Latest news with #FairFares
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Push to expand discounted transit fares to low income families
NEW YORK (PIX11) — A city program benefitting working-class families is considered a lifeline for 360,000 low-income New Yorkers who qualify for 50% discounts on subway and bus fares. These are people living at 145% of the federal poverty level, which means a family of four making $46,000 or less a year is eligible for the program. More Local News At a City Hall rally, advocates called for the federal poverty level to be increased to 200%, which would give 415,000 more New Yorkers access to the Fair Fares Council member Rita Joseph maintains, 'This is not just a matter of public transportation. It's a matter of justice. Making sure a mother can get to work without skipping a meal, a student can get to class without worrying, a senior on a fixed income can make it to a doctor's appointment.'Fair Fares has become an indispensable program for thousands of working-class New Yorkers since its launch six years ago, providing eligible riders with discounted subway and bus the federal poverty guidelines in difficult economic times would uplift the lives of people struggling to make ends member Selvena Brooks-Powers says, 'That's over 400,000 people who finally have a chance to move across the city affordably with dignity.' More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Council Speaker Adrienne Adams claims New Yorkers are facing an affordability crisis that is pushing them to the brink, and that is why she's pushing to make more low-income families eligible for Fair Fare discounts. She explains, 'Being able to afford the fare means you can pursue opportunities and go to school and see friends and meet your everyday obligations. Yet too many New Yorkers are still struggling to access public transportation, which prevents them from moving in their own city.' The arguments have been made, now the heat is on the mayor, the budget committee, and the city council to approve an additional 34 million dollars to the annual budget that will give additional low-income families discounted access to transportation in the city. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bloomberg
21-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
What Living in New York City Is Like Now: From Rent to Rats
The pandemic was especially challenging for low-income New Yorkers, who often held jobs that couldn't be done remotely. Many such positions were axed in the early days of lockdowns, and even when hiring picked up, in-person work came with the risk of Covid-19 infections. Federal stimulus checks provided financial relief to some of the neediest New Yorkers, but the burst of inflation that peaked in 2022 was especially hard on this group. More New Yorkers live in poverty now than in 2019, an increase that has contributed to more residents on SNAP and in the shelter system. The city has invested in programs to help these New Yorkers, such as Fair Fares, which received an additional $20 million in funding at the end of 2023.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
MTA to stop selling MetroCards by the end of the year
NEW YORK (PIX11) — Get ready for the final swipe, MetroCards have a new official end date, according to MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. Lieber announced the transit agency will stop selling MetroCards by the of the year during a Power Breakfast event hosted by Crains New York on Wednesday morning. More Local News The new timeline for the MetroCard's retirement comes after the MTA previously planned to replace the swipe system by 2023, according to a previous press release. '[The] MetroCard will continue to be available until all comparable services are offered with OMNY,' an MTA representative previously told PIX11 by email. More Transit News The MTA launched the Fair Fares pilot program for the tap-and-go system last May followed by student OMNY cards last September and reduced-fare OMNY cards in December. According to Lieber, MetroCards will still continue to work to swipe riders into the system until at least 2027. MetroCards replaced tokens to get into the transit system 30 years ago. Its new successor, the OMNY system was announced 25 years later in 2019. As of July 25, more than half of New York City's transit riders use OMNY to enter the system. Dominique Jack is a digital content producer from Brooklyn with more than five years of experience covering news. She joined PIX11 in 2024. More of her work can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Yorkers rally for expanded Fair Fares subway discount eligibility
