Brooklyn store bans MTA employees after bus driver gets into argument with manager

A grocery store in Brooklyn Heights has posted signs on its windows telling MTA workers they won't allow entry after a bus driver got into an argument with the store manager.

The store – Town Market – is located at the foot of Brooklyn Bridge Park, next to the terminus of the B63 bus route. According to JP Patafio, bus division manager for Transport Workers Union Local 100, MTA employees sometimes use the store's restrooms during their breaks.

But Patafio said the store even banned bus drivers from entering the store last month after an employee on duty got into an unspecified altercation with his manager.

“We cannot serve or allow MTA employees in the store or cafe,” reads a sign on the store’s window.

The store also has signs indicating that the restrooms are not open to the public.

Patafio said the store filed a complaint with the MTA and transit officials said the employee no longer works for them. He said the incident highlights a larger problem for bus drivers: finding places to use the restroom.

“The broader issue is one that bus operators face all the time because we don’t work in an office. “We work on a bus and there are no toilets on the bus,” Patafio said. “So if an operator needs to make their job easier, they need to find a showcase.”

MTA employees are asked to go to the nearest public facility to use the restroom. The transit agency and local businesses often make formal or informal arrangements to allow bus employees to use the restroom at a store.

The MTA declined to comment on the matter.

Patafio said he wants the city and MTA to open more public restrooms across the five boroughs. Mayor Eric Adams announced in June that the city plans to build or renovate 82 public restrooms over the next five years. According to an official city map of public restrooms, there is a restroom just minutes from the B63 bus stop at Pier 6 in Brooklyn Bridge Park — but the walk may be too far on a tight schedule for bus riders who need to make use of a restroom.

A Town Market manager or representative could not be reached for comment. According to an employee supervising the store on site, Gothamist visited the Town Market on Monday afternoon, but it was closed due to power issues.