Fight the Hike!
- by Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. - Councilman, 32nd District
The MTA apparently has a time machine.
Last month the authority announced that it wants to make history for the second time since the 1980’s by raising the fare yet again for a second consecutive year in a row. The announcement tops off what has been a year of outrageous forays into transportation proposals paid for on the backs of the middle class.
The MTA has a widening budget gap of nearly $900 million and it expects transit riders to pay the bill. But I am not convinced that service has improved since March even when the MTA raised the monthly Metrocard rate, a move that targeted commuters rather than tourists, yet the MTA expects the middle class to shell out further for the shortfall. We heard a similar theme in March when the mayor introduced congestion pricing as a way to funnel federal tax dollars to the subway system, which would’ve placed an undue financial burden on Queens residents, many of whom live in areas ill-served by public transportation.
Queens is the fastest-growing borough in the city, but we have disproportionately fewer subway lines, the majority of which, run along the central arteries of the borough. Residents in South East Queens and even in areas such as Middle Village and Ridgewood, are not privileged with a great number of subway stops and rely overwhelmingly on surface transit. Neither of these two proposals, neither the fare hike or congestion pricing, are right for Queens, which is why I oppose them both.
I’m starting a campaign to Fight the Hike in order to make our voices heard. Join me at www.fightthehike08.com to register your opposition and find out what you can do to keep the subway affordable. Look for me at various Queens subway stops where I’ll be out talking to commuters and collecting signatures, so we can let the MTA know that Queens says “no” to any future fare hikes.
The cost of living is on the rise, and the state is experiencing financial difficulty which usually jeopardizes jobs and income. The first answer to a budget deficit cannot always be to increase the cost of living for middle class people, especially without a serious improvement in service and facilities. Just recently a survey of 50 stations by the New York City Transit Riders Council revealed that riders complained overwhelmingly about the state of disrepair of the City's subway stations, many of which suffer from water damage, lack of proper signage, and peeling paint.
New York City Transit even acknowledged the problem by proposing to include $71 million in their Capital Plan to address problem areas incrementally. Since the Bloomberg administration has already signaled that the City will not balance the MTA’s bottom line, it’s up to the state to prioritize spending in these tough fiscal times and focus funding where it is most needed, and where it’ll do the most good.
We in government need to make high quality low cost public transportation a priority and send a message to the MTA that we expect to get what we pay for. As legislators return to Albany this week to reassess the budget, I urge them to not only act judiciously, but on behalf of middle class interests. Raising the fare should be a last resort and I don’t believe we’re at that point.
- Council Member Joseph Addabbo, Jr. (D) - District 32
