 Okay. Yes, I need to just find them. Miss Annette? Miss Annette? Come right up here, and Pedro? Stand right. Council Member. Okay, good. Okay, thank you. Good morning, everyone! Good morning! My name is Betsy Plum. I'm Executive Director of Riders Alliance. We are New York's organization of subway and bus riders. We are here today to talk about the bus. We know that when New Yorkers want to get stuff done, we ride the bus. But New Yorkers have the slowest buses in the country. Far too often, buses and bus riders are stuck in slow traffic unable to get where we need to go. It's frustrating. To shine light on that reality, shared by more than a million New Yorkers every single day, we were proud to ride the B-41 to this rally with our amazing members at Riders Alliance, the Mayor, Commissioner Rodriguez, Council Member Joseph, and we're also joined by Council Member Narcissus right here, the MTA, New York City Transit, and a huge thank you to TWU Local 100, who helped us all get on the bus. Fighters, too, for better bus than New York City. One of the reasons we're here on Flatbush and why we rode the B-41 is because of what the New York City Streets Plan could mean for one of Brooklyn's and New York City's busiest corridors. The Streets Plan offers an unprecedented opportunity to improve bus service. With the plan, we get 150 miles of bus lanes and busways delivered. It is now the law of the land. It is a mandate to deliver what bus riders need and to cut the red tape in order to paint the red paint. We are set to see more than 20 new miles of bus lanes and busways this year, more than ever before. With Mayor Adams at the helm, a mayor with an incredible history on transit and for riders, we know that we're not just counting on a mayor, we're counting, as we saw today, on a rider himself. I want to thank the mayor for getting on the bus today with riders. We hope it won't be the last time. And to hearing firsthand on a crowded bus what riders need. Again, we're excited to paint this town red from Flatbush to Fordham. Our streets being made more equitable, accessible, safe, it's long overdue, and we cannot wait to see what the mayor, the Department of Transportation, our City Council leaders, and the MTA will deliver together for bus riders. We have a short program for you. I'm going to turn it to the mayor, then we'll hear from New York City Transit President Richard Davy. And to wrap our program, we are going to hear from a Riders Alliance member leader, Miss Annette Collins. Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you as the head club for men's states. You know, I'm a client. You know, I've made it clear of the importance of our transit system. You know, as many of you know, there's a transit police officer. And I'm on the system all the time throughout the night. Sometimes we view our transportation system as just nine to five, but it's not. Clearly people use the transportation system on the weekends. They use the system during the evening. When I'm out visiting a hospital or visiting an hourly employee and I meet them on the subway system, one 2 a.m. in the morning. This is one of the only cities with a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week system. And it's going to take a combined effort of moving our system forward. Not only of the men and women who are employed in the system, but also our elected officials that we have here today who understand how important it is in our transportation desert. But one of the most crucial of our components, the Riders Alliance, we need to hear from everyday New Yorkers. That's what this ride was about. Hearing from everyday New Yorkers, getting their feedback and their input. And each passenger tells a separate story. The Miss Johnson that I met today on the bus when we got on, she was on her way to the food pantry. Every day, three days a week, she goes to the food pantry to feed those who are in need. Roughly 300 to 400 people visit that pantry. She was not able to get on that bus to go to her church food pantry to feed those who are in need. We don't realize how all of us are interconnected and dealing with the issues around adequate transportation. That's why we committed. And I knew when we appointed Commissioner Rodriguez, he was the right person for the job. He advocated for transportation throughout his time as a city council person. And his vision of 150 lanes of new lanes are important. And we are looking to move that forward also part of our thousand intersection redesign. I think we are 500 already. We are clearly on pace to where we want to go. So buses are the transportation backbone of our city. They reach every corner of our city, every borough. And then a lifeline for so many New Yorkers on how we utilize our service. When I'm on the bus, I have an opportunity to relax, to read, to interact. And it's also a way for us to cross-pollinate with the diversity of this amazing city. It doesn't matter how young or old you are, how much you earn, it's the great equalizer. We're all in it together. When we put that metro card in, it shows that we are one New York. So if you're a student, if you're a senior, if you are a business person, if you're a person going local, you focus on your bus and you want it to be on time. And you want a level of consistency in this operation. In fact, all of our buses, even for those who are living with a disability, they are 100% accessible. That's an amazing feat for our city and for how we show that all New Yorkers should utilize their buses. And buses serve a lower income community. That's the largest population that uses it. And so we rolled today because we wanted to interact and hear from people firsthand. And we're going to continue to do so. We're going to continue not to publicize our writing, but we're going to, from time to time, just get on the bus and see how we're delivering