It is unimaginable that a year has passed since Ryan was murdered. Every single day I mourn the gigantic, obnoxiously loud, Ryan-shaped hole in my life, and I mourn the brilliant organizer, policy wonk, comrade, and friend who fought to make this world better.
48 minute wait… at 9:30am… I just… 😭
@GovKathyHochul
more than half of NYC residents don’t own cars (like me). Waits like this make our city unlivable. We need
#6MinuteService
I loved Ryan like he was my little brother and I will miss him terribly. He was a tremendous friend, colleague, organizer, confidant, and an absurd force of nature whose light we were robbed from far too soon. I love you Ryan.
I am devastated to share that my dear friend Ryan Carson, who worked for NYPIRG and created the advocacy organization “No OD NY”, was murdered last night. I met Ryan many years ago through the DIY punk scene and he has been a trusted friend in Albany and at home. I miss him.
Some *news*!
After 10 (!!!) years at NYPIRG, today will be my last day at the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. I am excited to announce that I will be joining the immensely talented team at Tri-State Transportation Campaign as their new Director of Climate and Equity Policy!
I can’t get over this. Imagine literally surviving the holocaust only to be mowed down and killed by an SUV on your way to shul in Brooklyn.
2021 was the deadliest year on NYC streets since vision zero started.
@NYCMayor
what are you doing to reverse the trend in 2022?
For years, NJ Transit has raided its own capital budget to pay for operations. This has deteriorated NJT service, and riders are left struggling.
Instead of obsessing over congestion pricing,
@GovMurphy
owes it to NJT riders to invest in public transit.
NEW: Beginning May 17, the 12am outdoor dining area curfew for bars & restaurants will be lifted.
The 12am indoor area curfew will be lifted on May 31.
The Governor’s reasoning for his unwillingness to raise taxes on the wealthiest NYers is wild when you consider that his MTA is considering taxing essential workers by raising the fare this month for *far* less revenue.
#unfairhike
I went to see To Kill A Mockingbird tonight- before the show ended a motorcycle outside the theater backfired and everyone inside thought the sound was gunshots in the theater
Buses are too crowded because service is too infrequent. Instead of fighting each other for limited space, we should unite to call on our State and City for more frequent service and new bus lanes. A more accessible transit system for EVERYONE is possible.
A group of NYC moms have for months advocated at MTA board meetings for strollers to be allowed on buses.
That's caused tension with disability advocates, including a blind speaker today who called the moms "lazy"
"We did not choose to be disabled, but you chose to be a mother"
30+ years since the passage of the ADA and STILL less than a quarter of all NYC subway stations are accessible.
@GovKathyHochul
- we need a commitment for a fully accessible subway system now!
Thanks to
@RidersAlliance
and
@RepGraceMeng
for amplifying this call!
#AccessDenied
Every day I walk past this intersection to get my toddler to daycare and I’m reminded of Dolma’s story and how dangerous our streets are.
This bill is common sense for a city like ours. Thanks to my rep
@ZohranKMamdani
and honorary Astorian
@Sen_Gounardes
for sponsoring it.
80% of children killed on NYC streets are killed by an SUV or other large vehicle, and cars continue to get bigger every year. Proud to launch legislation with
@ZohranKmamdani
to adjust vehicle fees based on their weight and make our streets safer.
Glad to see
@NYGovCuomo
drive the point home that our public transit system is an extension of our healthcare system as we NEED to get nurses, doctors, healthcare workers and other frontline employees to work. Congress must protect transit in any
#COVID19
economic stimulus.
My op-ed with
@NJPolicy
's
@alexfromNJ
from today's Bergen Record: if
@GovMurphy
really wants to stick it to NY's congestion pricing plan, the best thing he can do is invest in NJ Transit.
Despite most households not owning cars, New York City is suffering from more traffic congestion than anywhere else in the country — surpassing Los Angeles for the first time in nearly four decades.
New York also ranks
#1
in the commuter stress index.
NOW❗️Riders and State Legislators are coming together to tell
@NYGovCuomo
to invest $249 million in a subway
#ServiceHike
instead of 500 new MTA police!
🔥
“The indefatigable activist wasn't afraid to stand up to the mayor for not taking her advice on Mobility”.
Hell yea.
@jaqicohen
is
#42
in the
@CityAndStateNY
Transportation Power 100!
This is a devastating cut to a vital program for hundreds of thousands of low-income New Yorkers. A million steps backwards from achieving transit equity.
Today we joined our union and EJ advocacy partners in Red Hook to launch the Clean Deliveries Campaign and demand online retailers like Amazon be held accountable for heavy pollution from delivery trips.
@MMitaynes
and
@SenGianaris
' Clean Deliveries Act will do just that.
1.6% of NJ commuters drive to the CBD. 77% take public transit.
"We crunched this data, and it revealed to us that there is more panic in the discussion than warranted in terms of impacts on New Jersey drivers"-
@FPRinBklyn
🔥🔥🔥
@Tri_State
"The City should add 100 miles of bus lanes over the next two years, with a special emphasis on increasing access to non-Manhattan commercial corridors" !!!
