July 23, 2013
By Stephanie West
New York, NY— Riders, community and faith organizations, and legislators as well as bus and subway workers from TWU Local 100, will hold a rally for their right to quality Public Transportation. The event will take place outside of MTA Headquarters on Wednesday, July 24th beginning at 8:30am.
For over three years, this broad coalition has been leading grassroots campaigns to restore the MTA’s 2010 service cuts across the city, and will be regularly converging at MTA Headquarters to continue the fight for full restorations and additional service improvements.
”The 2010 reductions in bus and subway services were and continue to be particularly harsh for people in working class communities, disproportionately impacting the elderly, disabled, families, youth, and persons with chronic illnesses,” TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen said. “While we will be celebrating some service restorations such as the B37, our coalition is coming together at the July 24th MTA Board meeting because we want all services to be brought back. It is the right of every New Yorker to safe, affordable, reliable, and accessible public transportation. Public Transit is a basic civil right, especially for working class families who rely on public transit to get to jobs, school, and social services.”
Pastor Gilford Monrose, President of the 67th Precinct Clergy Council and Vice President of Churches United to Save and Heal, added, “I am proud to be a part of the Transit Justice rally because I strongly agree that everyone has the right to Public Transportation.”
Last year, the group joined Assemblyman Bill Colton and the Transit Improvement Coalition in a successful campaign to restore the B64 in Southwest Brooklyn. The coalition’s other campaigns include restoring the B37 along the Third Avenue corridor in Brooklyn, buses in Co-op City, and Station Booths around the city.
For more information, please visit www.transitforward.org.
EVENT INFORMATION:
WHAT: Transit Justice Rally
WHEN: Wednesday, July 24th, between 8:30-11:00AM
WHERE: MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, between 44th-45th Streets in Manhattan
WHO: TWU Local 100 President John Samuelsen, Legislators, Union Presidents
