New York County Defender Services

Testimony of

Sergio De La Pava

Legal Director

New York County Defender Services

Before the

City Council Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

Oversight - Fair Fares

May 7, 2026

Thank you, Chair Abreu, for holding this oversight hearing on Fair Fares. My name is Sergio De

La Pava and I am the Legal Director of New York County Defender Services (NYCDS).

NYCDS is a public defense office that every year represents indigent New Yorkers in thousands

of cases in Manhattan’s Criminal Court, Supreme Court, and Family Courts. Since opening our

doors in 1997, we have represented more than half a million clients in their criminal matters and

witnessed firsthand the myriad ways the criminal legal system abuses and harms our clients.

We regularly see the ways transportation insecurity destabilizes individuals and families, and

contributes to deeper involvement with the criminal legal system. For our clients, reliable access

to public transportation is critical in maintaining employment, attending court appearances,

accessing healthcare and treatment, meeting with counsel, and successfully navigating reentry

after a period of incarceration.

I. Background:

For many of our clients, transportation costs present a substantial and recurring hardship. Our

clients routinely describe having to ration MetroCard swipes or having to ask family or friends

for money to afford transportation to court. Clients may have to walk long distances to get to

appointments, or simply may miss them when they cannot afford to pay a transit fare.Reentry frequently requires navigating numerous appointments across multiple boroughs within

short periods of time, including meetings with parole or probation officers, benefits offices,

housing providers, treatment courts, or attorneys. The total cost of transportation can quickly

become prohibitive for individuals already facing serious economic hardship.

Transportation insecurity can also increase exposure to law enforcement. Low-income New

Yorkers who cannot afford to pay their transit fares routinely face summonses, arrests, or other

enforcement actions stemming from fare evasion.1 Even limited police interactions can carry

significant consequences for individuals already navigating court involvement, house instability,

immigration concerns, or supervision requirements.

Fare evasion enforcement in New York City has also historically disproportionately impacted

low-income Black and Latino communities. NYPD enforcement data found that fare evasion

enforcement was significantly higher and more punitive in lower-income neighborhoods where

people of color live, when compared to similarly situated white neighborhoods.2 Police were also

more likely to arrest individuals from minority neighborhoods rather than issuing a summons.3

Enforcement relative to ridership was more than 60% higher at stations in high-poverty minority

neighborhoods than in high-poverty white neighborhoods.4

That is why it is critical to expand access to affordable public transportation. It reduces barriers

to employment, healthcare, education, and court compliance while helping prevent unnecessary

contact with enforcement systems driven by economic hardships.

II. Proposed Legislation

A. Int. 0248-2026 (Hudson): A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the

city of New York, in relation to automatic enrollment of eligible individuals in

city-created benefit programs.

NYCDS supports this legislation. The proposed legislation would help streamline enrollment

into the Fair Fares program for individuals already determined to be eligible by other

means-tested public benefits programs. Our clients face significant barriers in navigating

1Ayashah Anwar, Why NYC’

s Poor Funding Allocation Leads to Fare Evasions, Journal of Gender, Social Policy &

The Law (Jan. 27, 2025) at https://jgspl.org/why-nycs-poor-funding-allocation-leads-to-fare-evasions/.

2 Attorney General James Launches Investigaton into the NYPD for Alleged Targeting of Communities of Color on

NYC Subway (Jan. 13, 2020) at

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-launches-investigation-nypd-alleged-targeting-communi

ties.

3 Racial and Neighborhood Disparities in New York City Criminal Summons Practices, DCJ

https://datacollaborativeforjustice.org/work/policing/racial-disparities-in-new-york-city-criminal-summonses-2019-2

022/.

4 Id.complex and duplicative administrative processes in order to access essential benefits. Automatic

enrollment would reduce unnecessary administrative barriers and increase participation among

eligible New Yorkers. This would help ensure that our clients are able to more consistently

access transportation necessary to attend court appearances, medical appointments, treatment

programs, work, and other essential obligations.

B. Int. 0825-2026 (Marte): A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city

of New York, in relation to the Department of Social Services issuing replacement

transit benefit cards

NYCDS supports this legislation. Many low-income and justice-involved New Yorkers

experience frequent property loss due to housing instability, shelter transfers, hospitalizations, or

displacement. The loss of a Fair Fares card can immediately disrupt a person’s ability to travel to

work, meet with counsel, access healthcare and treatment, or maintain employment. The process

of replacing a card and the associated fees can serve as a barrier to transportation for individuals

with little to no disposable income. Ensuring an accessible and affordable replacement process is

critical to maintaining continuity of transportation access for vulnerable New Yorkers, including

our clients.

IV . Conclusion

We urge the Council to pass Int. 0248-2026 (Hudson) and Int. 0825-2026 (Marte).

If you have any questions about my testimony, please email policy@nycds.org.