16 JULY 18, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Cuomo to MTA: Do something about homeless
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The MTA announced a “major
milestone” on July 11 that subway
on-time performance hit 81.5
percent in June, the fi rst time it’s been
above 80 percent in nearly six years.
MTA Chairman Patrick Foye
pointed to the Subway Action Plan
launched by Governor Andrew
Cuomo and former MTA boss Joe
Lhota as the reason for “more than six
months of sustained improvement”
in the subway system.
One day later, Cuomo
demanded more.
The governor fired off a letter
on July 12 to the MTA Board of
Directors urging them to address the
increasing problem of homelessness
on the subways. I
In 2018, there were 1,771 homeless
people living in the subway, but that
number surged to 2,178 in 2019, an
increase of 23 percent according
to the MTA’s own statistics, and
trains were delayed 659 times in
2018 by homeless people who were
walking on the tracks, and engaging
in disruptive and dangerous
behavior including blocking train
doors, something Cuomo called
a “staggering 54 percent increase
from the 428 homeless related delays
in 2014.
“New Yorkers are unfortunately
accustomed to having homeless
issues on trains and in the terminals
during the winter months, but this
has now become a year-round
phenomenon,” Cuomo wrote.
“Homeless people often pose a danger
to themselves and others. This is
another example of a problem long
discussed but short on constructive
progress. The discussion has had
the NYPD point to the MTA and the
MTA point to the NYPD. Let’s end
that exercise and point forward.”
Cuomo demanded the MTA develop
a comprehensive outreach plan that
coordinates MTA personnel, social
service providers and shelter and
supportive housing providers to help
the homeless out of the system and
into safe, supportive environments.
“There is no ‘reinvention of the
wheel’ necessary in this case,” Cuomo
wrote. “Society serves no one by
allowing homeless individuals who
need help to inhabit the subways.
Let’s actually focus on helping the
homeless, rather than political
posturing. This is not an issue for
helping the homeless or the subway
riders; that is a false choice. We must
serve both.”
MTA Chair Patrick Foye agreed
with Cuomo’s stance that the
MTA must act in the interest of all
their customers.
“Homelessness is a serious societal
Photo via Getty Images
problem and a critical matter in the
subway system where it’s recently
on the rise; we fully agree with the
Governor that the MTA address this
issue as part of its reorganization
plan to become a more customercentric
Members of Queensboro Unico inducted their newest member, Phil Navarra, on July 2 at Villa Erasmo
Restaurant in Middle Village. Navarra is pictured at center along with (from left to right) Frank Palmeri,
Gaspare Mistretta, Sal Tomaselli and Joe Corsini. Unico is the largest Italian-American service organization
in the country, supporting various causes including local educational programs, food pantries, St. Jude’s
Children’s Research Hospital and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Photo courtesy of Queensboro UNICO
organization focused on
providing safe and dependable
service to all of our customers.”
Cuomo added that if the MTA
needs more police or social service
providers they should make that
adjustment now.
“Change is possible. Two years ago
the system faced a crisis, and with the
Subway Action Plan we aggressively
implemented a centralized emergency
management system that sowed that,
despite the bureaucracies’ resistance
to change, with a new way of doing
business, real progress could be
achieved,” Cuomo concluded. “While
bureaucratic change always brings
disruption and controversy, for the
MTA, the unwillingness or inability
to change continues the status quo
and ensures failure.”
New member at Queensboro Unico
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link