BP MARKOWITZ BLASTS MTA’S PROPOSED FARE HIKES AND
CUTTING OF BROOKLYN SUBWAY AND BUS SERVICE

The MTA’s latest round of proposed fare hikes and service cuts is, in a word, unacceptable. Make no mistake, eliminating M subway service in Brooklyn and weekend service on the 27 and 28 express bus lines, as well as other reductions in bus service, increases in wait times for the B train, and truncating the G train’s reach into Queens, means Brooklynites will take a disproportionate hit and unfairly shoulder the burden of the City’s mass transportation woes. And cutting the Z line entirely would overcrowd the already tight commutes for residents in Williamsburg, Bushwick, East New York, and Cypress Hills because, in place of the Z, the J would have to pick up the slack along the entire line.

Cutting the M train and x27 and x28 bus routes would strand commuters in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Sunset Park, Borough Park, Bensonhurst, New Utrecht, Bath Beach, Gravesend, and Coney Island. Additionally, increasing waits on the B line will leave Brooklyn straphangers standing on platforms longer, and slashing G train service past Long Island City would dramatically reduce the already limited direct subway routes for those who travel between Brooklyn and Queens—forcing them to travel far out of their way, all the way through Manhattan.

On top of this, it will be an absolute outrage if the MTA raises the charge for Access-A-Ride service, which serves the disabled and elderly. In Brooklyn, which has more senior residents than any other borough, these cuts would have disastrous effects on our most vulnerable commuters, who use this transport to access medical care and services.

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. New Yorkers shouldn’t have to carry the load when commuters from Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut and our northern suburbs also use the City’s transportation network and infrastructure on a daily basis. Any revenue sources under consideration must be fair and balanced to everyone in the MTA region.

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.

My office and I have submitted ideas to the MTA and the State for solid revenue enhancing mechanisms that would distribute the responsibility fairly across the region. These include bringing back a commuter tax, which could bring in a minimum of $500 million annually; instituting a special state lottery, possibly a jackpot game drawn on Mondays, with proceeds dedicated to transportation throughout the State; increasing the surcharge fee for car registration within New York City and imposing a surcharge on car registrations within all counties inside the MTA district (including those upstate and on Long Island), with revenues dedicated to mass transit; and imposing a modest tax, in addition to the existing state gasoline tax in the metropolitan region, with revenues going to mass transit.

Let’s fund mass transit the right way—without cutting service and disproportionately affecting Brooklynites—and keep the wheels of New York City’s economy turning.”