Stand Clear of the Rising Fares

Serving over 5 million New Yorkers daily, the NYC public transit system is the largest in North America and an essential part of city life. Riders across the city are feeling the effects of a fare hike from earlier this year and worrying that more are on the way. Why are fares going up?

In our latest Urban Investigation, CUP worked with Teaching Artist Christina Houle and students from five Bronx high schools to investigate why transit costs what it does and who decides. Students interviewed a number of stakeholders like the chiefspokesman of the MTA, the executive director of a transit advocacy group, a New York State Assembly Member, and a community advocate. They created a short documentary video to share what they learned.

Students debuted their project at the Bronx Museum of the Arts, where they presented the video and shared their creative process with the public.

Check out the video below!

Resources & Links

Bronx Academy for Software Engineering is a small school that teaches students computer programming at a high level and calls on students to engage in creative, solution-oriented problem solving. 

Bronx Collaborative High School is a small school that encourages students to investigate real-world challenges while bringing New York City’s unique resources and rich history into the classroom.

Bronx Compass High School is a community of creative learners engaged in the design, production, and exhibition of high-quality, meaningful work.

Bronx International High School is a progressive, team-based and community-based school dedicated to serving the academic and social needs of recently immigrated students and their families. 

Fannie Lou Hamer Freedom High School is a small school that stresses creative and intellectual development and political and social involvement in our society.

Funding Support

Major support for this project was provided by Digital Ready, a partnership between the NYC Department of Education’s Office of Post Secondary Readiness and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment; and by the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

This program was also made possible by generous support from: 

Cycle Architecture + Planning, Zuleika Fertullien, Aaron Koffman, Jeff Maki, Thomas L. McMahon, Jeremy Robinson-Leon, Eliano Sanchez Jr., David Smiley and Lauren Kogod, Carol and Mark Willis, Anonymous (2)

Additional support was provided by more than 100 CUP supporters and fans.

Special Thanks

Benjamin Attal, Nathan Larsen, Faizah Malik, Rob Marino, Apurva Mehrotra, Jeff Palladino, Jazlyn Patricio-Archer, Tatiana Tatarinseva, James Brennan (NY State Assembly), Adam Lisberg (Metropolitan Transit Authority), Nancy Rankin (Community Service Society), Veronica Vanterpool (Tri-State Transportation Campaign)

Participants

  • CUP
  • Teaching Artist
  • Christina Houle
  • Project Lead
  • Christy Herbes
  • Project Support
  • Jenn Anne Williams
  • Christine Gaspar
  • Jazlyn Patricio-Archer
  • High School Partners
  • Bronx Academy for Software Engineering
  • Bronx Collaborative 
  • Bronx Compass 
  • Bronx International 
  • Fannie Lou Hamer 
  •  
  • Students
  • Javier Acosta
  • Jason Albayero
  • Daryl Bangundol
  • Kasey Campos
  • Jordan Calderon
  • Astrid Carranza
  • Arlin Concepcion
  • David DeLorbe
  • Hadja Mariatou Diallo
  • Jalen Edwards
  • Jahnoiye Brian Gray
  • Aston King
  • Fabiola Luna
  • Alezia Mendez
  • Deanna Sterling
  • Faisal Teouri 

Press

Bronx High Schoolers Explain How MTA Funding Works
  • StreetsBlog NYC
  • September 23, 2015

Monday night, the students presented a 12-minute video they made during a summer course with the Center for Urban Pedagogy (CUP). It explains everything from who appoints the MTA board to the size of the gap in the capital budget.