the qualitative product that we're looking for and how we can make the journey better, improving bus service, making it faster, more efficient, and more convenient. Those are the goals that we are moving for. And lastly, it's a matter of equity. We can have excellent bus services in one part of the city and in others we don't have it. You know, we know historically the subway system was built to get people into Manhattan, but now people are working differently. You're seeing communities are starting to work locally and commuting within their boroughs, and we want to make sure that we can allow people to get around the manner in which work is now, has reform or how it has evolved to. And so I'm happy to be here. The commitment to advance in 150 bus lanes in four years and Flatbush is an opportunity for transformational change. We have some real victories in our bus thus far. The southern section of the University Avenue bus lane, and we are finalizing the Avenue A and D lanes. Bus lanes on 21st Street and Pelambay Park station area are under construction, and we are prioritizing many of these areas to get it done, and I cannot agree with you more Betsy. The best way to get stuff done is to get our buses moving. Thank you very much. We have two bus bosses in this town. One is the mayor, and the other is the president of New York City Transit, Richard Davie, who's going to share a few words about what they're up to to make better buses. Thank you all. First I have to say thank you to the mayor for his leadership. I do have a new strategy to drive up ridership, which is to clone Eric Adams, because he was very popular on the B-41 as we came in. So if we can clone you mayor, I'm going to have you on every bus and subway I can. I want to laud his leadership first. I mean he is leading, frankly, the United States in pushing for better bus service in a way that is appreciated at the MTA. We look forward to standing with him to roll out the 150 miles of bus lane over the next four years. So we're very appreciative of that. Secondly, I think Betsy, why do we pick this particular route? I mean Flatbush Avenue corridor before the pandemic carried over 120,000 people. That is more ridership than most subway lines in the United States. This is critically important to make sure we're moving New Yorkers up and down this boulevard. And as the mayor said, this isn't a matter of equity too. Many of our bus customers are using the bus not a matter of choice, but a matter of necessity to get to work, to get to hospital appointments, to go grocery shopping. It's important for us to make sure that they're moving efficiently. And lastly I would say, the mayor said we need to be listening to our customers while we are at MTA. We know that our bus customers across the five boroughs, by the way, not just here, but across the five boroughs are saying they want faster service. They want shorter wait times. And the way to do that is to, among other things, roll out enforcement, bus lanes, and the priority corridors that the mayor discussed. So we're pleased to be here. Pleased to be working with the city and the commissioner. And we all thank you for being here. Appreciate it. Thank you, President Davey. Now, it's really hot, so I want to thank so many folks who have come out. It's going to be a very short press conference today. I do see folks from Senator Gillibrand's office. We have wonderful council members behind us. I want to, we're saving the best for last, no offense, gentlemen. A rider herself, Miss Annette Collins, who is a member leader with Riders Alliance, Miss Annette. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. My name is Annette Collins, and I'm a longtime resident of Brooklyn, and I've been riding for almost over 59 years, to be exact. Yes. And I'm also a bus rider, and mainly on the B17 and the B46. And the bus, and also a bus, a member of Riders Alliance. Yay. Having more bus lanes and making sure the lanes are enforced makes a huge difference. When I have to, when I have to have a timely appointment to be kept. Since retiring from the hospitality services several years ago, a lot of my commuting is for my medical appointments and running errands downtown. And these days, I'm out on the buses, and when I have a trick knee, it's hard to stand some time away from the public transportation. But it's very important that I stand here today and represent my community, the seniors, and the riders across the city who need reliable bus service. Many of the bus riders are on a fixed income and have to wait on slow buses to get around. I've been blessed to find extra in my budget when I really need to take a taxi. But I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. I'm sure everyone here has a story on being with the slow bus or delayed trains, and then especially when you really need them. Maybe you would have waited like 30 minutes for a bus, and by the time you get the bus, or even before that, you have to wait through the heat, the rain, and when the bus does show up, it's crowded and you can't get on. Mayor Adams, today, I implore you, sir, to make sure that the riders get 150 lanes of new buses, new bus lanes, and that's over the next few years, including right here on Flatbush Avenue. And we must make sure that those lanes are enforced so the bus drivers can get through the traffic because the road is for everyone. And one more thing before I go, Mayor Adams, some of the bus riders here would like to present, I'm sorry, one moment of my error. We have one more question for you that we would like to ask you. And to reflect how you take care of the buses, we would like to say that we would like for you to be our bus champion. And we have a question. You had a gift for me. Yes, we do. Mayor Adams, are you waiting to wear the jacket of the NYC bus man? And here it is. Yes I will, but don't you not today.