Editorial Op-ed
Send the feds to Rikers
Based on his comments to the press following
his fi rst visit to turmoiled Rikers
Island on Monday in fi ve years, it’s clear
that outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio can’t meet
the moment in bringing the correctional facility
out of its current chaotic state.
The mayor offered the same promises and
platitudes, speaking in generalities about the
need to remedy the current humanitarian
crisis and get inmates “the hell off” the island
as quickly as possible. De Blasio didn’t point
to any one condition at Rikers that bothered
him — “I’ve always been upset,” he said — nor
could he be bothered talking to inmates about
their experience in lockup, and the problems
they face.
Instead, the “blame” duck mayor pointed
fi ngers — at the COVID-19 pandemic; at corrections
offi cers who called out sick; at the state
court system for the slow processing of pending
criminal cases. Not once did he point a fi nger
of blame in his own direction.
If the fi rst step toward solving a problem is
recognizing there is one, de Blasio has clearly
tripped over that step. Monday’s press conference
was demonstrative of a mayor who has
checked out of his responsibility to protect
inmates and corrections offi cers alike, and is
committed to doing a half-assed job of fi xing
Rikers Island’s dire situation.
Now it’s time for the federal government to
intervene.
On Friday, eight New York Congress members
wrote to President Biden and U.S. Attorney
General Merrick Garland urging them to
step in and resolve the crisis. They also called
upon the Justice Department to launch a civil
rights investigation into the city’s handling and
treatment of Rikers Island inmates.
The Biden administration and the Justice
Department should approve both requests.
Federal agents should be sent to Rikers
Island to supplant absent corrections offi cers
and humanely restore order while addressing
the horrid conditions in which inmates currently
live.
A federal investigation is also required to
not only hold those responsible for the Rikers
chaos accountable, but also ensure that this
correctional facility, and any other which the
city may operate in the future, ever falls into
the same inhumane traps.
Sadly, should this happen, it would be the second
time the feds had to intervene in a de Blasio
crisis. In 2019, a federal monitor was appointed
to NYCHA after the city falsely reported lead
paint testing results in its public housing system.
If de Blasio can’t protect inmates, corrections
offi cers and public housing residents, who
can he protect?
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Public transit does its
part reducing NYC’s
carbon footprint
BY CRAIG CIPRIANO
Public transportation is one of the
most effective tools we have to fi ght
climate change. Every year, MTA
services remove 17 million metric tons of
carbon emissions from the air by getting
people out of their cars – making New
York a national leader in reducing carbon
footprints.
It’s why we think every week is ‘Climate
Week’ at New York City Transit.
I’ve made it a priority throughout my career
to expand our agency’s positive impact
– because what’s good for the environment
is good for the communities we serve.
In my former role as head of the Buses
division, I helped develop Transit’s plans to
transition our 5,800-bus fl eet to all zeroemissions
vehicles by 2040. Earlier this
year, we ramped up that commitment by
ordering another 60 electric buses, which
is 15 more than we had planned. They’re
expected to hit the streets in all fi ve boroughs
late next year, and we’re prioritizing
deployment to underserved communities.
This is an exciting step for Transit after
spending the last four years piloting and
learning from the use of zero-emissions
buses in our system. The expanded
purchase order this year will more than
triple our electric fl eet and represents a
lot of fi rsts for the agency: our fi rst fully
owned, 40-foot zero-emissions buses, our
fi rst partnership with the New York Power
Authority to install charging infrastructure,
and our fi rst project that requires adding
new power supply from our utility partners
Con Edison for electric buses.
That’s just the beginning. The historic
2020-2024 Capital Program includes $1.1
billion in funding to buy another 500 zeroemissions
vehicles, along with required
charging equipment at eight of our depots.
There’s still a long way to go to replace
the entire diesel fl eet — and install the
needed charging infrastructure to support
it — but we’re optimistic that with local,
state, and federal support we can meet our
ambitious 2040 deadline.
Continued expansion will not only
involve our local partners like New York
Power Authority, Con Edison and New
York State Energy Research and Development
Authority, but also qualifi ed bus
MARC A. HERMANN
Interim MTA New York City Transit
President Craig Cipriano
manufacturers from around the country
working closely with our agency.
There’s no question the future is electric.
The entire country, not just the bus
industry, is in the midst of a major transformation
to zero-emissions. We’re getting
on board to protect the environment and
improve social equity for millions of people
who live in our service area.
Most of our bus depots are located in low
and moderate-income communities, with
routes running disproportionately through
these neighborhoods as a critical lifeline for
residents. Moving away from diesel will not
only further reduce emissions that harm
the environment – it will also reduce cases
of asthma, emphysema, and other illnesses
that affl ict our communities.
The arguments for the need for a zeroemissions
fl eet are not theoretical, as the recent
fl ash fl ooding caused by the remnants
of Hurricanes Henri and Ida proved what
were once severe once-in-a-hundred years
storms are increasingly becoming more the
norm. Let the passing of Climate Week
2021 serve as a reminder of the powerful
role mass transit plays in creating a better
planet for all of us. Come take a ride with
us to be part of it.
Craig Cipriano is interim MTA New York
City Transit president.
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