunity to for public input, to actively engage the public. But, one of the advantages of this plan is, unlike the South End plan, or any other proposed plan that could come up, it's not in a neighborhood, that [was] one of the issues. When you put it in a residential neighborhood, it brings some concerns, and people brought up concerns about pollution and traffic. But, the beauty of this plan is it's in a state office building, it's underground. The bus is actually the bus turnaround area, [and it] connects directly to 787 so they likely don't even have to drive on the local roads.
Sajina Shrestha: How would you say this terminal would be a way to bolster not just traveling to Capital Region but taking public transportation?
Joe Bonilla: So, let's do a little history lesson. Albany used to have a mid-century mini marvel of a trail way station that was built in the 60s, It was very cool, almost like Mad Men-esque. Okay, and so we look at that example and to what happened with Penn Station, when Penn Station was destroyed in the mid-1960s. They [began thinking] about historic preservation. That's why we were able to keep Grand Central, because they didn't want the same thing to happen over there. So, the response to the destruction of Penn Station was the creation of the Moynihan Train Hall. So, this could be Albany's Moynihan moment. We [can be] creating this space that was built at the same time as that trail way station, as I mentioned, that original terminal, and we can create this space that has everything that people have asked for. They've asked for food amenities, more than just a vending machine, they've asked for it to be well lit, they've asked for it to be centrally located, so therefore you can get to maybe a show at The Egg or the MVP arena…Let's say you're lobbying in Albany, and you're part of an advocacy group from New York City, or from Buffalo, or from wherever; you can get dropped off right inside the Plaza, head inside for meetings, then go outside and enjoy everything that Albany has to offer as well, and then be able to go back in the bus in a safe and dignified space.
Sajina Shrestha: Great, thank you guys.
Joe Bonilla: You got it.
Sam Fein: Thank you.
