NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, Chair Of Aging Committee, Asks The MTA Bus Company To Send Mobile Sales Vehicle To Roosevelt Island To Help With Reduced Fare Application And Other Services

The MTA has a Mobile Sales vehicle program that travels to various NYC neighborhoods offering services such as:

• Get help with a Reduced-Fare application
• Get more information about OMNY and sign up
• Transfer MetroCard balances (full-fare and Reduced-Fare to OMNY account)
• Report a lost/stolen Reduced-Fare MetroCard
• Ask our team about any OMNY-related issues
• Add money to your OMNY card

As far as I'm aware, the MTA Mobile Sales service has not come to Roosevelt Island.

I asked Roosevelt Island's NY State Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright if she could help get the MTA to bring a mobile sales vehicle to Roosevelt Island.

Today, Ms Seawright shares this letter she sent to Senior Vice President Department of Buses/MTA Bus Company Frank Annicaro.

Dear Vice President Annicaro:

Thank you very much for your leadership at the MTA.

On behalf of my constituents on Roosevelt Island, I am writing you today to request that a mobile sales vehicle return to the Island. 

As you know, Roosevelt Island’s over twelve thousand residents have limited public transportation options. The Tram’s recent, well-chronicled overcrowding has only intensified these challenges.

Over twenty percent of residents are older New Yorkers and thousands are people with disabilities.  Both groups are eligible for reduced fare and would benefit from the mobile sales vehicle.  As Chair of the Assembly’s Aging Committee, I request the return of the Roosevelt Island mobile sales service providing access to reduced fare applications, OMNY guidance and other customer services, that would otherwise be inaccessible to older people and people with disabilities.

I remain thankful to your department for providing these vehicles to my district on the Upper East Side. I have witnessed firsthand the benefits they provide, especially during the current MetroCard-to-OMNY transition.

Thank you for your consideration. I appreciate your attention to this important matter of accessibility. If we may provide additional information, please do not hesitate to contact my Chief of Staff, Courtney Ferrissey, at 212-288-4607.

Sincerely,

Rebecca A. Seawright,  New York State Assembly Member

I'm grateful to Speaker @CarlHeastie for this incredible opportunity to champion New York's nearly five million older adults. pic.twitter.com/ZMWDZr1pCf

— Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (@SeawrightForNY) January 9, 2025

Here's Assembly Member Seawright as Chair of the Committee on Aging, speaking with the New York State Office for the Aging's Acting Director, Greg Olsen, during a February 25 joint budget hearing on Human Services.