Issue Position: Fixing Our Broken Transit System
Issue Position
Southern Brooklyn is starved for reliable public transit. Our subway and bus service is at an all time low, subway stations are inaccessible and literally falling apart-- yet fares continue to rise. If the MTA was a private business, it would have been run out of town years ago! You can check out my transit report which demonstrates how the transit woes of southern Brooklyn have tangibly affected our economy, our wellbeing and our quality of life. Our community needs and deserves better.
My efforts to restore our broken public transportation system include:
Holding the MTA accountable to riders, by giving riders in every borough a direct vote on the MTA Board so that the hundreds of millions of dollars spent on mass transit will go to service improvements and not wasteful spending. We shouldn't be spending tens of millions of dollars putting fancy lights on the Kosciuszko Bridge while our stations are crumbling and our signal system is more than 100 years old. I have introduced legislation that would give riders a vote and a voice.
Ensuring money is spent on improving speed, quality, and reliability of trains and buses, and rehabilitating our subway stations including structural and architectural components. We finally passed a program that would provide the MTA a steady funding stream to make vital changes. Unfortunately the pandemic has stalled these plans, but we can't give up on the goal of a better transit system for all of us.
Fighting for accessible stations so all New Yorkers, including the thousands who use wheelchairs or have other mobility impairments, can ride the subways without unnecessary obstacles. Roughly 75 percent of our stations are inaccessible and many are unsafe because they lack elevators and are plagued by crumbling walls. This is unacceptable. I have introduced legislation to hold the MTA accountable for accelerating station accessibility and have personally advocated for greater accessibility in our neighborhoods. When I first started, there were no accessible stations in Senate District 22. Now, there are three that are either currently accessible or under construction, with more planned.
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