WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES APRIL 9, 2020 13
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OP-ED
Give gratitude by staying
off of public transportation
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 aff ected my ability to work
through this crisis. But I know that
many New Yorkers, including many of
my colleagues, are suff ering 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 fi re 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 offi cers and other fi rst
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 fi ght this crisis.
As Governor Cuomo said Friday, they
are doing heroic work.
That said, we’re still faced with major
staffi ng 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-ARide
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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