between. Citi Bikes have put
parking at even more of a
premium. This has led to an
increase in the frustration of
drivers.
Cycling is becoming a
more popular activity and
parking will continue to be a
casualty in the effort to support
it. That will continue to
and eco-conscious
residents decide to pedal
themselves to work rather
than hop on a bus, train or
cab.
COURIER LIFE, JUNE 4-10, 2021 49
EDITORIAL
Right of way
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision
Zero initiative cleared
the way for additional bike
lanes and paths to be constructed
all across the city
over the past 7 ½ years, yet
plenty of safety issues still
remain to be addressed.
Even so, for the most part,
the city is headed in the right
direction when it comes to
making the city safer for
bikes.
Citi Bike ridership has
been surging in the past
year, suggesting people are
in favor of biking becoming a
more realistic and available
mode of transportation. The
added stations, however, are
taking up parking spaces.
Parking in the city had
been a hassle long before
Citi Bike came to be, but it
fi gures that drivers will feel
even more of a squeeze in the
years to come.
Some Citi Bike stations
are physically on the street,
removing parking spaces
that are already few and far
grow as the city further develops
OP-ED
As New York City becomes
more and more
bike-friendly, Citi
Bikes stations continue to
pop all over the city as part of
the current expansion plan.
Citi Bikes are now available
in all of Manhattan and
most areas in the Bronx and
Brooklyn, along with a relatively
light population in
Queens. There are even Citi
Bikes in Jersey City!
New York City, in general,
has tried in the past decade
to become a much safer city
for bikers.
its bike travel infrastructure,
The case for health care education
and consumer assistance
There has always been
contention between drivers
and cyclists on the street.
NYC is much more driver
friendly than it is bikefriendly,
but the added Citi
Bike stations across the city
are a signal of change in that
regard.
New York is headed toward
being a bike city,
whether or not drivers are
ready for it. Drivers don’t
have to like it, but they’ll
need to adapt.
BY REBECCA TELZAK
The public health crisis
caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
has exposed the cruel
healthcare access and affordability
barriers that low-income
and under-resourced
communities have long suffered.
Under-investment in
our communities and a complex
health care system has
left immigrant, Black and
brown New Yorkers unable
to access life-saving health
care. For decades, community
organizations have provided
services to help vulnerable
neighbors overcome
these barriers, and the pandemic
has validated that addressing
these long-standing
health inequities is the only
path to true health justice.
In Brooklyn, where almost
18 percent of the population
live in poverty and eight
percent lack access to insurance,
many of whom are immigrants,
the need to tackle
these health inequities is imperative.
The only path forward
to dismantle our current
health system of haves and
have nots, which contribute to
higher rates in mortality and
morbidity among low-income
immigrants and communities
of color, is to provide adequate
health coverage and expand
access to care.
It is also equally important
to deliver culturally and
linguistically competent services
to help these communities
navigate the complex
health care system and access
the care they need.It is in this
latter area where community
organizations across the City,
through Council-funded initiatives
like the Managed
Care Consumer Assistance
Program, Access Health NYC,
Immigrant Health, and Ending
the Epidemic, can make a
profound difference.
Make the Road New York
(MRNY), where I help lead
health services and advocacy
work, is one of the twelve community
based organizations
that are part of MCCAP, a program
that offers clients a place
to turn so they don’t have to
contend with the challenges
that emerge when navigating
the insurance and healthcare
system on their own. The
health program offers facilitated
enrollment into health
insurance programs and SNAP
benefi ts, help resolving health
insurance problems, getting
medical services, accessing affordable
care if uninsured, nutrition
education, emergency
food pantries, and more.
Each year, MRNY helps
more than 25,000 individuals
and families receive legal,
health, and education services.
Take for example Jorge,
who was provided information
about accessing free or low cost
healthcare services through
NYC Care by a MCCAP advocate,
since he doesn’t qualify
for health insurance due to his
immigration status. He was
scared to visit a hospital during
the pandemic because he
is the primary caretaker of his
elderly mother and takes extra
precaution for her safety.
However, he is a diabetic and
in need of care. “After having
my fi rst doctor’s visit, I was referred
to several specialists. I
am very pleased to know that
they are covered by NYC Care
and my immigration status
is not an obstacle to receiving
health care services. I hope
that more people, who might
be in the same situation as me,
get to enroll into this program.
I will always be grateful for
the opportunity to receive personal
assistance provided by
the Make the Road Advocate,
who answered my questions
and helped get rid of the fear
about the enrollment process.”
MCCAP fi rst started in
1998 as a model consumer assistance
program funded by
the City of New York and administered
by the Community
Service Society (CSS) in partnership
with 26 CBOS.
As the City begins deliberations
on a $92.28 billion municipal
budget, the City Council
should increase funding
for MCCAP, from $425,000 to
$750,000, restore Action Health
NYC’s ’ funding to $2.5 million,
and maintain funding for
the Immigrant Health ($2 million)
and Ending the Epidemic
($6 million) initiatives in the
fi scal year 2022 budget.
This is the time when the
City should leverage every
dollar available through the
new federal American Rescue
Plan Act to protect and
strengthen these programs.
They are a lifeline for Brooklyn
residents and residents
across New York City and
help address health inequities
and public health crises
such as COVID-19 that affect
predominantly low-income,
immigrant New Yorkers and
communities of color.
Rebecca Telzak is director
of health programs at Make
the Road NY.
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