Good Morning, Brooklyn: Tuesday, August 16, 2022
PUBLIC OUTREACH ON FAIR FARES NYC: The Mayor’s Public Engagement Unit (PEU) and the Department of Social Services (DSS) celebrate an outreach day of action at Albee Square in Downtown Brooklyn, and across subway stations citywide to promote the Fair Fares NYC program, following two weeks of targeted outreach to eligible New Yorkers via text and phone. Fair Fares NYC is a City program created to help New Yorkers with low incomes manage their transportation costs, with eligible New York City residents receiving a 50 percent discount on subway and eligible bus fares or MTA Access-A-Ride paratransit trips.
The event was held in partnership with NYC Small Business Services and featured tabling with city agencies, including PEU, HRA Fair Fares, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, and IDNYC.
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BIPARTISAN FIGHT AGAINST CONGESTION PRICING PLAN: Fighting back against New York City’s Congestion Pricing Program, U.S. Congressmembers Nicole Malliotakis (R-11) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) yesterday announced bipartisan steps they are taking at the federal level, including new legislation that would require the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conduct a full audit of the Metro Transit Authority (MTA) on what they say is billions in federal assistance over the past five years. Reps. Malliotakis and Gottheimer have already taken several steps to fight New York’s congestion tax, including the Economic Impact of Tolling Act, legislation that would prohibit the Secretary of Transportation from implementing congestion pricing until a thorough economic impact analysis is completed and publicized.