After becoming state law and facing years of unsuccessful legal challenges, congestion pricing is here. Now that it is reality, it’s the government’s responsibility to ensure the MTA delivers the transportation outcomes that New Yorkers deserve and makes timely progress on capital projects while being fiscally responsible with the generated revenue. This includes maintaining a consistently reliable and accessible public transit system for all communities to navigate our city better and more safely. Currently there are far too many neighborhoods lacking access to public transportation altogether, and what does exist is often inefficient. New Yorkers experience too long wait times on highly traveled subway lines and buses that get backed up. There are also increasing concerns about the conditions and safety in our subways, due to commuters’ negative experiences and horrific high-profile incidents. This discomfort and fear felt by commuters who rely on mass transit is real and must be addressed with effective solutions to the underlying causes. The start of congestion pricing only raises the stakes and our city cannot afford fragmented responses that fail to improve the situation. More New Yorkers will now be expected to ride the trains and buses each day, making the task of ensuring all riders feel safe a priority. While there has been significant attention on boosting a visual law enforcement presence and making it easier to involuntarily commit people for psychiatric care, we must be honest about the limitations of these options. Successfully improving mental health outcomes on the scale needed cannot be achieved without greater commitments by the city and state and government support that is targeted to reach the New Yorkers who need it. Yet, any initial intervention will not provide a long-term solution without continued care. We need comprehensive mental health services that provide an effective continuum of care along with outreach efforts that truly reach people in need of intervention and support. We cannot simply rely on forced efforts that only address people whose well-being we’ve allowed to deteriorate to the point that such extraordinary action may be necessary. In budget negotiations and our Mental Health Roadmap, the Council has repeatedly called for the city to expand its investments and commitments into a range of mental health programs — evidence-based solutions within communities and those persistent in meeting New Yorkers where they are. Yet, the administration has refused to meet our budget requests for the increased resources necessary to make a difference in making all New Yorkers healthier and safer. While there are increased actions the state can take to strengthen its support for the appropriate mental health care solutions, the administration cannot simply blame state law when it is failing to take pivotal actions within its control. As we address mental health, the quality of transit service also must be improved, ensuring the necessary system upgrades are being made to mitigate consistent delays, increase accessibility to subway stations, build more bus lanes, and expand service to neighborhoods that need it. For outer-borough neighborhoods and transit deserts, like those I represent in Southeast Queens, the lack of reliable public transportation too often leaves residents relying on driving. With congestion pricing in effect, some of my constituents must now contend with paying a toll to drive into Manhattan or navigating the limited mass transit available to them, while also bearing the fiscal burden of stagnating wages, increased cost of living, and more. Significant progress in all of these areas is needed to ensure New Yorkers have faith in our subways and buses as a viable primary form of transportation across our city. Safety is paramount, and a holistic set of solutions that prioritizes investments to address the underlying challenges with both an immediate and long-term impact are desperately needed. As chair of the Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, this is a focus and priority of our work. The MTA has promised improvements with investments from the revenue congestion pricing provides, and accountability for these outcomes is essential. This requires the agency to be transparent with data and progress updates in a timely manner. The city and state governments must advance concrete solutions to mental health and safety challenges. We all must contribute solutions and prioritize accountability to ensure public transit is more reliable and safer for straphangers, now and for generations to come. Yet, that can only happen if we invest in tangible solutions, not just short-term fixes. Brooks-Powers chairs the Council’s Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and represents Council District 31 in Southeast Queens and the Rockaways.