I spent part of the afternoon at Penn Station Mask Force distributing free masks to MTA riders alongside a few of my colleagues.

Today marks a year since the program began and this was my fourth or fifth time participating. Since July 2020, over 750,000 free surgical and reusable masks have been distributed in rail stations and aboard buses. I think that’s truly amazing, and not just because I work for the MTA.

Equally great: just steps away from where I was distributing masks, people were getting free J&J vaccinations, along with free transit rides for doing so. This is not something I thought I’d ever see in New York, even with our formidable armada of health care agencies and professionals.

Today I feel even more proud than usual to be a New Yorker – what a wonderful place to live in.

Photo by Marc Hermann