BY BILL PARRY
Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Council Speaker Corey
Johnson held a joint ap-pearance
Friday Jan. 4 to
roll out the city’s fair fare program and
its efforts to address poverty through
the development of a half-priced Me-troCard
for low-income New Yorkers.
The program is launching in phases
and initial eligibility is open to New
Yorkers at or below the federal pov-erty
line who are receiving cash as-sistance
of Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance from the city’s Department
of Social Services.
“New Yorkers shouldn’t have to
choose between a ride on the sub-way
or bus and their next meal,” de
Blasio said. “Our partnership with the
Council for fair fares will make our
city stronger and fairer for low-income
New Yorkers whose lives depend on
mass transportation.”
The Fair Fares NYC MetroCard will
allow participants to purchase unlim-ited
weekly and monthly passes at a
50 percent discount at MTA vending
machines. The cards can be used on
any New York City subway or non-express
bus.
The city is working with the MTA to
phase in a pay-per-ride option, which
it expects to launch in April.
“Fair Fares is a groundbreaking
program that will help New Yorkers
who need it most,” Johnson said. “Fair
CITY LAUNCHES
Fares will open up this city and its
promise to people who currently are
being shut out because they can’t
afford a swipe. It will change lives
for the better.”
Last spring, the Mayor and the
Council announced a plan to fund
$106 million for the Fair Fares NYC
program in the first year. On Jan. 4,
the Department of Social Services
started contacting 30,000 eligible
working New Yorkers who are receiv-ing
cash benefits. The notifications,
and subsequent phone calls, will
inform the group of their eligibility,
and invite then to the nearest Fair
Fares NYC location to receive their
half-priced MetroCard.
Eligible recipients can also call
311 to assist in receiving their card.
In April, and additional estimated
130,000 New Yorkers who are re-ceiving
SNAP benefits will receive
notifications about how to access
their cards.
“Fair Fares is now a reality in New
York City,” City Councilman Daniel
Dromm, the Chair of the Committee
on Finance, said. “These discounted
MetroCards will make bus and subway
fares more affordable for thousands of
low income New Yorkers who rely upon
mass transit each day. Fair Fares has
long been a priority of the Council and
I’m thrilled to see it come to fruition.”
Critics argue the program leaves
out CUNY students, the working
poor and some immigrants. Comp-troller
38 JANUARY 2019 I LIC COURIER I www.qns.com
Scott Stringer released data
that shows the city had significantly
scaled back initial eligibility leaving
out hundreds of thousands of low-income
New Yorkers.
“The good news is that Fair Fares
is finally leaving the station. The bad
news is that after today’s announce-ment,
the price of a MetroCard will
remain an obstacle for the vast majority
of the 800,000 New Yorkers who were
originally promised relief,” Stringer
said. “That’s hundreds of thousands
of families who will struggle to get
to work or a job interview because
they can’t afford a full fare. For their
sake, we need to make sure this delay
doesn’t become a derailment.”
Transportation
‘Fair
Fares’
NYC PROGRAM
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
“You can count on us
here at Vernon Blvd.
Pharmacy!”
30 Years
in business Customer
Service
Oriented
OUR INCENTIVES
$5 off new or transferred prescriptons
(with ad) (insurance excluded)
20% discount on any purchase over $25
(with ad) (copays excluded)
Free delivery • Rewards program
facebook.com/vernon.pharm
Family
Owned
Independent
Pharmacy
4815 Vernon Boulevard
Long Island City, NY 11101
vernonpharmacy@gmail.com
Phone: (718)361-7390 • Fax: (718)729-9613
/www.qns.com
link
/www.qns.com
/vernon.pharm
link
