Astoria pol backs “Fair Fix” plan
Councilman Costa Constantinides is among 27 council members who have announced their support for Mayor de Blasio’s Fair Fix proposal.
The plan would increase taxes on the city’s wealthiest to raise $800 million annually to fix the crumbling subway and bus system. It would also pay for half-fare MetroCards for 800,000 low-income New Yorkers.
“The MTA has allowed our subways to go without long-term infrastructure improvements that would alleviate delays, maintain signals and improve the train tracks. We need a fully-funded, on-time and functional subway system,” Constantinides said. “A tax increase on the top 1 percent of the city’s wealthiest residents would help improve income inequality by paying for this dedicated revenue stream and for half-priced fares for low-income New Yorkers. We deserve better than an MTA with no accountability to improve our commutes.”
Fair Fix would need to get through Governor Cuomo’s Albany, which seems unlikely considering the governor is pushing congestion pricing, which the mayor opposes. Let’s not forget that the mayor and governor can’t seem to get along, and are in a constant political fight to top one another.
But with 27 supporters from the City Council, Mayor de Blasio’s plan appears to be picking up momentum.
Time will tell which plan will prevail. Either way, New York City commuters are just hoping that a solution comes soon.
