Chair Lee on Fair Fares partnerships and interagency data sharing

Actually, just based off of what you just said, what would be some natural partnerships that may be able to expand eligibility or help folks know about it?

Because we have a lot of municipal workers in the city.

We have a lot of, even just within our own city employees, I wonder, as well as if they can help spread the word, if there's increased eligibility there, or if there is...

You know, a way to use nonprofit organizations and partnerships to be able to spread the word on that.

Well, in terms of, you know, sort of interagency data sharing, one thing that we thought might be helpful to look at is Department of Finance has access to income.

I know that's very challenging in terms of data from a data sharing perspective, but that is something that we point to as a potential option that could reduce some of the barriers that people might face.

Okay, great.

We are particularly concerned about the barriers of navigating Access NYC.

Considering the changes with the reductions in SNAP eligibility and the lack of access to health care, there may be even fewer people using Access NYC and thus more people eligible for Fair Fares but not using the system.

And as Fair Fares is a city tax levy program and thus it is at the city's discretion how to administer it, there might be other models in the city.

to how to distribute such a benefit.

And the example that came to mind, as Sarita illuminated, was when the Department of Finance did the earned income tax credit and

appropriately found the information via state law to inform people that they were eligible for an earned income tax credit.

People in filing their tax returns demonstrate their eligibility for fair fares.

It could be that people would be automatically notified.

Okay, that's a good idea.