2 and 3 trains in Brooklyn join their L counterpart in having countdown clocks. Now more people in the borough can be deceived into believing their train will be on time.

The Daily News reports that a fourth suspect in the alleged plot to terrorize transit riders during rush hour has been identified…in Pakistan. The extradition process could get sticky.

The Brooklyn Eagle reports on secret subway exits.

The Working Families Party, their faux ads attacking the MTA bucked by the agency, have decided to get the idea off their chests and on to yours.

From alleged plots to blow up the subway to violence on the 2 train, safety on the subway has become a hot topic in New York City. While these issues have made headlines, transit officials have continued with plans to layoff hundreds of station agents across the city.

Even now, riders coming out of Times Square’s south exit will see a plywood and 2×4 wood barrier around what used to be a booth. As the MTA continues to get rid of agents as part of cost-reduction efforts aimed at filling a now-$400 million dollar shortfall, transit advocates and union officials warn the agency it’s making a mistake.

“It’s no way to treat the customers. It’s just leaving us down there, in many locations, without anybody we can go to for help,” said Gene Russianoff of NYPIRG’s Straphanger’s Campaign. “What are you going to do knock on the electrical closet?” He said he is concerned that, along with safety issues, fare dodging–which the MTA has said is a point of concern–will become more rampant.

“It would seem to me that they’re trying to eliminate the human element in the system,” said Transit Workers Union stations vice-president Maurice Jenkins. He was referring to the MTA’s decision over the past few years to eliminate station agent positions, including 300 in the fall of 2009. Another 450 have been added to that number in the most recent round of cost-cutting measures.

“This is a national crisis actually. It’s not just a crisis in new york city,” said Kate Slevin, executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “We obviously don’t have enough money to keep our transit system as safe as we would like it to be.” Slevin, an urban planner by trade, noted that funding to transit agencies across the region has been slashed. Her organization is calling on city, state and federal officials to make mass transit a funding priority.

An MTA representative pointed to record-low overall crime rates as an indicator that the police have the situation under control. Whether or not police alone can manage as large and porous a transit system as New York’s remains to be seen. What is for certain is that riders will continue to see fewer red-vested station agents as they make their daily commutes.

— Colby Hamilton

Thirty years ago, New York’s public transit system was overloaded with deteriorating infrastructure and crime. The transit agency fished itself out of crisis by doubling its debt to pay for improvements, according to The New York Times.

Though the source of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s woes are different today, the fundamental problem – a lack of money – is the same. And like in the 1980s, the agency is facing pressure to avoid funding its cost overruns with higher fares.

Could issuing more debt be the answer to the MTA’s problems today? The funding problem is more operational than capital, this time. But, speaking to NYCTracks.com last week, AmNY transit reporter Heather Haddon said taking on new debt is one possibility.

Public transit “advocates that I’ve talked to, say they’ve never seen dire straits like this,” Haddon said. “Looking back at history when the MTA has been in a really bad situation, it’s been a time when they’ve taken on more debt, which could happen this time around.”

Nearly one of every six dollars the MTA spends goes toward paying down its outstanding debt. And that number has been on the rise. Debt will cost the MTA nearly $2 billion this year, according to its 2010 budget.

If you’re on the train when nature calls, hope you’re on the L. That’s where the subway’s cleanest bathroom’s are –- the Myrtle-Wyckoff and Canarsie Rockaway Parkway stops — according amNewYork. Transit reporter Heather Haddon lists best and worst of underground loos.

(note: check out our latest podcast with Heather and transit blogger Ben Kabak.)

The Associated Press reports on efforts by the NYPD counterterrorism division to protect what is potentially the nation’s primary terrorist target — the NYC subway.

The New York Post reports that a pregnant woman looking for a seat landed in the crosshairs of NYPD’s subway crime crackdown last week. The woman received a $75 citation for passing between the cars’ sliding doors.

