![\"Academy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_9448-Academy-Bus.jpg\")
An Academy bus parked on W40th Street and 9th Avenue. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\nHell\u2019s Kitchen residents are pushing back against a bid by New Jersey-based Academy Bus Lines to sidestep New York City\u2019s decades-old anti-idling law \u2014 a move activists warn would worsen already poor air quality in Midtown West and set a dangerous precedent citywide.<\/p>\n
An Academy bus parked on W40th Street and 9th Avenue. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n
Academy, which operates hundreds of charter and commuter buses throughout the city, has asked the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for a broad variance from the city\u2019s 1972 ban on idling longer than three minutes. The company argues that \u201cno technological alternative exists\u201d to heat, cool and power its 723-vehicle fleet without keeping engines running.<\/p>\n
But local advocates \u2014 including long-time Hell\u2019s Kitchen activist Christine Berthet of CHEKPEDS<\/a> \u2014 say the company\u2019s request is an assault on clean-air protections that communities have fought for decades to enforce.<\/p>\n \u201cOur district has the third worst air quality in New York City,\u201d said Berthet. \u201cThe arguments presented by Academy do not pass muster \u2014 they claim they can\u2019t install automatic shutoffs or auxiliary engines, or even train their drivers \u2014 all solutions that other companies have successfully adopted.\u201d<\/p>\n New York City\u2019s idling ban, largely ignored for decades, gained teeth after the City Council introduced the Citizens Air Complaint Program in the late 2010s, allowing residents to report violations and share in fines. That change turned Hell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s busy bus corridors into enforcement hotspots, as residents filmed idling tour, charter and commuter buses parked along 8th, 9th and 10th Avenues.<\/p>\n Academy has been one of the program\u2019s top violators \u2014 racking up over $566,000 in fines, according to the DEP. In its request for an exemption, the company called the fines \u201ca major, unsustainable hardship\u201d and warned it may stop operating in the city if forced to comply.<\/p>\n In its variance request<\/a>, Academy said it has \u201cdone what it can to eliminate unnecessary idling\u201d and argued that shutting engines off is \u201cnot practical\u201d because the systems that control air circulation, wheelchair lifts, door brakes and onboard safety equipment all rely on continuous engine power. The company said idling is sometimes needed to maintain safe cabin temperatures for passengers \u2014 including seniors and children \u2014 and that \u201cthere are no commercially available auxiliary power units capable of providing power for these critical systems.\u201d Academy described its clean diesel fleet as among the most efficient forms of mass transit, noting that buses \u201cprevent millions of car trips into New York City\u201d each year and that it \u201clooks forward to adopting electric or hybrid technology once it becomes feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n Advocates are skeptical. \u201cResidents of New York City should not have to bear the brunt of Academy\u2019s financial travails,\u201d Berthet said. \u201cNor should we risk inflicting a fatal blow to the idling law for them.\u201d<\/p>\n DEP Commissioner Rohit Aggarwala told Streetsblog<\/a> that the company\u2019s case \u201cappears strong,\u201d though he added that the department hopes to hear from experts and advocates at the upcoming hearing. \u201cWe may need to balance air-quality issues against the value of bus transit,\u201d Aggarwala said.<\/p>\n Environmental groups say granting this variance would effectively \u201cgut\u201d one of New York\u2019s strongest pollution controls. The New York Clean Air Collective<\/a> warned that diesel exhaust already contributes to the early deaths of 3,200 New Yorkers annually \u2014 a figure that could rise if idling exemptions expand.<\/p>\n Even as Academy claims electrification is \u201cnot feasible,\u201d other companies have agreed to transition their fleets or install automatic shutoff systems. In Washington DC, a similar company recently settled a lawsuit by committing to program engines to shut off after three minutes, and paying an $85,000 fine.<\/p>\n Under our settlement, DC Trails will:<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f Program its bus engines to shut off after three minutes of idling<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f Conduct anti-idling training for its drivers<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f Submit to compliance monitoring<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f Pay $85,000 in penalties<\/p>\n \u27a1\ufe0f Pay additional penalties for any further noncompliance<\/p>\n \u2014 AG Brian Schwalb (@DCAttorneyGen) October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Councilmember Shaun Abreu, who represents parts of Manhattan where Academy\u2019s Columbia University buses have been caught idling near a daycare center, said he plans to testify against the company.<\/p>\n \u201cIllegal and persistent idling in our neighborhood is completely unacceptable,\u201d said Abreu. \u201cGiving them a free pass opens the door to further pollution without consequence. Upper Manhattan is long overdue for accountability and clean air.\u201d<\/p>\n At Monday\u2019s Executive Committee meeting, Manhattan Community Board 4 (CB4) voted to send a letter to the DEP opposing Academy\u2019s request and authorized board member Christine Berthet to testify on CB4\u2019s behalf at Wednesday\u2019s hearing. Berthet warned that granting the waiver \u201cwould open the floodgates,\u201d allowing not just other bus companies but trucking operators and \u201cmany more\u201d to seek similar exemptions \u2014 effectively eviscerating the idling law in a district that already has the third-worst air quality in the city. She said the company\u2019s claim that auxiliary engines cannot be installed is misleading because many of their commuter and charter buses \u201cdo not typically carry luggage and thus have plenty of space in the luggage bay.\u201d<\/p>\n The DEP will hold a virtual public hearing at 11:30am on Wednesday, October 29<\/a>, where members of the public can testify or submit written comments online via a form<\/a>.<\/p>\n Berthet urged Hell\u2019s Kitchen residents to speak up. \u201cPlease testify,\u201d she said. \u201cThis proposal would make our bad air quality much worse \u2014 and it risks undermining one of the city\u2019s most effective environmental laws.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Academy](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/IMG_5568-Academy-Bus.jpg\")
An Academy bus crossing 9th Avenue and W41st Street. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/DSC_0903-Christine-Berthet.jpg\")
The Community Board authorized Christine Berthet to speak at the DEP Public Hearing to oppose the Academy exemption request. Photo: Phil O\u2019Brien<\/p>\n