Committee on General Welfare meeting
May 6, 2026, 10:00 AM
Jointly with the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.
The Committee on General Welfare held a joint hearing on Fair Fares and related social services issues, including hearings on two resolutions calling on the State Legislature to expand transit access (Res 0052, Res 0143) and two related bills. No votes were taken.
What was discussed
- Opening and swearing in the Fair Fares panel The Sergeant-at-Arms opened the joint oversight hearing of the Committees on General Welfare and Transportation and Infrastructure on Fair Fares, and Committee Counsel swore in the administration and MTA witnesses.
- Opening statements on the Fair Fares oversight hearing General Welfare Chair Crystal Hudson and Transportation Chair Shaun Abreu opened the joint hearing on Fair Fares — the low-income transit discount launched in 2019 — with Speaker Julie Menin and Council Members Selvena Brooks-Powers and Christopher Marte urging stronger outreach and enrollment.
- HRA testimony on the Fair Fares program Rebecca Chew, Chief Program Officer of the Human Resources Administration (HRA) within the Department of Social Services, testified on Fair Fares, which provides eligible low-income New Yorkers a 50 percent transit discount, reporting approximately 380,000 participants and describing the agency's
- How does HRA measure whether Fair Fares outreach is working? Chair Crystal Hudson pressed on outreach effectiveness. Rebecca Chew and Deputy Commissioner Monica Ealey said HRA has sent over 550,000 text messages since 2022, advertises via QR codes on buses and shelters, and runs five borough offices seeing roughly 450–500 visits each per month during business
- Why aren't more eligible New Yorkers enrolled in Fair Fares? Chair Crystal Hudson asked about the enrollment gap. Rebecca Chew confirmed 379,910 participants and agreed with an estimate that only about 39 percent of eligible New Yorkers are enrolled, and Deputy Commissioner Monica Ealey said income eligibility and incorrect documents are the leading reasons
- Is the Fair Fares application too long and hard to complete? Speaker Julie Menin and Council Members Darlene Mealy and Phil Wong criticized a 13-to-15-page application and language barriers. Rebecca Chew described the two enrollment paths for existing HRA clients and new applicants and defended efforts to streamline, while members pressed for a shorter, more
- Could the city automatically enroll eligible New Yorkers? Chair Crystal Hudson and Council Member Sanchez pressed on using data matching to auto-enroll eligible residents (Int 248). Christopher Gonzalez said the administration is reviewing the proposal, and the panel cited privacy, consent, and data-sharing concerns that would need to be resolved before
- Will HRA make replacement transit cards free (Int 825)? Chair Crystal Hudson asked about Int 825, which addresses replacement of lost, stolen, or damaged Fair Fares cards. Rebecca Chew said clients currently get one free replacement within the first year of enrollment and pay for subsequent cards, and said the administration is reviewing the bill.
- Does the administration support a deeper discount and state expansion (Res 52)? Chair Crystal Hudson asked whether the administration backs Resolution 52 calling on the state to expand the 50 percent fare discount and whether enrollment would rise with a 100 percent discount. Rebecca Chew said the administration is reviewing the proposal.
- Does the administration support unlimited two-hour transfers (Res 143)? Chair Crystal Hudson asked about Resolution 143 supporting unlimited subway and bus transfers within two hours. Christopher Gonzalez deferred to the administration's transportation staff and the MTA and said they would follow up on the administration's position.
- MTA testimony on Fair Fares John McCarthy, the MTA's Chief of Policy and External Relations, joined by Chief Customer Officer Shanifah Rieara and Policy Director Dara Goldberg, testified that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who qualify for Fair Fares have not signed up and described the MTA's work to close that gap; Chair
- Will the MTA share enrollment data and pursue fare-capping? Chairs Shaun Abreu and Crystal Hudson asked about data sharing and fare technology. Policy Director Dara Goldberg said enrollment data is held entirely by HRA and shared with the MTA by zip code only on request, and John McCarthy said the new Tap and Ride/OMNY technology opens possibilities the MTA
- Riders and students describe transit-cost barriers Members of the public — including transit riders and CUNY students such as Eduardo Rodriguez (Freedom Agenda), Tenaiya Ortiz-Long, Angel Rosas (Bronx Community College), Judy Wong, and Norm Miller (City Tech) — testified about how fare costs strain low-income and student New Yorkers and urged easier
- Independent Budget Office on Fair Fares reach Independent Budget Office analysts Claire Salant and Emily Pramik testified on Fair Fares enrollment, eligibility, and cost, providing the committees data on how many eligible New Yorkers the program reaches.
- Advocates urge a deeper discount and simpler enrollment Policy and transit advocates — including Rachel Swaner (Center for Justice Innovation), Beth Williams (Hunger Free America), Alia Soomro (NY League of Conservation Voters), Talia Crawford (Tri-State Transportation Campaign), Eric McClure (StreetsPAC), and Adrian Cacho (Open Plans) — urged the city
- Immigrant, disability, and faith groups on access barriers Community organizations — including Mixteca advocates Javier Chavez and Carolina Moreno, Judith Prado, Bishop Mitchell Taylor, and Iman Rahmani-Doster of New York Lawyers for the Public Interest's Disability Justice Program — testified about language, immigration status, and disability barriers that
Agenda
5 items
- Res 0143-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the New York State Governor to sign, legislation, which would create unlimited transfers within the two-hour period of paying the Metropolitan Transportation Authority subway or bus fare for pay-per-ride users Hearing Held by Committee
- Res 0052-2026 Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the New York State Governor to sign, S.3887A/A.7316A, requiring that any individual who is eligible for the Fair Fares NYC program and any person whose income is 200 percent of the federal poverty level receive a 50 percent discount Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0825-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to the department of social services issuing replacement transit benefit cards Hearing Held by Committee
- Int 0248-2026 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to automatic enrollment of eligible individuals in city-created benefit programs Hearing Held by Committee
- T2026-1624 Oversight - Fair Fares. Hearing Held by Committee