On the morning of October 12, Melissa Franchy boarded the B110 bus in Brooklyn and sat down near the front. For a few minutes she was left in silence, although the other passengers gave her a noticeably wide berth. But as the bus began to fill up, the men told her that she had to get up. Move to the back, they insisted.
When Franchy asked why she had to move, a man scolded her. “If God makes a rule, you don’t ask ‘Why make the rule?’”
That’s from a story in Tuesday’s New York World. The B110 line is a public bus line in New York operated under contract since 1973. But 38 years may be enough for the New York authorities. Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday that gender separation is “obviously not permitted” on public buses. He added, “Private people: you can have a private bus. Go rent a bus, and do what you want on it.”
Let’s see when segregation ends on the B110. Bet it won’t be today.
Ethics Bob 