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TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | APRIL 10-APRIL 16, 2020 13
BY PAT FOYE
In the few weeks since the
COVID-19 pandemic began,
life has changed dramatically
for all of us. New York state is
on pause: non-essential businesses
have shuttered, with
most employees required to
work from home.
I’m now among them. I
tested positive for coronavirus
just over a week ago. I’m
fortunate in that it’s a mild
case that hasn’t affected my
ability to work through this
crisis. But I know that many
New Yorkers, including
many of my colleagues, are
suffering through worse.
New York City Transit
alone now has nearly 900
subway and bus employees
who have tested positive for
COVID-19. Another almost
5,000 are on home quarantine.
And heartbreakingly, 19
brave colleagues have passed
away due to this virus. Another
brave colleague, Garrett
Goble, was murdered last
week in a senseless fire on
board his train.
We owe them, and all transit
workers, a great debt of
gratitude for their commitment
to public service and
moving this city in this challenging
time. Their jobs have
never been more important.
We have a duty to transport
the essential workers of this
pandemic: the doctors, nurses,
childcare and utility workers,
police officers and other
first responders. I’m honored
to lead such a dedicated workforce
who are still showing up
day in and day out to ensure
New York can respond to and
fight this crisis. As Governor
Cuomo said Friday, they are
doing heroic work.
That said, we’re still faced
with major staffing constraints.
Four times as many
employees as usual are calling
out sick. Implementing
the Essential Service Plan has
allowed us to minimize the
number of crews needed per
shift, but it’s not enough.
This is a frightening time
for us all. Like everyone else,
I worry about the health of
my family and loved ones.
My daughter is an ER nurse,
and I’m concerned about her
safety every day. But the best
thing the rest of us can do for
our essential workers is to
follow the advice of health experts
and stay home.
To put it plainly, non-essential
workers should not use
the subway or buses. While
ridership has fallen to historic
lows, we need to get those
numbers down even further
to prevent crowding in the
system. To that end, we’ve deployed
new messaging about
social distancing and we’re
working closely with the MTA
Police and NYPD to assist
riders in following those
recommendations.
We continue to aggressively
clean stations, cars, buses
and Access-A-Ride vehicles.
We’ve distributed more than
300,000 masks and over 3 million
gloves to our workers.
We’ve also ended most cash
transactions and implemented
rear-door boarding on buses.
We’re doing everything we
can. We need you to do your
part too. Stay home, stop the
spread, and we’ll get through
this together.
Pat Foye is the chairman of
the MTA.
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LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
Much-needed medical supplies to combat coronavirus
arrive at JFK
SUMMARY: Medical supplies including 1,000 ventilators and
boxes of facemasks delivered by China Cargo arrived at JFK
Airport on Saturday, April 4.
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