WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES SEPTEMBER 10, 2020 13
Long Island Rail Road desperately needs
federal support to survive pandemic
BY BY PHILLIP ENG
It is fair to say that there’s no Long
Island without the Long Island Rail
Road.
It’s no secret that we keep Long
Island moving — and not just to the
world-class beaches. We moved — and
continue to move — the frontline
workers of this pandemic that helped
New York weather some of our darkest
days.
But federal government inaction
— in failing to allocate $12 billion in
emergency funds to the MTA — is
showing New Yorkers that our economic
viability doesn’t matter. Making
matters worse, they’ve now crossed
a line no government agency should
cross when we all serve the public:
FEMA is set to cut critical funding
that helps keep our system clean and
disinfected amid this ongoing global
pandemic.
Denying help is one thing. But it’s
unconscionable to take steps that
intentionally hurt the public.
It’s because of the leadership of
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, and the
heroic eff orts of the frontline workers,
including the LIRR and entire MTA
workforce, and the public for doing
their part in staying home and wearing
masks, that New York crushed the
curve.
We’ve been doing our part: cleaning
and disinfecting our trains and stations
at a rate and level never before
seen in our history. We’ve set up hand
sanitizer dispensers as our ambassadors
hand out free masks at stations.
We have one of the most robust public
health campaigns currently out
there. We’re keeping up these eff orts
OP-ED
in anticipation of a possible second
wave. We need to be prepared. The
latest cleaning funding cuts from the
federal government put us all at risk.
New York is and will continue to be
resilient. Because of all our eff orts, I’m
grateful now to see a slow and steady
resurgence of the great state we call
home. And I remain hopeful as we welcome
customers back to our system.
We need to keep this momentum
and we need to keep going. And we
need to make sure our employees
and customers remain safe. We know
the value of public transportation in
our densely populated corner of the
world. It cannot be underestimated
what commuter rail — that served
more than 91 million trips last year —
means to a metropolis like ours. And
we wouldn’t be what the governor
rightly calls New York Tough without
fi ghting for what’s right.
Washington: We need major federal
funding. Now. Our future, New York’s
future and, quite frankly, the nation’s
future, lies in the balance.
Phillip Eng is president of the Long
Island Rail Road.
SNAPS
THE VIEW FROM ASTORIA PARK
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