NEW YORK CITY (PIX11) – Eligibility for half-priced subway discounts should be expanded to include people making under $31,300 per year, elected officials say. The city's Fair Fares program offers discounted subway and bus fares to low-income New Yorkers. The program was expected to expand in early 2025 to include all locals making 145% of the federal poverty level, or $22,692 per year for a single person. A family of four would need to make under $46,617 to qualify. More Local News On Monday, advocates and elected officials are holding a rally at City Hall to say the program should expand to include New Yorkers making up to 200% of the federal poverty level. The new eligibility would include a single New Yorker making $31,300, a family of two making $42,300 and a family of three making $53,300. This expansion would mean 415,000 more New Yorkers could get the discount, including many who work minimum-wage jobs, according to the MTA's Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee. Advocates have long called for the 200% eligibility bar. In November, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Borough President Antonio Reynoso joined a rally at City Hall calling for the expansion. At the time, a spokesperson for the Department of Social Services told PIX11 the department would need to review the previous expansion to 145% of the federal poverty line before considering another. Emily Rahhal is a digital reporter who has covered New York City since 2023 after reporting in Los Angeles for years. She joined PIX11 in 2024. See more of her work here and follow her on Twitter here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
In potential lead up to a mayoral run, NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams highlights affordability, public safety
In her final State of the City speech as council speaker, Adrienne Adams hinted at a potential mayoral run and highlighted her work on issues high on voters' priority lists — affordability and public safety. Adams, who is in her fourth year as leader of the legislative body, has not yet overtly said she'll run for mayor, but she hasn't ruled it out and is expected to announce a run in the coming days. She has already filed a fundraising committee with the New York City Campaign Finance Board and participated in a screening to gain the endorsement of 32BJ, the powerful service workers union. During her speech Tuesday, Adams took direct shots against Mayor Eric Adams and openly slammed his relationship with President Donald Trump. Though they share the same name, the speaker and mayor are not related. 'While we may not have the same resources as the mayoral administration, we have been creative in producing solutions to our city's biggest challenges — from maternal mortality to child poverty,' she said. 'These solutions are models that can be scaled for greater impact.' 'Why lead if your default is to insist that something is too hard, or that we just can't do it?' she continued. 'Why not try to help New Yorkers?' Adams announced a set of improvements to reduce bureaucratic obstacles that prevent access to CityFHEPS housing vouchers. The mayor has blocked expanding the program due to its projected cost. The Council speaker also signaled she wants to prioritize expanding the Fair Fares program, which reduces subway fares for more than 360,000 New Yorkers, permanently fund the CUNY Reconnect program to help re-enroll students and increase funding for a childcare voucher. The speaker called out the mayor for not doing enough to expand eligibility for housing vouchers. But her most pointed criticism was directed at the mayor's proposed $58.3 million cut to library funding and funding for parks. 'This Council will always defend our libraries,' she said. 'When libraries were on the chopping block during the last budget cycle, we mobilized to secure their restoration.' The speaker announced a plan to add seven days of service at ten more branches and said she would continue pushing to restore funding to parks until it reaches almost one percent of the city's budget, calling green spaces 'a lifeline to New Yorkers.' On public safety, she emphasized helping survivors of violent crime and closing Rikers Island, but did not mention plans to alter policing or address the New York Police Department's staffing issues. Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who announced his own mayoral run over the weekend and is leading the field in most polls, pledged to expand the number of police officers if elected. The mayor has increased police presence on the subways. Both of them — and the speaker, if she decides to run — will be competing to win over Black voters, who represent a significant portion of their respective bases. The speaker noted during her speech that people have described her as a moderate, though she did not outright say whether she has applied that term to herself. Still, the reference is a possible allusion to how she might position herself during a mayoral campaign. 'Throughout my time in office, I've been labeled as a 'moderate' in people's attempt to make sense of who I am,' she said. 'But my focus has always been public service, which has no political label.' The speaker made sure to include Trump in her speech. And unlike Mayor Adams, who has cozied up to the president as his Justice Department moved to drop corruption charges against him, the speaker had harsh words for the Republican leader. 'In his quest for power, Trump is willing to burn everything in his way. But a house built on ashes will fall,' she said. 'The Trump administration's cruel crusade against immigrant families, within a nation of immigrants, is threatening our democratic values.' She noted that the Council has backed educational initiatives and legal services to counteract policies perceived by many as anti-immigrant. Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who attended the speech, said he supported the speaker running for mayor. 'I'm really, really excited about the entrance of Adrienne Adams,' he said. 'It's what we need right now, so we'll wait and see.'
