FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 29, 2021 • THE QUEENS COURIER 25
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Op-ed: A farewell message from the outgoing MTA chair and CEO
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CHILL OUT WITH TO-GO ICE CUBES // PHOTO BY F.E. SCANLON
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BY PATRICK FOYE
With my time as MTA
chair and CEO coming to
a close, I want to take the
opportunity in this fi nal
column to thank you, our
valued customers, for trusting us and riding
with us over the last four years. It has
been an honor to lead this critical agency
– one that aff ects the daily lives of millions
of New Yorkers.
Transit is not only the circulatory system
of this region fueling its economic
engine, but also a great equalizer, helping
to improve equity and access by connecting
our customers to job and educational
opportunities, social and cultural activities,
health care and more.
As the region’s recovery continues
and I move on to lead the Empire State
Development Corporation, I know the
MTA will continue to be there for New
Yorkers, as it has always been. Th ere
will be new leadership, but the mission
remains the same. Simply put, our customers
and dedicated workers are the
lifeblood of our system and our primary
focus, as they have been for 117 years.
Th e importance of transit has only been
heightened by the pandemic. I am proud
to have led the MTA at a time when New
Yorkers needed safe and reliable public
transportation more than ever. In the
darkest days of COVID, the MTA carried
doctors, nurses, police offi cers, fi refi ghters,
sanitation workers, grocery and delivery
workers, our own transit heroes, and
so many more so they could show up to
perform their essential duties and pull us
through this unprecedented crisis.
Th e dedicated men and women at every
level of the MTA, from our heroic workers
on the front lines and smart and tireless
staff at agency offi ces to our partners
in labor, are the defi nition of public
servants. Th ey’ve shown the nation and
the world what it means to be New York
tough, and I am humbled by their hard
work and determination.
It’s thanks to them that we faced the
greatest challenge in MTA history and
came out rising to recovery on the other
side. Th e same goes for the brave men
and women of the MTAPD and NYPD’s
Transit Bureau.
It was a tremendously moving capstone
to my tenure to celebrate these colleagues
at the Hometown Heroes ticker
tape parade earlier this month. Riding the
vintage 1903 wooden train up the Canyon
of Heroes was a poignant moment that
I will always cherish. It brought to mind
the service and sacrifi ce shown by all,
but especially by the 168 members of the
MTA family lost to COVID. I will never
forget them.
Now you can do your part by coming
back to the system—a system that is
safe, aff ordable, and open 24/7 to get you
where you need to go. We’ve seen ridership
begin to rise signifi cantly and expect
to make further gains in September as
businesses bring back more employees,
tourists return as Broadway fully reopens
and students come back to in-person
classes.
So again, a sincere thank you. Th is isn’t
really goodbye – I’ll still be out there riding
the rails as a commuter as I’ve done
for years – but it is the start of a new chapter.
I look forward to seeing you in transit.
Patrick Foye is the outgoing chair and
CEO of the MTA.
A SOURCE OF PRIDE:
THE OLYMPICS’
AMERICAN IMMIGRANT
REPRESENTATION
Th e Olympics have begun in Tokyo, Japan.
Now Eddy Alvarez was the American fl ag
bearer along with basketball star Sue Bird for
team USA. Eddy Alvarez’s statement at the
event gave me much hope and pride when he
said, “Just to get the honor to represent the
United States of America, to hold the fl ag —
the symbol of liberty, of freedom — my family
came over from Cuba in search of opportunity,
and if it wasn’t for them doing that, I
wouldn’t be in that position that I am now.”
Many immigrants have come over here
for just that reason. Th ese immigrants have
made America what it is today: a land of
promise, freedom and opportunity. Now
back in the early 1960s in Queens Village, an
immigrant named Maria and her three sons
had moved up the block from us. Th ey had
left Cuba when Castro and his government
took over and Maria’s husband was killed in
the takeover.
Maria, who became a good friend of my
mother Teresa, would oft en babysit me when
my mother had things to do. Maria would
oft en tell me how thankful she was to God
that she was to be living in America and
to be free. As to the Cuban people with all
their hardships they are saying, “No tenemos
miedo” (We are not afraid). And to Eddy
Alvarez, make America proud.
Frederick R. Bedell Jr., Bellerose
NOISE OVERHEAD AT LGA
I’m appalled at the new noise of planes
over 67th and 68th drives in Forest Hills.
Not that near to LaGuardia but roaring in
the skies above since May 2021.
Why and why here?
I’ve lived here for a very long time, and I’ve
never bothered by airplane noise before.
Jackie, Forest Hills
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