Nine years ago, on Monday morning Jan. 7, 2013 I was able to board the first bus departing from the Little Neck Long Island Rail Road station. The Q36 resumed weekday service on the old Q79 Little Neck Parkway bus route.
My wife and I had the opportunity to be the last two riders prior to the demise of our old NYC Transit Q79 Little Neck Parkway bus. Thirty-six months earlier on Saturday, June 25th, 2010 at 6:23 p.m., right on time, we boarded the Q79 bus departing Little Neck for its last run to Jericho Turnpike in Floral Park.
Many of my neighbors residing in Great Neck within walking distance of the City Line periodically utilized this bus route.
Service began on June 4, 1950. The newly created NYC Transit Authority in 1953 assumed operations. Growing up in the neighborhood during the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was known back then as the Q12A. and was part of my life and that of many others.
On April 12, 1990 it was renamed the Q79 probably due to avoiding confusion with the Little Neck to Flushing Q12 route.
The 1960s were a time when bus drivers actually had to make changes and drive all at the same time. No one dared bring any food on the bus or leave any litter behind. Air-conditioned buses were just becoming a more common part of the fleet as older non-air-conditioned buses were retired.
After I finished college and began commuting on the LIRR, the Q79 provided other options. On cold winter nights or hot summer days – rather than walking up Little Neck Parkway to either home or the old Scobees Diner on Northern Boulevard – I would frequently take the Q79. As my train pulled into the Little Neck Station, a quick look out the window would confirm if the bus was waiting.
When the MTA introduced Metro Cards in 1996 with free transfers between subway and bus, riding the Q79 became an even better bargain and become a more frequent part of my journey.
If service was suspended or seriously delayed on the Port Washington Branch, the Q79 was my secret lifeline. I would use the Hempstead Branch Floral Park Station. A quick three-block walk to Jericho Turnpike would reunite me with my good old friend the Q79.
Extending the Q36 route from its previous terminus on Jericho Turnpike at the City Line north along Little Neck Parkway to the Little Neck LIRR station restored all the old Q79 connections and added many new ones.
This enhanced Q36 bus service continues to provide a new one-seat bus ride for riders boarding along Little Neck Parkway with a direct connection to the Hempstead LIRR branch at the Queens Village Station and F subway line at either the 179th St or 169th Street Hillside Avenue stations.
There are also numerous other local bus connections available along the Jericho Turnpike and Hillside Avenue portions of the Q36 bus route. Don’t forget all the other connecting bus routes available at the 165th Street Bus Terminal A great example of MTA is going your way at a bargain price!.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
(Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.
