City transit chief will attend Arverne town hall next month

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Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (left) will host MTA NYC Transit President Andy Byford at a town hall in February. Photo courtesy of Pheffer Amato’s office.

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato (left) will host MTA NYC Transit President Andy Byford at a town hall in February. Photo courtesy of Pheffer Amato’s office.

By David Brand

MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford will attend a town hall in Arverne to discuss commuter issues along the Rockaway Peninsula next month. 

Assemblymember Stacey Pheffer Amato will host the event at the Rockaway YMCA at 7 p.m. on Feb. 6. The forum is part of Pheffer Amato’s “Mass Transit Monday” series.

“The purpose of this meeting is to give our commuters a voice,” Pheffer Amato said. “My constituents’ daily commutes are some of the longest in the nation.”

“It is extremely important that our voices are heard, and challenges considered as the MTA moves forward with the modernization of our entire public transportation system,” she added. “We must take full advantage of this opportunity.”

The Rockaway peninsula is served by the A train as well as various bus lines and commutes to Manhattan can take more than an hour, according to census data. 

Pheffer-Amato has advocated for the MTA to restore service along the Rockaway Branch of the Long Island Rail Road, which the MTA estimates could cost at least $6.7 billion.