Cuomo:
#stateofthestate
- we must improve the NYC subway system, it is a question of funding. We need short-term funding this year for emergency repair and long-term funding to address growing traffic
Some non-COVID content for you: We had my late grandfather’s 8mm digitized and just watched it for the first time last night- discovered lots of amazing footage from the ‘64 World’s Fair!
NYC’s buses are the slowest👏in👏America👏. A disproportionate # of bus riders are essential workers, immigrants, and POC.
@NYCMayor
- will you keep your promise and commit to speeding up buses 25% this year?
#BetterBuses
#AskTheMayor
@BrianLehrer
It’s not every day that I get to be in a room with some of public transit’s staunchest champions but here we’re here with
@GovKathyHochul
to celebrate the advancement of congestion pricing and investment in public transit, NYC’s most important public infrastructure.
I am forever awed by the bravery and power of these mothers who have lost their children to traffic violence, and of all the members of
@NYC_SafeStreets
.
Shame on you
@NYSA_Majority
for letting it get to this point.
BREAKING:
@NYC_SafeStreets
members Amy Cohen and Fabiola Mendieta-Cuapio are starting a hunger strike at 11 a.m. tomorrow until
@CarlHeastie
holds a vote on Sammy's Law.
New Yorkers overwhelmingly want this bill. Albany must stop playing politics with our children's lives.
Is it a coincidence that the proposed fare hike would raise the same amount of money that the governor is looking to divert from the MTA? No. The gov would rather raise taxes on working class New Yorkers with an
#unfairhike
than tax the rich:
As if things weren't scary enough- an SUV just crashed into a coffee shop around the corner from my apartment. *Especially* as more ppl are opting to walk and cycle to get around, the last thing we should need to fear right now are vehicles plowing down the sidewalk.
@NYCMayor
ICYMI: The governor proposed a budget that steals $145 million from the MTA (the same amount of $ expected to be raised from the proposed fare hike). Both houses of the legislature said no.
#StopTheRaids
“I know he would have wanted people to use his death as a means to talk about structural wrongs in the city,” Melissa Lozada-Oliva said about the the unprovoked killing of her friend Ryan Thoresen Carson.
This is our reality. In a country, in a WEEK, where so many people have been murdered by gun violence,we can’t go anywhere without thinking this could be our reality.
Had a great morning surveying bus riders in Yonkers- some of the things riders wanted to see included shorter wait times, more weekend service, and benches at bus stops.
#BetterBeeLine
Opening 100 miles of NYC streets to the public right now is a big deal- putting people first by allowing NYers to keep a safe distance is critical for our collective health and safety. Thank you
@NYCMayor
and
@NYCCouncil
for coming to an agreement and doing the right thing.
"Widening highways to incentivize more driving during a climate emergency is absolute insanity"-
@LiamBlank
@GovKathyHochul
- inducing demand on the Van Wyck harms frontline communties and our climate. Invest this money in transit instead.
This L-train presentation has yet to address what we all want to know most- how long will this rehab take? How will service be impacted? Will we still get new elevators/bus lanes/longer trains?
#WhatTheL
A PSA: this week I got COVID & antibody tests-I am normally a very big baby about going to the doctor but the nurses at
@NYCHealthSystem
in Fort Greene were amazing and the test wasn’t scary and I got both results in 24hrs (happy to report COVID free 👏)
New York City's MTA, the largest public transportation system in North America, is seeking a $4 billion federal bailout. Subway ridership has plunged 60% during the coronavirus pandemic.
The nation’s transit agencies asking for $25b+ for emergency relief from the fed is completely reasonable. Boeing has requested more than twice as much.
#TransitIsEssential
Our students showed up today in support of
#CongestionPricing
to
#FixTheSubway
because they are fighting for a cleaner environment, a more accessible transit system, and a more equitable New York.
👏👏You love to see
@MTA
and
@NYC_DOT
working together to bring
#BetterBuses
to our streets 👏👏
Complete with:
✅All-door boarding
✅Accessible bus platforms
✅Restarting network redesigns
✅Expanded transit signal priority
✅More miles of bus lanes and bus ways
Listen- lots of ambitious projects in
@GovKathyHochul
SOTS and budget. But highway widening in Queens is the exact *opposite* direction of where we need to be headed in order to rectify historic racial inequity in transportation planning in NYC.
Statement on NYS Budget Proposal:
"While the Governor’s budget puts forth a number of ambitious priorities that will strengthen the region, the budget also includes counterintuitive priorities that will move New York in the wrong direction."
Read more:
I was excited to see
@sbgoldensohn
at today’s
#AccessNow
rally... but he couldn’t make it because every single accessible station near our event he attempted to go to had broken elevators! We need more elevators and we need them to work!
@NYGovCuomo
@MTA
“250 million at a time when the MTA is on a fiscal cliff, at a time when crime is at an all time low, is ridiculous. If the MTA needs a list of things to better spend their money on, I’d be glad to advise them,”
@Straphangers
Extremely cool to have Senate Majority Leader
@SenSchumer
meet with hundreds of
@NYPIRG
students and organizers across NYS today to talk about the importance of advocacy in New York!
