FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 14, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Queens advocates go to Albany to pitch for better transit
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Dozens of labor, civil rights, social and
environmental advocates from Queens
rallied in Albany on Feb. 11 calling on
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state
Legislature put congestion pricing in the
upcoming state budget as part of a revenue
package to fund the modernization
of the city’s transit system.
Th e coalition, which formed last year
to demand essential transit upgrades to
restore reliable service for millions of
everyday New Yorkers, were joined by
several subway and bus riders from the
borough. Congestion pricing would fund
major reliability, capacity and accessibility
upgrades to the transit system by
charging a fee to cars and trucks in the
Manhattan central business district.
Th e governor proposed the policy in
his executive budget, and the speakers
urged its inclusion in the fi nal budget,
due April 1.
“Th e best time to implement congestion
pricing was during the 1970s when
it was fi rst proposed,” St. Albans resident
Samuel Santaella said. “Th e second
best time is now. Doing the right
thing requires not myths or promises,
but immediate action. Th e subways need
to be fi xed, and New York’s roads are
gridlocked every day.”
Th e rally highlighted the governor’s
and Legislature’s responsibility to funding
the MTA. Speakers pressed state
leaders to prioritize the needs of millions
on New Yorkers struggling to cope with
the eff ects of slow and unreliable transit
service on a daily basis.
“Th ough there are no subway stations
in eastern Queens. Many, many transit
riders take local buses and transfer at
the nearest station for a long commute,”
Little Neck resident Fulton Hou said. “As
the transit crisis continues, long commutes
get longer and less reliable. Th at
is why I am in Albany to ask the governor
and legislation to pass congestion
pricing.”
Nearly 6 million straphangers ride
the subway each day. In 2018, several
months into the MTA’s emergency
Subway Action Plan, signal problems
still delayed trains on 92 percent of rush
hour mornings, according to the Riders
Alliance.
Th e coalition had plenty of support
from a host of Queens elected offi cials.
“I implore my colleagues in the Senate
and the Assembly to support congestion
pricing and other eff ective and sustainable
transit funding in order to fi x the
city’s subway system,” Assemblywoman
Catalina Cruz said. “Th e people of New
York deserve a more reliable and aff ordable
public transit system, and need a
commitment from elected offi cials that
funding will be secured for long-term
and systematic improvements to mass
transit in our city.”
Assemblywoman Aravella Simotas
agreed.
“Congestion pricing is a viable solution
to fund and fi x what ails mass transit,”
she said. “As lawmakers, it’s our job
to come up with a wise plan and it’s long
past time we did that.
Photo courtesy of Riders Alliance
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