FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 23, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
Transit leader says MTA’s ‘Fast Forward’
plan won’t be quick, easy or cheap
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
New York City Transit (NYCT)
President Andy Byford came to Jamaica
on Aug. 21 for the fi rst of a series of MTA
town halls focused on the “Fast Forward”
plan to modernize the subways, buses and
paratransit over the next 10 years.
Dozens gathered at York College as
Byford outlined the details of the estimated
$40 billion plan. He was joined
by a team of panelists, including Alex
Elegudin, Senior Adviser for Systemwide
Accessibility; Sarah Meyer, NYCT Chief
Customer Offi cer; and Sarah Wyss, Senior
Director of Bus Service Planning.
Th e president said that the plan, which
was rolled out in May 2018, is a “comprehensive,
holistic, total modernization of
every aspect of New York City Transit.”
Consulted and launched in “less than 100
working days,” the plan would prioritize
change on four fronts: the subway, the
bus network, accessibility and employee
empowerment.
“Th e service was becoming increasingly
unreliable, people were leaving the bus
network in droves,” Byford said. “Th ere
were complaints, rightly so, about the system
not being accessible and there was
general dissatisfaction with the transit service
for myriad reasons.”
Changes detailed in the “Fast Forward”
plan are scheduled to take place in fi veyear
increments. In the fi rst fi ve years,
improvements include state-of-the-art signals
on fi ve subway lines, accessibility
to 50 new subway stations so riders are
never two stops away from an elevator,
over 650 new subway cars, redesign of the
bus routes in the fi ve boroughs and 2,800
new buses.
Byford added that the MetroCard would
be replaced by a new fare payment system
which would allow riders to use their credit
cards or phones to pay for public transportation.
Th e next fi ve years of the plan is slated to
bring similar changes in signals, accessibility
and additions of over 3,000 new train
cars and 2,100 buses.
But Byford made clear that these
improvements would come at a cost.
“Delivering a plan that’s that comprehensive
in 10 years will be neither quick,
nor easy, nor cheap,” Byford said. “Th e
alternative is a slow decline into further
unreliability.”
Th e town hall also functioned as a forum
for the public to ask Byford and the panelists
questions regarding the plan and
improvements. Some were concerned that
Byford was being disingenuous by not
informing the public about the meeting
sooner.
“Th is event was advertised on the website
aft er last Tuesday, which is why you
have empty seats,” said one man who went
by the name Mr. X. “If this forum was so
important to you, why didn’t you advertise
it in a timely manner?”
Byford took the blame for not informing
the public sooner and said that he committed
to another event in Queens. He
added that the NYCT would typically hold
only one MTA town hall per borough.
“It was a bit short notice, so what we’ve
said to the community, and particularly to
the elected offi cials ...we’re actually going
to hold a second event in Queens,” he said.
To learn more about the “Fast Forward”
plan visit fastforward.mta.info.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
NYCT President Andy Byford at the MTA Town Hall at York College.
Howard Beach library gets $100K for various upgrades
BY KATHERINE NERI
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
On Aug. 21, Assemblywoman Stacey
Pheff er Amato awarded a $100,000 check
to Queens Library President & CEO
Dennis M. Walcott in support of the
Howard Beach library.
Amato was able to secure the funding
during the last legislative session. It
is to be used for both exterior and interior
improvements at the Queens Library
Howard Beach branch.
Th e Howard Beach Branch — located
at 92-06 156th Ave. — is one of Queens
Library’s 63 locations. Maintaining the
quality of the building is important, especially
considering how busy it is. It does
not merely serve as a place to rent books,
but also off ers a number of programs for
children, teens, adults, mothers and families
as a whole.
Some programs include: Toddler
Time, Family Game Night, Friday Movie
Aft ernoon and Harry Potter 20: Trivia.
“Assemblywoman Pheff er Amato’s
$100,000 investment in the Howard
Beach Library refl ects the importance of
this branch to her constituents and to the
community,” Walcott said. “We are deeply
grateful for her support of this library
as well as for her continued commitment
to all the libraries in her district.”
“In Albany, I am not only a proud supporter
of our libraries here in Queens but
I also fought tooth and nail to increase
funding for the vital resources they provide
throughout New York state,” Amato
said. “I thank President Walcott for his
continued commitment to our libraries
Photo courtesy of Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato
and I am extremely proud to have
secured funding for our Howard Beach
Branch.”
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