NEW YORK (PIX11) — Education, child care and transit are big worries for families in New York City.
New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams said she hears these concerns, and the City Council will prioritize the needs of working people during the budget process. That would include an expansion of the Fair Fares program that provides half-price subway and bus fares.
Speaker Adams delivered the annual State of the City speech at the Justice Sonia Sotomayor Houses and Community Center in the Bronx on Wednesday. She focused on the working people of New York City, women’s issues and family concerns from child care to transit.
One of the headlines from the speech is the City Council’s priority for half-price subway and bus rides.
“As part of our work to make our city’s transit system more accessible, we will expand Fair Fares to offer half-priced bus and subway rides to New Yorkers with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level, nearly doubling the number of low-income New Yorkers eligible to benefit,” said Speaker Adams.
More than 283,000 New Yorkers are currently enrolled in the program. It’s set at the federal poverty level.
The proposal would allow a family of four to apply if they make less than $60,000. An individual who makes less than $29,000 could apply.
The proposals are part of the budget process and that negotiation is going on between the Adams administration and City Council.
