FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 10, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
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Governor Hochul should invest in six-minute transit service
BY JIM BURKE
Governor Hochul has twice postponed
the MTA fare hike and announced major
megaprojects across three boroughs. She’s
also announced initiatives to confront
subway safety.
Now, with a $6.4 billion budget surplus
and record federal highway aid, the most
far-reaching, most eff ective investment
our governor can make is in more frequent
service for millions of current riders and to
help public transit attract millions of others
considering getting on board.
New York City is the city that never
sleeps. It’s time our buses and subway
schedules refl ect that. We have always
prioritized the 9-5 offi ce worker while everyone
LUNCHTIME IN FOREST HILLS // PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JOE ABATE
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else got the short end of the stick. As
we look toward the future, we need a transit
system that acknowledges the debt of gratitude
we owe low-income, frontline service
sector workers and how the pandemic has
transformed the economy.
For many years I worked from four in
the aft ernoon until midnight and from
midnight to eight in the morning. I waited
on corners for buses that never came and
on empty platforms, worried for my safety,
while 20 or 30 minutes passed before a
train arrived. Our hospital workers, doormen,
deliveristas, cooks, bakers and more
continue to suff er long waits. It was never
fair but now it has no justifi cation. Since
the pandemic, our new normal is that riders
from a great variety of jobs now also
travel in the so-called “off hours,” all day
and all week.
When riders see long waits on countdown
clocks, and realize no bus or train
is coming soon, they give up. Th ey cancel
their trip or take an Uber or Lyft which,
for our fellow NYers with fewer resources,
often means doing without essentials
during the week just to keep their job, to
make an appointment or to pick up their
kids from school and daycare. Th ose with
more resources opt to drive themselves. All
of this results in more congested and more
dangerous streets. Shorter wait times mean
quicker service and more riders in a system
that sorely needs them back.
Th e best way to invest in NYC’s future
is investing in subway and bus service that
runs every six minutes. Th e eff ect will
be profound and its benefi ts felt fi rst and
foremost by people and communities that
have always had substandard service: our
essential workers. More frequent service
isn’t just a matter of convenience, it’s a
question of equity. Not only are Black and
brown New Yorkers more likely to perform
essential jobs that all NYC residents depend
on, they’re also more likely to endure very
long commute times.
More frequent buses and trains yield
faster door-to-door commutes because
riders spend less time waiting to board.
Th at means less time at bus stops and
less time on train platforms. Less time in
transit means more time for work, family,
education, healthcare and participation in
civic activities and with each other. Less
time waiting for buses and trains is also a
boon for rider safety.
Th anks to federal emergency aid and
infrastructure funding, MTA services
are still going strong despite billions in
pandemic-driven lost fares. Th ere are
literally tens of billions of dollars in the
megaproject pipeline for legacy eff orts
like Penn Station and the Second Avenue
subway and bold equity initiatives like
Interborough Express. Th ese worthwhile
projects will take a number of years before
we see any benefi ts. Th e governor can invest
in improved service immediately. We
can restore what we have lost and build our
service back better NOW.
Jim Burke of Queens is a member of the
Riders Alliance, New York’s grassroots organization
of subway and bus riders.
letters & comments
THE PRIMARY ELECTION
IS COMING SOON
MAKE SURE YOU VOTE!
Sometimes something happens and
sometimes someone says something.
Even though the weather on Sunday,
March 6, provided some bursts of raindrops
instead of promised balmy temperatures,
about 50 people assembled
at Macdonald Park for Ethan Felder’s
inaugural petitioning event, including
students doing community service.
Th ey were experiencing one piece of
the democratic process.
Ethan Felder is running to serve as
the District 28 Forest Hills representative
in the NYS Assembly. Th e crowd
heard from Monica Cruz, a 32BJ
spokesperson; Sylvia M. Martin, a Lefrak
City tenant; and Fahad Solaiman
from the Jackson Heights Bangladeshi
Business Association, who all thanked
the labor lawyer for his past work.
Sylvia M. Martin described the pro
bono work that Ethan Felder had done
for the Lefrak City Tenants Association
in 2017 when the Board of Election “relocated
all fi ve election districts from
the Corona complex’s Continental
Room to area schools more than a
half-mile away.” (Queens Chronicle,
June 14, 2018).
Th e Lefrak City Tenants Association
won in court and some polling sites
were reinstated on Lefrak City’s side
of the Long Island Expressway.
It still matters very much to that
community. Ethan Felder talked about
the challenges of this moment but asserted
that “we can have public safety
and stand for dignity…It’s a moment
when true solidarity must be twinned
with sensibility, not ideological dogma.
… We can respect police and insist no
one fear the police.”
As our next campaign season begins,
we all need to be vigilant about bureaucratic
changes that undermine the democratic
process. We can demand policies
and programs that solve our public
safety, housing and economic problems.
Yes, it all — the good and/or the
bad — can happen here. Get ready to
choose. Sign a petition. Resolve to vote
in the primaries and the November
elections. We can make something
good happen.
Debra Michlewitz, Bayside
ANDREW & CHRIS
CUOMO SHOULD OPEN
A GROCERY STORE
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo
has begun using part of his left over
$16 million reelection fund to pay for
commercials.
Th e message says that he has been
exonerated from charges that he sexually
harassed a number of women.
Both Andrew and his brother Chris
might be better off by listening to
Kenny Rogers’ song “Th e Gambler”
when he said, “You’ve got to know
when to hold ‘em, know when to fold
them, know when to walk away.”
It is wishful thinking on the part of
Andrew Cuomo that he can resume his
political career with a simple media blitz.
Both Andrew and Chris should
look for honest work. Why not follow
in the footsteps of their grandparents
who opened a family grocery store in
Queens and do the same?
Chris could also open up a gym
upstairs as he loves working out.
Andrew and Chris Cuomo have a
long history in selling baloney. Th is
makes them perfectly suited for this
new occupation!
Larry Penner, Great Neck
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