By Dr. Amín Cruz.-
Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world. ”Harriet Tubman
Ydanis Antonio Rodríguez García de Licey, Santiago de los Caballeros, RD, progressive, Christian forged in the preaching of justice and social activism, who is consecrated in politics, consolidates his principles and values in the heat of an intense practice, without pauses in the search for the development and well-being of the most humble people.
He started out in New York City as a student, taxi driver, educator and later as an Upper Manhattan councilor since 2010 and has chaired the City Council Transportation Committee, a position he has held for eight years.
On Monday, December 20, 2021, the newly elected mayor appointed them Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation (DTO), becoming the first Latino to hold that position.
New York City’s transportation system faces great challenges and challenges, from increasing traffic fatalities to increasing congestion on its streets.
So the taxi driver, educator and politician Ydanis Rodriguez, who starts in January 2022 with the new mayor Erick Adams, will have a great task ahead of him to reduce deaths from traffic accidents, major traffic jams, parking and abuse of traffic. transit authorities among many other difficulties.
However we say the truth, despite the aforementioned, New York has the best public transport system in the world 24 hours a day, unlike countries in Europe where the train service ends at 12 at night to restart the day Next with approximately 8 and a half million inhabitants and only has one million 400 thousand private vehicles, which means that the bulk of the population moves by public transport and can do so 24 hours a day.
As president of the Council’s Transportation Committee, Rodríguez led a series of initiatives and policies in the same way, he has managed to install more exclusive lanes for bicycles and buses; he has driven improvements in pedestrian zones and also created the annual New York Car-Free Earth Day and the expansion of Citi Bike into underserved neighborhoods throughout the city.
Rodríguez pledged to work with the rest of his colleagues in administration, as well as with the City Council, advocates, and the private and academic sectors, to continue his vision of making New York City the safest city in its life. streets, looking for innovative ways to reduce dependence on carbon-emitting vehicles in the same way that gives priority to sustainability, being more friendly, safe for pedestrians and cyclists in the Nation.
Mobility is a fundamental social right like education and health, Don Quixote already said: “Each one is the child of his works.”
“Urbanism and Mobility make up an inseparable pairing.”
Dr. Amín Cruz, PhD, diplomat, historian, educator, journalist, writer, CEO, president and founder of the Hispano-American Press Congress, Father and ambassador of the Hispano-American and Latin-American Press, resident in New York.
