WHO: Council Members Bill de Blasio, Simcha Felder, and Domenic Recchia; Community Activists, ORGANIZATIONS

WHAT: Rally to Support Petition to Restore Express Service on Brooklyn’s F line

WHEN: 2 pm, Thursday, June 28, 2007

WHERE: Church Avenue Station; Church Avenue and McDonald Avenue, Brooklyn, NY

Brooklyn, New York—Council Members Bill de Blasio (D-Park Slope, Carroll Gardens, Kensington), Simcha Felder (D-Midwood, Bensonhurst and Boro Park), and Domenic Recchia (D-Coney Island, Gravesend, Bensonhurst) will stand with community activists and representatives of the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership and Transportation Alternatives tomorrow, Thursday, June 27, 2007, to rally in support of the restoration of express service on Brooklyn’s F line.

“To let existing transportation infrastructure go unused is a disservice to the Brooklynites who rely on mass transit every day,” says de Blasio.

An online petition in support of restoration launched by community activist Gary Reilly has generated 2,500 signatures in two weeks. “Investments in transit pay off in increased quality of life for everybody,” says Reilly. “Let’s get this done.”

“A remarkable shift in conscious is happening in New York City, with a renewed commitment to strategic planning for the future,” says Felder. “But let’s not allow our focus on the future to distort our sight of what’s right in front of us. The MTA plans to restore F express by 2012. We think it can happen sooner than that.”

“Our communities have been clamoring for expedited express train service for years, and the time has come to listen and respect the needs of the City’s subway riders, who are average, every-day New Yorkers,” says Recchia.