500 Signatures Collected to Bring Back Subway Booths at 86th Street With City Council Candidate Ben Kallos

Safety & Accessibility Concerns Translate into Petitioning Success on Upper East Side

New York, NY– March 21 marked the collection of 500 signatures for the return of subway station booths and agents on the Upper East Side in continuation of a three-month long push to increase safety and accessibility at crowded subway stations. The “Bring Back our Booths” petition and awareness campaign, comes in the wake of local objections to the removal of booths and agents from the 86^th Street and 77^th Street stations’ northbound platforms.

“It’s hard to have a good day when it starts with a bad commute every morning,” said Kallos “Subway riders should not have to face vending machines that don’t work and safety concerns like dangerous overcrowding without any agents to turn to for help.”

When local residents called for action on the issue, Ben Kallos joined them to create the “Bring Back our Booths.” The initial public response had followed reports of increases in crime, vandalism, overcrowding, and threats to safety in the station after the booths were removed this winter. The Lexington Avenue 86^th Street Station is one of the most crowded in the City, with more than 19 million passengers passing through each year.

The strong local support for the initiative recently gained the support of TWU Local 100.  “We’re thrilled to work alongside Ben and his team to ensure the safety and convenience of millions of public transit riders in the Upper East Side,” said Maurice Jenkins, Vice President of Stations Division of TWU Local 100.

Kallos has already picked up key support for his campaign from the transportation workers community.  The Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1179 endorsed the Kallos for City Council Campaign, singling out the campaign as the voice for working families in City Hall.

“This petition demonstrates the strength of our campaign’s grass roots and the importance of this issue. With minimal effort, we’ve been able to collect more than 500 signatures,” said Anthony Scattaglia, a volunteer on the campaign who has helped lead the effort. “Each morning that I’ve been out, I’ve gotten the chance to talk to people with real safety concerns who are eager to see the booths restored.”

The campaign seeks to not only restore services including subways booths and agents but to improve services with booths equipped to provide replacement MTA cards.  Currently riders must mail defective cards to the MTA for replacement, but many New Yorkers do not have $112—the new price of a monthly pass—lying around as they live paycheck to paycheck.

“The MTA can’t keep raising fares without improving services,” concluded Kallos. “Riders facing new fees for new MetroCards and $112 monthly cards shouldn’t have to mail in defective MetroCards and wait weeks.  Subway station booths and their agents must be there and be equipped to help.”

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