Honoring our heroes
COURIER L 14 IFE, JULY 9-15, 2021
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
Our city’s essential
workers stepped off in
Battery Park Wednesday
morning for a trip up
Broadway and through the
Canyon of Heroes for a ticker
tape parade honoring their
hard work and dedication in
seeing the city through the
dark days of the COVID-19
pandemic.
Sandra Lindsay, the
Queens nurse who volunteered
to be the fi rst person
in the United States to
receive a Pfi zer vaccine,
served as grand marshal of
the parade and 14 fl oats followed
her, each packed with
hospital workers, health
care workers, education and
childcare workers, transportation
workers, hospitality
workers and small business
and bodega workers
who soaked up the adulation
along the parade route.
“The Summer of New
York City is underway, and
the beating heart of our recovery
is the gratitude and
respect we all share for
the essential workers who
brought this city out of a
crisis,” Mayor Bill de Blasio
said before the parade.
“This celebration will honor
all those who fought through
adversity and unprecedented
challenges to keep New Yorkers
safe.”
The parade was a long
time coming. These essential
workers were vital in
helping New York City navigate
the unprecedented
COVID-19 pandemic. They
were out working on the
front lines, while so many
others were forced to quarantine
at home.
Our health care workers
were in the hospitals when
people needed to be treated.
Our educators continued
teaching our city’s youth,
even as the city went back
and forth from in-person to
virtual learning. Our transit
workers kept public transportation
moving. And small
business owners fought to
stay open in an effort to serve
our city’s residents.
All of these people deserved
to be honored, and
this parade was a fantastic
start. But we can do more.
As we emerge from the
pandemic, let us remember
who helped us get through
it. Treat our city’s essential
workers with kindness and
respect. Tell them, “thank
you.” Uttering those two
simple words could go a long
way for our heroes who have
worked tirelessly to keep our
city moving.
Be sure to patronize local
businesses and restaurants.
Those that survived
the pandemic still need our
help, and it’s up to us to give
them the boost they need to
thrive.
We seem to be at the end
of the pandemic. While
COVID-19 remains a threat,
we can rest easy knowing
that we have the strongest
support team in the nation
in our essential workers.
But let’s try and make it
easier on them. Roll up your
sleeves and get vaccinated,
so we can fully return to normalcy
and give our hometown
heroes a much needed
break.
MTA riders can now access 311 if in
need of assistance on the train
BY SARAH E. FEINBERG
At the close of last week, we were
thrilled to be able to share some
very positive news with our riders
and employees: Effective immediately,
due to the most signifi cant
upgrade to the 311 system since its
creation more than two decades
ago, MTA New York City Transit
subway customers can now use the
311 system to request assistance for
anyone within the subway system.
That may sound like something
that should have been happening
all along, but it wasn’t — and this
important 311 upgrade comes at a
critically important moment for
our system, a time when public
transit, like the city it serves, is
rolling back from the depths of a
global pandemic.
As the city continues its economic
recovery, it is important
that we are doing all we can to
bring ridership back. Part of that
means allowing customers to use
every tool available when it comes
to reporting incidents in our system,
so we can address them and
get people the help they need.
Until now, dialing 911 was really
the only way to access immediate
and professional assistance
for someone in need. And
911 remains the best option for
true emergencies — but in reality,
many situations don’t require
a police response. For example, in
cases where there’s a vulnerable
individual experiencing homelessness
or a mental health crisis, dialing
911 provides a law enforcement
response when what is needed is a
social services response. In cases
where police are not needed, it is
almost always more prudent to call
311, so the city can connect those in
need with appropriate services and
resources.
Until the update last week, subway
customers were not able to do
this because the 311 system did not
geographically recognize the subway
system as part of the city. I’m
thrilled that this is no longer the
case.
NYC Transit has been asking
for this upgrade for a long time now
and I’m grateful to our City partners
for acting to eliminate this
gap in service. The subways are a
vital part of the city and everyone
in our system should be entitled
to the same support they’d receive
above ground.
So please, if you are in the subway
system and see someone who
needs immediate and professional
assistance, you can do your part to
request help for them by calling 311
or using the 311 app or web portal.
They are available 24 hours a day,
seven days a week, 365 days a year.
Sarah E. Feinberg is the Interim
President of the New York City Transit.
New York City Transit Authority Interim President Sarah E. Feinberg. Photo by Todd Maisel