Sunday, January 6, 2019

Comptroller Stringer: Fair Fares Rollout Becoming an Indefinite Delay for Hard Working New Yorkers


Friday’s announcement still leaves out the majority of the estimated 800,000 residents living below the poverty line who were originally promised half-price MetroCards

  Following Frday’s announcement regarding the next steps in launching the Fair Fares program, New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer released data that spotlights the estimated 800,000 New Yorkers who were originally promised half-price MetroCards beginning on January 1, 2019. However, the City has significantly scaled back initial eligibility to just a small subset of Cash Assistance and SNAP recipients, leaving out hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers living below the poverty line who will continue to face a significant financial burden to purchase a MetroCard.

“The good news is that Fair Fares is finally leaving the station. The bad news is that after today’s announcement, the price of a MetroCard will remain an obstacle for the vast majority of the 800,000 New Yorkers who were originally promised relief. That’s hundreds of thousands of families who will still struggle to get to work or a job interview because they can’t afford a full fare. For their sake, we need to make sure this delay doesn’t become a derailment,” said Comptroller Stringer.
When the $106 million program was originally announced as part of the Fiscal Year 2019 City budget, Fair Fares was intended to provide half-priced MetroCards to 800,000 adult New Yorkers living below the poverty line – $25,100 for a family of four.
Comptroller Stringer’s office took a look at those families and found the following:
  • Nearly 300,000 potentially eligible New Yorkers live in just 12 community districts, with over 50% residing in Brooklyn or the Bronx;
  • 60% are either unemployed or struggling to find a job;
  • 79% are people of color;
  • 58% are women;
  • 77% do not have an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree;
  • 52% were born abroad; and
  • 44% are parents living with children in their home.
Below is a complete breakdown of the data:
Community District                                         Population
Belmont, Crotona Park East & East Tremont 30898
Washington Heights, Inwood & Marble Hill 30763
Hunts Point, Longwood & Melrose 29537
Morris Heights, Fordham South & Mount Hope 26885
Flushing, Murray Hill & Whitestone 24834
Concourse, Highbridge & Mount Eden 21784
Castle Hill, Clason Point & Parkchester 21732
Sunset Park & Windsor Terrace 21470
Borough Park, Kensington & Ocean Parkway 20173
Bedford Park, Fordham North & Norwood 19576
East Harlem 19464
East New York & Starrett City 18846
By Borough                           Population       %
Bronx  186348 23.00%
Brooklyn 268679 33.00%
Manhattan 147936 18.00%
Queens 174423 22.00%
Staten Island 28511 4.00%  
Empyolment Status                               Number
Employed 319626
Unemployed 110203
Not in labor force 376068

Ethnicity/Race              Number                    %
Hispanic 312635 39.00%
White 165568 21.00%
Black/African American 180799 22.00%
Asian 131602 16.00%
Other 15293 2.00%
Education                               Number                 %
No High School Degree 207258 26.00%
Only HS Degree 297847 37.00%
HS Degree + Some College 114364 14.00%
Associates Degree 45254 6.00%
College Degree 141174 18.00%
Gender                                     Number              %
Male 336977 42.00%
Female 468920 58.00%
Origin                                          Number             %
Foreign Born 417574 52.00%
Born in the United States 388323 48.00%

Citizenship                                  Number             %
American Born 388323 48.00%
Born abroad of American parents 7681 1.00%
Naturalized citizen 145667 18.00%
Not a citizen 264226 33.00%

Language Skills                                Number             %
Does not speak English 60347 7.00%
Yes, speaks only English 312061 39.00%
Yes, speaks very well 210312 26.00%
Yes, speaks well 101821 13.00%
Yes, but not well 121356 15.00%

Children                                       Number             %

Live with own Children in the Home 353974 44.00%
No Children in the Home 451923 56.00%

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