FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 9, 2020 • THE QUEENS COURIER 23
oped letters & comments
Give gratitude to
transit workers 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. Th eir 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.
Th at said, we’re still faced with major staff -
ing 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.
Th is 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-A-Ride 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.
WE ALL NEED TO
PERFORM ACTS
OF KINDNESS
It’s Saturday morning at 9:20 in
the area of Glen Oaks Village where
I do my shopping.
My fi rst stop was Walgreens.
When I got there, the guard in front
would not let me in until someone
walked out. He told me he could
not allow more than ten people at
a time. I fi nally got in and bought
what I needed.
My next stop was at Key Food
near the end of the block. I found
the same situation, where one walks
in and one walks out. In this time of
COVID-19, safety is the key to protect
us all. I truly believe this is what
needs to be done.
I fi nally got to go into Key Food to
purchase what I needed and when I
was ready to check out the line was
long. We were all kept 6 feet apart.
Th ere was a young woman in front
of me who saw an elderly woman
with just a few items and told the
woman to take her place. Th is in
my view was a true act of kindness.
I’m not too old to take a lesson
from a younger person and did the
same with a man behind me and
told him to go in front of me. We
all live in a world and face the dangers
of the coronavirus and need to
take the time to show acts of kindness
to others.
To all please be safe and show acts
of kindness even if it means going
out of our way.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr.,
Glen Oaks Village
THANK YOU TO ALL
WHO ARE KEEPING NEW
YORK CITY GOING
As spring continues and our city,
state, nation and the world are continuing
to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic,
there are signs of life and hope.
Th e trees are beginning to unfurl their
beautiful fl owers and leaves, the daff odils,
crocuses, hyacinths and forsythias
are blooming, and birds are singing
every day
As we all are feeling some degree of
emotional stress and anxiety because of
this terrible crisis, let us remember that
with God, all things are possible, and
also we must all have strong faith that
will continue to help us all through this
medical maelstrom.
To all of our wonderful, caring and
dedicated doctors, nurses, EMTs, fi refi
ghters, police offi cers, sanitation workers,
transit workers, taxi and limousine
drivers, truck drivers, restaurant
workers, letter carriers, parks workers,
laundromat workers, teachers,
school administrators and other school
personnel, national guardsmen and
women, our men and women in all of
the other branches of our military —
both here in our country and abroad
— our governor, mayor, elected offi -
cials, our president, our religious leaders
of all congregations, our Knights of
Columbus, our newspaper editors and
other staff , and our television news
anchor, reporters and other staff , this
grateful writer and retired school teacher
wants to say thank you from the bottom
of my heart for everything that
you have done, are doing, and continue
to do for myself and all of the people
of New York City, the state and the
country. May God bless all of you and
your families.
We will weather this storm, and aft er
it fi nally passes us by, one thing is very
certain — never again will anyone ever
take anything in life for granted. Life is
so very precious and how we all live it
makes all of the diff erence in the world.
John Amato, Fresh Meadows
DE BLASIO MADE
THE WRONG CALL
It is sad that Mayor de Blasio has so
little faith in city students that he thinks
they need to be kept busy to stay off the
street. Th is is a failure of imagination and
leadership. When you set the bar high,
children will rise to the occasion. By continuing
remote learning on Passover and
Good Friday, the Mayor has deprived
students of the honor of sacrifi ce for the
benefi t of the community.
Robert Berger, Bellerose
HUMBLED TO HELP // PHOTO COURTESY OF CENTRO PIZZA BAR
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