A city bus driver who moonlights as a minister has pulled off a miracle — by prompting bosses to put a dingy Brooklyn depot on the fast track for a major face-lift, his co-workers say.
MTA brass are expected to honor the holy wheelman for his extraordinary public service at the East New York facility on Wednesday, and maintenance crews have been busy applying fresh coats of paint, scrubbing floors, replacing tiles, installing blinds and removing years’ worth of dust and grime from light fixtures.
Outside the main entrance the dignitaries will use, workers patched the sidewalk and painted the guard shack, the curb along the nearest bus stop, metal stantions — even the nearest steel pillars of the rusty elevated J line.
On Monday, the first-floor crew room, where the ceremony will take place, was a major focus of the extreme makeover.
An MTA spokesman said the face-lift was planned before the MTA learned B25 driver Jefrick Dean was selected for a prestigious Sloan Public Service Award.
Some bus drivers said they suspect the upgrade was at least accelerated and expanded in scope in recent weeks because transit bigwigs were coming to East New York. There were even rumors that Mayor Bloomberg would attend the fete.
“I’ve never seen anything like this,” one veteran worker said. “I’m in shock.”
Another worker said his union had appealed for years for the crew room to be spruced up, but it always “fell on deaf ears.”
In his 22 years on the job, Dean has received 132 commendations from riders, whom he addresses in English, Spanish, Hebrew, Haitian Creole and Swahili.
pdonohue@nydailynews.com
