Tag Archive | "budget"

VIDEO: New York City Council takes on the MTA


Video: New York City Council takes on the MTA from NYCtracks.com on Vimeo.

The City Council’s transportation and education committees held a joint hearing to question the MTA on the elimination of free student MetroCards. The audience was surprisingly sparse, considering the passion witnessed at previous hearings on the MTA cuts. But some of the council members were riled up. We have a three-minute video summary of the two-hour meeting.

— Simone Sebastian

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The MTA Roundup — Mar. 8


There have been some reports that MTA is adding another public hearing to the series. The Daily news says it’s scheduled for March 17 and will focus on the elimination of student Metrocards. Students have been among the loudest and most unified voices at the public hearings so far.

MTA Chairman Jay Walder gets personal about the transit agency’s budget woes. The New York Times reports that he’s sleepless and exhausted over the crisis.

Back to business, Walder met with PCAC last week. He said upgrading real-time arrival information (the countdown clocks) is a top priority and promised that he’s taking comments at the public hearings to heart.

Artifacts unearthed during construction of the South Ferry station will be displayed in the a new exhibit at the transit museum. Where New York Began: Archeology at South Ferry opens next week.

Gothamist gets a comment from NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges on the issue of perpetually busted station escalators.

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VIDEO: Upgrades, Downgrades Come Back-to-Back for MTA


It was a busy week for the MTA’s public relations department – and an emotional one for subway workers and riders.

On the up side, the transit agency announced that it was installing more countdown clocks in subway stations and launching a test-run of new security cameras on trains.

And transit chief Thomas Prendergast said he wants to infuse $700 million into station improvements during the next five years.

“I don’t want to say that because of our budget issues, we can’t make improvements,” Prendergast told the Daily News.

Oh yeah…those budget issues. In the same week, the MTA announced it would lay off 15 percent of its subway station agents to save money.

Will New Yorkers agree with the MTA’s priorities? We’ll find out at this week’s public hearings.

Here’s a review of the issues at stake. Let us know where you stand.

– Simone Sebastian

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MTA to Lay Off Hundreds of Station Agents


The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is expected to announce today that they will lay off hundreds of subway station agents.

Subway station agents provide customer information, sell Metrocards, and assist commuters at various stations throughout the subway system.

The layoffs come after the MTA began to phase out station agents who do not handle money last September.

According to The New York Times, the MTA planned to allow the station agents to retire and that the cuts will save $50 million. amNewYork reports that the MTA will boot the workers by this summer.

The MTA has a $400 million deficit and is trying to bridge the gap in their budget. They have announced the elimination of several bus lines, two train lines, and free Metrocards for students. Public hearings for the proposed cuts are set to begin on March 1.

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The MTA Roundup


Need to know what’s been happening on the tracks for the past week? Here’s your roundup of the latest MTA news:

Just as we were getting over that extra quarter, a new report says that the MTA will have to hike the price per ride to $2.75 to help close its budget shortfall, according to wpix.com.

Proof that it’s never a good idea to stand close to that yellow platform line: One 18-year-old fell into the tracks after she suddenly got dizzy on an N-train platform last week. Most people in the station were stunned still, according to the guy who eventually saved her.

It’s an NYPD campaign we thought we could all get behind. But now the New York Post is reporting that police are ticketing people for taking up more than one seat in empty subway cars. Tickets for the crime saw a 17 percent jump between 2008 and 2009, according to the Gothamist.

And don’t forget, the public hearings on the MTA’s proposed budget cuts start a week from today. You can get a list of the times and places here.

– Simone Sebastian

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