A powerful coalition of elected Democrats on Wednesday pushed for the city to fund half-price MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers — isolating fellow Democrat Mayor Bill de Blasio for opposing the plan.
The group, which included the district attorneys of Manhattan, Brooklyn and the Bronx and labor leader and mayoral ally Stuart Appelbaum, made it clear the issue will be the big-ticket item in the upcoming battle with the mayor over the new $88.7 billion city budget.
Council Speaker Corey Johnson said the city needs to pony up the $212 million cost because the mayor’s plan to pay for it with a tax on the wealthy — which requires Albany’s approval — has little chance.
“The council is fully committed to making this a major cornerstone and pillar of our negotiations … and saying the city should not wait on Albany to pass a millionaire’s tax, but we should actually step up ourselves,” Johnson said at a rally on the steps of City Hall.
“If you want a bang for the buck … the best, easiest, fastest way to do that is to implement and pass fair fares.”
Public Advocate Letitia James, one of four likely 2021 mayoral candidates who attended the rally, praised Johnson for taking the lead on the issue.
“I call upon the mayor of the city of New York to do the right thing and to follow the leadership of the speaker,” she said. “It is so critically important that he recognize that access to transit is a major barrier to countless numbers of New Yorkers.”
Council officials have said the one-time initiative would save up to 800,000 commuters an average of $726 each.
Eligibility would be determined by federal poverty guidelines for income — which for a family of four is $25,100.
De Blasio has insisted the city doesn’t have the funds to pay for it out of his proposed $88.7 billion preliminary budget.
“The mayor proposed a plan for fair fares that would send the bill to the wealthiest New Yorkers, rather than forcing another state responsibility onto straphangers whose taxes pay for the city’s general fund,” said City Hall spokeswoman Freddi Goldstein. “Times are increasingly tight, and the $418 million we just spent to fix the state-run subways, which the council supported, will only make this year’s budget process all the more lean.”
