Addabbo Wants Free Subway/Bus Transfers For NYC Ferry Riders
State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth, South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside, The Rockaways) said yesterday that as the state legislation session starts he wants to begin the comprehensive discussion to have the NYC ferry system provide free transfers for riders that can be used on all MTA buses and trains.
Currently, passengers have to pay a $2.75 fare for a one-way ticket on the NYC Ferry, and additional $2.75 for any MTA bus or train they wish to use. By providing a free transfer between the two modes of transportation, Addabbo hopes to streamline the travel process for the thousands of people who use the NYC Ferry.
“As the MTA continues to work on the next generation of the MetroCard, I ask that they take into consideration the growing number of people who use the NYC Ferry,” Addabbo said. “With the number of passengers on the NYC Ferry likely to increase in the coming years, it would be a major benefit for the riders if they could continue their route by using a free transfer onto an MTA-operated bus or train. Joining these parts of our city’s public transportation system will help everyone travel faster.”
Additionally, Addabbo intends to contact the NYC EDC about possibly expanding its ferry bus service to the residents in Broad Channel and Howard Beach.
“Currently, residents of Broad Channel who drive and park their cars before boarding the NYC Ferry in the Rockaways can do it for free, while residents of Howard Beach who wish to do the same are inundated with the toll for crossing the Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge,” Addabbo said. “That just adds an additional fare for those people, which isn’t fair. That is why I would like to see the buses that bring people into the Rockaways to get the ferry expanded to Broad Channel and Howard beach. This would provide these residents with an alternate way of getting to the ferry, and if the MTA transfer plan moves forward it would be a free transfer from that bus onto the ferry.”
Crowley Calls Trump’s Wall A Non-Starter
U.S. Rep. and House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley (D-Astoria, College Point, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Woodside, parts of the Bronx) last week called President Trump’s $18 billion funding request to build a wall along the Mexican and American border a non-starter among House Democrats.
Crowley’s comments come among a backdrop of Congress having until March to pass some form DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) program or risk Trump ordering mass deportations of immigrants that came here as children.
Multiple sources and media reports state that more border security is a bargaining chip to get DACA legislation passed.
“President Trump has no interest in keeping Americans safe or overhauling our nation’s fundamentally flawed immigration system. He is solely focused on building an illogical and unnecessary border wall to appease the anti-immigrant voices in his party,” said Crowley.
“Spending $18 billion on a useless border wall is a non-starter for House Democrats. We need to fund the government, extend health insurance programs for children, protect DREAMers, secure Americans’ pensions, put forward a comprehensive overhaul for our broken immigration system that addresses border security concerns, and get back to work for the middle-class. We should not waste time on a completely impractical obsession that the President exploited for crass political reasons.”
Dromm’s Political Activist Mother Dies
City Council Member Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights, Elmhurst) announced yesterday that his mother, Mary Audrey Gallagher, a founding member of PFLAG/Queens, a support, education and advocacy group for parents, families and friends of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people died peacefully Thursday after spending a wonderful holiday season with family and friends.
The cause of death was a massive heart attack. She was 85 years old.
“My beautiful mother was my Rose Kennedy,” said Dromm, a reference to former President Kennedy’s mother who often appeared on the campaign trail with him. “My mother knocked on over 1500 doors to help me get elected, wrote a beautiful letter to seniors in the district and was constantly seen campaigning with me. Everywhere I went people always asked me about my mother. I truly believe she was the main reason I won.”
Gallagher was born in Brooklyn on September 6, 1932. She spent her first seven years in Blissville, a small section of Long Island City, which was home to many of New York’s Irish immigrant population.
After graduating St. John’s University, she married Warren Dromm and later gave birth to her first child Daniel Dromm, who is openly gay. She later had four other children: Lori, Marybeth, John and Joseph.
Gallagher studied to become a teacher and taught in the NYC public schools for a few years before taking time off to have her children.
Survivors and funeral arrangements is not known at post time
