MTA ‘Mask Force’ hits Brooklyn subway stations

March 19, 2021 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

A volunteer gives out masks at the Broadway Junction-East New York station, serving the A, C, J, L and Z lines. Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit

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Approximately 150 volunteers on Thursday helped the MTA hand out approximately 50,000 masks in the MTA’s 15th “Mask Force” event.

The volunteers hit nine stations, three of which are in Brooklyn — Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center, Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue and Broadway Junction-East New York. All of these are busy transfer stations serving several subway lines.

Of the other stations, three are in Manhattan, one is in the Bronx, one is in Queens, and one, St. George in Staten Island, is a terminal on the MTA’s Staten Island Railway line.

Mask usage throughout the subway system has exceeded 98 percent and the MTA’s supply of masks for customers and employees surpasses the 25 million mark. Free masks are available through various means including the periodic Mask Force events, ambassador programs, at station booths, free mask dispensers on buses and PPE vending machines across the MTA network.

The volunteer distribution took place as more New Yorkers are getting vaccinated, and daily subway ridership steadily increases and approaches the two million mark.

“As more New Yorkers return to the system, the MTA Mask Force is there for them with plenty of free masks to keep everyone safe,” said MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer. “We’re grateful to our volunteers and anyone who wants to be a part of this great way to help their fellow New Yorkers is encouraged to join.”

More than 920 people have volunteered for the MTA Mask Force since its inception. The volunteers include top MTA officials and other employees, elected officials and their staffs, advocates, community board members, and members of the riding public. The program focuses primarily on almost a dozen subway stations for maximum line coverage and the busiest bus hubs with broad coverage across New York City.

Employees and volunteers wear bright yellow t-shirts and vests identifying them as part of the team. The Mask Force has distributed more than 550,000 masks since July 2020.

Additionally, the MTA has distributed to its workforce 17.4 million masks, 19.1 million pairs of gloves, 117,000 gallons of hand sanitizer, 253,000 7-oz and 2-oz bottles of hand sanitizer, 13 million individual sanitizing cleaning wipes, 261,000 gallons of cleaning solution, and 18,000 face shields.

The MTA first launched its Mask Force in order to supplement its existing distribution of masks in the transit system and to acknowledge customers who are already compliant. Wearing a face covering on public transportation in New York was required by law under Executive Order 202.18 issued by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo effective April 17, 2020.

A $50 fine was implemented on Sept. 14, 2020 for customers who refuse to wear a mask on public transportation.