NEW YORK—A rally to protest the MTA's recent proposal to eliminate numerous subway and bus lines serving Brooklyn was held on Monday by Councilmember Bill de Blasio, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz and community members.
The rally was held at the B75 bus stop on Fifth Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope—one of the routes for which the authority is proposing to cut weekday and weekend service. Elected leaders also called on the Ravitch Commission to recommend reinstating the commuter tax, rather than placing tolls on the East River bridges.
"The solution to the MTA's financial crisis is not nickel and diming the working families who depend on the subway and bus system to get to work everyday. We must look toward creative solutions, like reinstating the Commuter Tax, that will not disproportionately burden outer borough New Yorkers, as fare hikes, service cuts, and placing tolls on the East River bridges undoubtedly will," said Councilmember Bill de Blasio.
To address its mounting financial troubles, the MTA recently announced a proposal to eliminate and/or shorten twenty-six bus and numerous subway lines. The MTA also proposed instating drastic fare hikes for all subway and bus rides, including raising the base subway and bus fare to $2.50.
The Ravitch Commission, headed by former MTA commissioner Richard Ravitch, is scheduled to present its findings to Governor Patterson on Friday, December 5th. The Commission will reportedly recommend placing tolls on the East River bridges and instating a payroll tax to close some of the MTA's projected $1.2 billion budget shortfall for next year.
"The MTA's latest round of proposed fare hikes and service cuts is, in a word, unacceptable," said Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz.
"Yes, these are indeed tough economic times, and we all must do some belt tightening, but we can't resort to exorbitant fare increases and subway and bus service cuts—or East River bridge tolls—which selectively punish certain boroughs and neighborhoods for what is a regional and state responsibility. Brooklyn already represents the largest proportion of mass transit users in the City, and it's downright discriminatory—especially against our immigrant communities and those hard-working residents who sometimes have no other way to get around—to impose tolls, increase fares, derail subway service or bring buses to a screeching halt when our borough is already paying its fair share."