Testified at today's very painless
@MTA
congestion pricing hearing for Connecticut- important to remember that congestion pricing helps fight against the effects of climate change and improves transit for the region, not just within the CBD.
When folks talk about defunding police, what they mean is: maybe use the funds that currently pay for tasing and abusing unarmed black men and use them towards reduced-fares or free transit instead.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
A gang of
@NYPDnews
officers swarmed onto a train, jumped on and tased a young Black Man. They accused him of fare evasion and many witnesses on the train, tried to explain to the cops that he did pay his fare.
A rail or bus line that makes it easier for me and
@rebeccabailin
to hang out? I'm not saying she did this intentionally, but seems like when women are in the governor's office, best friendships win?
Wait, what?
"There’s not always a chance to help people all the time in terms of their transportation needs,"
@NYCMayor
tells
@chayesmatthew
about how NYers will get back to work w/o a safe mass transit system.
"People are going to have to improvise and I believe they will"
Love hearing the caller on
@BrianLehrer
who moved back to NYC from TX during the pandemic because of our public transit. Transit is integral to NY's recovery.
#SaveTransit
Ope, looks like someone tried to vote for the acting MTA chairman for mayor but called him "Lieger" instead of "Lieber."
In any case he lagged behind transit advocate
@jaqicohen
and, uhhh, the other Subway guy.
We’re getting feral on Fordham!
We’re out at
@FordhamNYC
with the very flora and fauna
@BronxZoo
and
@NYBG
claim to care about to call out their bull-💩 opposition to a new busway!
Thank you to
@RidersNY
for this MOST prestigious honor, and for
@emmagf
for making my dreams come true by using my words in your reporting of the MTA’s bus action plan!
"The length of their parents commutes can be one of the biggest factors in predicting upward mobility for children. More than coming from a two parent home. More than their test scores."
@jonquilynhill
masterfully connects transit to equity in this great listen.
.
@SecretaryPete
on America’s deadly roads: “We should all be up in arms about roadway deaths in this country.”
Read or listen to our conversation on the latest episode of The Weeds.
On behalf of NYC’s 2 million daily bus riders, a huge thank you to
@nily
and
@LizKrueger
for championing the expansion of bus lane camera enforcement. This is a tremendous win for every single one of us who rides the bus 🙌😊🚌
We’re looking for feedback to improve safety, public space &
#BikeNYC
connections in Astoria,
#Queens
!
Check out this survey (& send it to your neighbors) to give input on 31st Ave & also share ideas for new north/south routes:
Tom Cotton to Pat Toomey, overheard walking onto the floor: “What is Chuck Schumer going to do, upgrade every rail in the New York City Subway system?”
Thousands of workers have been left in the lurch, wondering when 24/7 service will be restored.
@NYGovCuomo
- I can think of no better way to celebrate NY's low infection rate than by bringing back late-night subway service to those keeping our city afloat.
After long shifts on the frontlines, late night workers face an unwelcome challenge: no subway service.
@TransitCenter
urges
@NYGovCuomo
to restore 24-hour service for thousands of hospital, airport, pharmacy, & bodega workers.
@RidersAlliance
Here at today’s
@NYCCouncil
joint oversight hearing on Access-A-Ride.
@MTA
recently announced plans to gut its transformative on-demand AAR pilot, we’re here to say
#WeDemandOnDemand
For example- the stock transfer tax has already raised over $4 billion this year and was fully rebated back to Wall Street. The fare hike on subway and bus riders will raise $79 million. The fare hike is a tax hike on working New Yorkers
#unfairhike
If THIS is what happens on a rainy Thursday in July, how on earth are we prepared for the next Sandy-sized storm?!
Reason
#3937293
why we need need Congress to approve new and sustained federal funding for transit.
#TransformTransit
@SenSchumer
@RepJeffries
.
@NYGovCuomo
says if a subway car or bus is crowded, try to take the next one and avoid other densely packed places as NY tally hits 105 coronavirus cases
Gotta shout out
@rebeccabailin
from
@RidersNY
. She first mentioned
#FairFares
to me over coffee about 3 YEARS ago. And she never stopped. Bravo, sister! Like
@CoreyinNYC
said, today simply doesn't happen without the advocates.
NEW REPORT: Commuter rail is dead. The NYC region needs a unified Regional Rail network, with frequent, all-day service, accessible stations, and modern electric trains. We could have a great transit system, but it all depends on Penn Station.
➡️
"Fare capping would ensure that all riders have access to the same unlimited fare option, whether they could afford to pay upfront or not."
-Jaqi Cohen, Director of Climate & Equity Policy
Everybody loves somebody who went to CUNY- for me, it’s my mom (I went to SUNY!).
I’m so proud to know you
@juvaniepiquant
, and thanks for fighting for a
#NewDeal4CUNY
in Albany,
@Sen_Gounardes
!