28 THE QUEENS COURIER • DECEMBER 19, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Tap-based fare payment system begins to slowly replace MetroCard
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e launch of the “One Metro New York” (OMNY) fare
payment system will be leaving the MetroCard in its dust
in the next two years, as the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority rolled out more tap-and-go screens at Penn
Station on Wednesday.
Now that OMNY has been at 16 stations around the
city as part of the pilot to iron out any kinks before making
Photo by Mark Hallum
Al Putre, MTA’s OMNY Program executive director, said the two-year rollout of the program is now underway.
City awards $19 million in census funds to community outreach programs, many in Queens
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Chhaya CDC, a Jackson Heights- and
Richmond Hill-based organization is one
of the winning groups that will share the
$19 million Complete Count Fund, the
city’s fi rst-ever community awards program
focused on census-related education
and organizing.
Th is joint investment by the de Blasio
administration and the City Council represents
the lion’s of the city’s $40 million
going toward census mobilization,
the largest investment by any city nationwide,
and larger than those made by most
states.
Th e fund is designed to to resource and
train organizations to build awareness
about the census, convey its importance,
and fi ght the spread of disinformation.
Th e census, conducted every 10 years, is
used to determine New York City’s fair
share of $650 billion in federal funds for
public education, public housing, representation
in Congress, electoral votes,
and more.
“We will fi ght the fear and disinformation
by those forces that want to rob us of
the resources and representation that are
rightfully ours by investing in community
based organizing, a model we know
that works,” de Blasio said. “Neighbors
will empower neighbors to stand up and
be counted. New York City will not be
intimidated.”
Th e selected organizations are uniquely
positioned to help bridge the digital
divide that might prevent many New
Yorkers from participating in next year’s
census, which will be online for the fi rst
time.
“We have to get this right,” Council
Speaker Corey Johnson said. “Th is is a
once-in-a-decade chance to make sure
we get the federal resources we deserve.
Every New Yorker counts. Th is is an
investment in our future.”
More than 150 community organizations
across the fi ve boroughs will share in
awards ranging from $15,000 to $250,000
and they will be required to both expand
capacity and engage in direct mobilization
around the census from January
through June of 2020.
“Having seen a ‘loss’ of more than
10,000 western Queens residents in the
last census, I can’t stress enough how
important it is to get yourself counted,”
City Councilman Costa Constantinides
said. “Community-based organizations
are New York City’s fi rst responders, who
ensure everyone is protected, accounted
for, and served.”
New York City is a huge and complex
environment with immense linguistic and
cultural identity coupled with fear and misinformation
tied to the 2020 Census, the
city is presented with unique challenges.
“Based on data collected during the
2010 census, over two-thirds of the people
in our district live in hard-to-count
neighborhoods,” state Senator Jessica
Ramos said. “It is among my top priorities
to make sure our hardworking neighbors
are properly accounted for during
the 2020 census so that we can provide
the infrastructure, programs and resources
Queens residents of all ages currently
need and will benefi t from in the future.”
Other community-based organizations
in Queens that were selected
include the Boys & Girls Club of Metro
Queens, DRUM, HANAC Inc., Jacob A,
Riis Neighborhood Settlement, Queens
Community House, Woodside on the
Move and Make the Road New York.
“Immigrant communities and communities
of color who we represent are oft en
the hardest to count and require concerted
outreach from trusted messengers to
achieve a full, fair count,” Make the Road
New York Deputy Director Th eo Oshiro
said. “Over the last month, we have had
conversations with more than a thousand
community members about the census,
helped answer their questions, and got
them to commit to responding to the census.
We look forward to educating thousands
more community members across
New York City.”
Photo via Shutterstock
a full commitment, New York City Transit President
Andy Byford said the agency is getting into the “business
end” of $573 million rollout.
Byford said the OMNY system modernizes the fare
payment system improvements, bringing them from
far behind other cities to well ahead of the pack. Under
OMNY, no one will need a specifi c card to get into the
system; riders can just tap their smartphones or credit
cards to enter through turnstiles.
“So far already, we have recorded over $4 million
taps… that exceeds our honest expectations, people love
OMNY, they want OMNY, they’re taking it up with relish,”
Byford said. “We’re now making OMNY accessible
to a whole new market, namely customers of Long Island
Rail Road, customers of New Jersey Transit and customers
of Amtrak.”
Among other banks, the MTA has partnered with
Chase in order to fund the program’s rollout — something
that Al Putre, executive director of the OMNY Fare
Payment Program, said is mainly because the agency is
always in need of money.
Commuters benefi t from this partnership by virtue of
the MTA avoiding the need to raise fares, Putre said.
“Th is contract is completely funded. Th ese partners
are only giving additional money and we could always
use money so we take it,” Putre said. “We don’t want to
have to raise the fare and we don’t like to get funding
from our customers. Every dollar we can get from another
funding source allows us to put that money toward
our expenses.”
Seven day or 30-day unlimited pay options will be
available through the program between late 2020 or
February 2021 through the OMNY app’s pay options,
according to Putre.
OMNY on the bus system will make its fi rst appearance
on the Select Bus Service, Byford said. OMNY panels will
be installed next to both doors for all-door boarding.
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