Good morning, I’m Lisa Daglian, Executive Director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, PCAC. Welcome new Board members, and welcome back to familiar face and friend, Midori Valdivia. Created by the state legislature, PCAC serves as the voice of subway, bus and Staten Island Rail riders and Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road commuters. We have three non-voting seats on the MTA Board, held by your colleagues Andrew Albert, chair of the New York City Transit Riders Council and the longest serving Board member; Randy Glucksman, chair of the Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council; and Gerry Bringmann, chair of PCAC and the LIRR Commuter Council. Our members are appointed by the Governor based on recommendations from elected officials in the 12-county MTA region.
As trusted advisors to the MTA, our legislative mandate includes researching issues and recommending viable solutions on behalf of the region’s millions of riders. We work closely with elected and appointed officials, partners in advocacy, good government groups, labor, the business community, and riders themselves – and the MTA – to support our critical transit network and find collaborative ways to address substantive concerns, including improving equitable service to underserved communities. During the height of the pandemic, we worked extensively with this strong coalition to successfully pursue COVID-relief funding, which saved riders from exorbitant fare hikes and unbearable service cuts.
Our efforts are far from over; in fact, we must double down as we look ahead to 2026 and the need for new, sustainable operating revenue. Getting riders back onboard is essential, but farebox revenue may never come all the way back, and riders can’t be expected to make up the difference. We pledge to work with you to find solutions, much as we joined together to have historic congestion pricing legislation passed. We’re staying on top of that as well. The capital program, including the landmark accessibility agreement, Penn Access, Second Avenue Subway Phase 2, improved signals, resiliency work, state-of-good-repair work, Penn Station improvements, and new rolling stock, depends on it—and that means riders depend on it.
We look forward to working with all of you.
Thank you!