oped letters & comments
Support for hospital workers
New York Metropolitan
Transportation Authority
Chair Pat Foye said in a recent
interview, “Extending
our line of credit is not a longterm
solution, and gutting our
hard-fought capital plan is a
nonstarter. We will not allow
this pandemic to slow our efforts
to bring our system into
the 21st century. This is a national
problem that requires a
national solution.”
Here are the three most obvious
projects that the MTA
should consider deleting from
the current $51 billion 2020 –
2025 Five Year Capital Plan
that would not be, in the words
of Foye “gutting our hardfought
capital plan.”
The MTA has budgeted $4
billion of local funding within
the $32 billion 2015 – 2019 and
$51 billion 2020 – 2024 Five
Year Capital Plans to be used
toward the $6.9 billion Second
Avenue Subway Phase
Two. This project benefi ts a
handful of the 5 million daily
transit riders. There is also
$1.5 billion for the Bronx East
Metro North Access to Penn
Station. Suspension of the 1%
Arts in Transit expenditure
requirement for capital projects
could free up millions.
Implementing these suggestions
prevents us from wasting
millions on transportation
feasibility studies for
future system expansion projects
that will never happen in
our lifetime and preserves the
core MTA capital program.
Do not initiate any new system
expansion projects until
each operating agency, MTA
bus, subway, LIRR and Metro
North Rail Roads have reached
a state of good repair for existing
fl eet, stations, signals, interlockings,
tracks and yards.
Funding these projects gives
you a better return on the dollar.
Ensure that maintenance
programs for all operating
agencies assets are fully funded
and completed on time to ensure
riders reliable service.
The MTA must make the
diffi cult fi nancial decisions
everyone else does. Given the
current fi nancial crises faced
by all levels of government,
the MTA should postpone
funding these project until the
next 2025 – 2029 Five Year Capital
Plan.
Larry Penner
Op-ed: Councilman Mark
Gjonaj on stimulus package
As the federal government
passed a major, two trillion dollar
stimulus package to aid small
businesses through the trying
times of COVID-19, Councilman
and chair of the city’s small business
committee Mark Gjonaj and
US Small Business Administration
Regional Administrator
Steve Bulger hosted a tele-town
hall to address concerns coming
out of The Bronx as well as other
boroughs.
Explaining that “the ink is
still drying” and much of the
supportive program’s details are
still being ironed out, Bulger and
United States Small Business Administration
New York District
Director Beth Goldberg stressed
two options for small businesses
to go through.
First is the Disaster Loan Program,
which has been made available
now for small businesses
nationwide, it can be applied for
online at sba.gov and is already
handling thousands of apps per
hour, Burger said.
It’s objective is to provide loans
to qualifying small businesses
with terms that are “very easy,”
according to the administrator.
Designed to cover operating
expenses such as payroll, utilities,
rent, and mortgage, that disaster
loan covers up to two million dollars
in operating capital over 30
years with low interest rate upon
payback.
There’s also a ten thousand
dollar advance that can be applied
for, which can be kept by
the small business whether or
not the loan is approved, Bulger
explained, adding that providing
details of adverse effects to your
business from the circumstances
of COVID-19 is all that is needed
for approval.
It was after one concerned
landlord on the Lower East Side
talked about a tenant that wouldn’t
be able to pay rent that Bulger and
Goldberg were prompted to discuss
a new part of the stimulus
hoping to be passed by Friday —
the paycheck protection program.
That program is “designed
to provide a direct incentive for
small businesses to keep their
workers on payroll by providing
each small business a loan of up
to $10 million for payroll and certain
other expenses,” according to
the SBA.
The qualifi ed amounts of those
loans are determined by the average
monthly payroll of a business
from last year multiplied by
2.5 among other circumstances,
Bulger said.
If all employees are kept on
payroll for eight weeks, the SBA
will also forgive the portion of the
loans used for payroll, rent, mortgage
interest, or utilities while up
to 100 percent of the loan is also
forgivable, the agency indicated.
Businesses with less than 500
employees that qualify for that
including eligible non-profi ts,
veterans organizations, tribal
concerns, sole proprietorships,
self-employed individuals, and independent
contractors described
in the Small Business Act.
Since many of the terms for
the paycheck protection program
have yet to be fi nalized, both
Bulger and Goldberg could only
advise through their professional
opinions on additional details of
the upcoming package.
The duo did advise to apply
for as many loans as possible as
quickly as a small business is capable
of doing so.
Additional and more specifi c
questions could be addressed via
the SBA’s 24/7 hotline number,
1-800 659 2955.
At this time of Covid 19 crisis
we should be united and
applauding all workers in the
hospitals. Our fi rst responders,
including fi reman, police
and EMS all put their life on
the line to help total strangers
without concern for their own
safety. The amount of protective
equipment they use to
prevent contamination should
not be criticized, yet our president
had the nerve to go on
nationwide TV to criticize “a
New York” hospital for using
an excessive amount of masks.
I take his comments personally
because my daughter is
currently working on her unit
taking care of patients with
this virus. I don’t care if she
is using 15 masks and gowns
during her shift to protect herself.
My daughter comes home
to her husband and two children.
Where are Trump’s children?
They’re not doing anything
to help with this crisis.
The president only knows how
to divide not unite. We need
to pray for all those who are
working to save lives, and our
president needs to learn that
being a bully is not Christian
and he will have to face his
maker one day.
Carrie Ewen
Courtesy of Councilman Mark Gjonaj’s offi ce
Councilman Mark Gjonaj
MTA cutbacks
LET US HEAR FROM YOU
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BT BRONX TIMES REPORTER, APRIL 3–9, 2020 13
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