די וויליאמסבורג בארא פארק באס קאמפעני אויף געהאקטע צרות

New York City authorities said they will shut down a city bus service run by Orthodox Jews if the group doesn't stop making women sit at the back of the bus. New York City's Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Gastel said the agency's executive director Anne Koenig has asked the company to respond to the allegations and was waiting to hear back. ''Please be advised that a practice of requiring women to ride in the back … would constitute a direct violation of your franchise agreement and may lead to termination of that agreement,'' Koenig wrote. If such a violation is found, the franchise could be revoked, the DOT said in a statement. The Private Transportation Corp declined comment. Mayor Michael Bloomberg told a news conference on Wednesday that if Orthodox Jews want to segregate men and women, they should get their own bus. Segregation is ''obviously not permitted'' on public buses, Bloomberg said, adding, ''Private people: you can have a private bus. Go rent a bus, and do what you want on it.'' Deborah Lauter, director of Civil Rights for the Anti-Defamation League, said in an e-mail to Reuters: ''We oppose the practice of gender-segregation on public buses as discriminatory and unlawful. If a community feels it needs gender-segregated buses, then they should not involve the city.'' (Source: Reuters)