Editorial
Punish the cowards
The weekend saw a beautiful demonstration
of democracy in action and
power in New York City — with tens
of thousands participating in the fi rst two
days of early voting in the 2020 election.
Those who went to the polls had to exercise
plenty of caution — including wearing masks
and practicing social distancing. Workers at
each polling site took great pains to keep everything
safe for those exercising their right
to vote free of possible COVID-19 infection.
New Yorkers were able to do this months
after suffering the worst outbreak in recent
memory — one that claimed more than
20,000 lives. Since the dark days of March
and April, this city came together to do what
was necessary to reopen and restart life.
New York fl attened the curve. We proved
we can control the spread.
Yet White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
told CNN Sunday, “We’re not going to
control the pandemic.” With that statement,
the Trump administration effectively raised
the white fl ag in the war against COVID-19.
Not that they really tried to fi ght, as Governor
Andrew Cuomo accurately pointed out.
Amid the mountain of bull excrement that
has fl owed from Trump and his willing servants
in government and the media, the truth
has nonetheless emerged: The United States
has been overrun by COVID-19. No other part
of the globe on Earth has suffered like this.
And it was Trump’s doing.
He ignores the advice of medical experts
on everything from mask-wearing to social
distancing.
He discourages mask-wearing even after
being hospitalized for COVID-19 himself,
and uses his own recovery — achieved from
the best doctors and medicine available to
him — to continue downplaying the obvious
severity of COVID-19.
And after all that, his own chief-of-staff goes
on television and claims the virus can’t possibly
be controlled. Even that was a lie — because
New York proved that we could control it.
One can call Meadows’ statement an
instrument of surrender. The way we see it,
it meant much more than that.
In the court of public opinion, Meadows
and the Trump regime have entered a guilty
plea to negligence and ignorance of the
American people’s general welfare.
A majority of Senate patsies bailed out
Trump last time he was in danger of losing
power. This time, the American people must
end his reign.
Hold Trump and his fellow cowards
accountable. Send them to overwhelming
defeat.
Op-ed
PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
Acting MTA NYC Transit President Sarah Feinberg
A bittersweet
celebration of the NYC
subway’s 116th birthday
BY SARAH E. FEINBERG
It’s easy to take for granted the presence
of the subway system in New York. After
all, this Tuesday, Oct. 27, is the New
York City subway’s 116th birthday. In all
that time, there was never a question about
the system’s vital importance to the city.
It has been called the lifeblood of New
York, and it is a system responsible for
providing tens of millions of families with
a stepping stone to opportunity – a better
job, a better school, a path to a better life at
the other end of a $2.75 commute.
But here is the reality: I worry we are
dangerously close to not being able to
provide that stepping stone to the millions
that we do for much longer.
Over the last seven months, we at the
MTA have watched COVID absolutely
decimate our revenues. Millions and millions
of New Yorkers staying home for the
majority of 2020 was the right thing for
health and safety, but it also meant billions
and billions in fi nancial losses.
In order to save our city’s transit system,
we have implemented hundreds of
millions of dollars worth of painful cost
controls just to make a dent in our massive
defi cit– but it’s not enough. We’re still
reliant on billions in loans just to keep
trains and buses moving. And now we
face the threat of draconian service cuts
and thousands of layoffs unless the federal
government steps in with additional
emergency aid.
At this moment, most pundits would
say our prospects for getting that emergency
aid are grim – despite the backing
of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader
Chuck Schumer and the entire bipartisan
New York delegation. That is because the
Republican Senate leadership in Washington
seems uninterested in saving transit
– not just in New York City, but across the
country.
This failure to act could have dire, tragic
consequences.
Public transportation in NYC is a critical
lifeline, providing access to friends, family,
work, school, and quality social and
life services – life’s necessities. It is also
the most important and reliable piece of
infrastructure for the millions of people
who have kept working through the pandemic
to keep New York and our country
functioning, those same workers rightly
held up as heroes by federal lawmakers. If
we want to truly honor the dedication and
sacrifi ce of our essential workers during
this unprecedented crisis, the last thing we
should be doing is ripping a reliable commute
out from under them.
Mass transit is a central pillar of American
society, and elected offi cials in Washington
– on both sides of the aisle – cannot
pretend they don’t see the communities
that will suffer most if we abandon public
transportation.
So, while we celebrate our system’s important
place in the fabric of our city, the
bottom line is this: I want our subways and
buses to be around for another 116 years
and then some. But for that to happen,
we need federal aid and leaders who can
recognize not just what the subways have
meant to the city, but what its role should
and can be moving into the future.
Sarah E. Feinberg is acting MTA NYC
Transit president.
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