That’s not the only thing that has the Post taking aim at the MTA. The tabloid has a story on the effect of the transit agency’s tax on small business owners. So far this year, the tax has only brought in 85 percent of the revenue it was expected to, according to the Post.

An MTA cover story by today’s radio guest, amNY reporter Heather Haddon.

Haddon covered the MTA efforts to save money by selling old parts (look out Dr. Zizmor advertisements!) and on the flip side slashes 141 of its already funded capital projects.

Make sure you check out NYCTracks Radio show with Haddon AND Second Ave. Sagas’ Ben Kabak for more MTA news.

“A crowded train is no excuse for an improper touch. Don’t stand for it or feel ashamed, or be afraid to speak up. Report it to an MTA employee or police officer.”

We are all familiar with the statement from the subway poster, flier or frequent train announcement – it’s the echo of the 2008 MTA campaign.

But with the announced cuts of 450 station agents in stations across the city, risk of sexual harassment, may rise soon.

On a recent NYC Tracks poll, 57 percent surveyed said they had felt uncomfortable or harassed on the train before.

We wanted to find out how many commuters have experience sexual harassment on the train, platform or station in the past year.

Since more commuters will have no one to turn to due to expected cuts, we thought it’s worth finding out, what was the annual rate compared to 2007, when 10 percent commuters said they have experienced sexual harassment on the train.

Well, your guess is as good as ours.

It turns out that the problem starts even earlier.

Sexual Harassment on Public Transportation from Dana Rapoport on Vimeo.

“Unfortunately not much data available on sexual offenses committed in the mass transit system. This is in due in part to the NYPD not capturing or reporting on crimes at the misdemeanor level,” said Raquel Namuche, community organizer for New Yorkers for Safe Transit.

The NYFST, along with Right Rides and HollabackNYC, are raising awareness on harassment and assaults in public transportation in New York City.

RightRides is another initiative that fights transit-related harassment. It offers women, LGBTQ a free, safe, late night ride home on Friday in up to 45 NYC neighborhoods across four NYC boroughs.

“Catch that jerk with your videophone or do journalistic style feature on Street Harassment and we’ll post it!,” says HollabackNYC, an organization that encourages New Yorkers to send pictures of street/transportation harassers, as one of the ways to empower women commuters.

“We probably get 2-3 stories a week.  Over the past year or so, we’ve seen a rise in transit-related stories and the stories have become increasingly more violent. Stories of groping and public masturbation are the norm, not the exception anymore,” said Emily May, Co-founder of Hollaback, as another indication of commuters’ distress through emails and pictures submitted to their blog.

“Understaffed subway system makes it hard to report these crimes. By the time victims have found an MTA worker or police officer, their perpetrator is 7 stops away.”

Last November, in a joint hearing titled “Sexual Harassment and Assault on New York City Subways” put together by the committees on women’s issues, transportation, and public safety, Chief James P. Hall of the NYC Police Department’s Transit Bureau stated that 587 “sex offenses” were reported in 2009 – information that is not otherwise released to the public, delivered to NYC Tracks by NYFST.

Chief Hall emphasized that the department believes the number of reported offenses to be only a fraction of the number of unreported offenses.

412 people were arrested for sex offenses in the subway so far this year.

Beyond the different actions and programs, the three organizations are also working with Council member Jessica Lappin to who introduced a bill that would require the NYPD to collect data on complaints of sexual harassment on the subway system (inappropriate touching, public masturbation, etc.)

“We’re hoping to push for legislation and policy that would reclassify these crimes so that sexual harassment data can be captured and perpetrators can be further held accountable for their actions,” said Namuche.

The MTA Police Department did not get back to messages left by NYC Tracks.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has many issues to take care of, but in addition to the latest spike in violence we witnessed in the last weeks, sexual harassment might be just as big threat and risk to commuters at rush hour and off peak hours. It’s not that it’s not as severe – we just don’t know the scope of it.

Citizen reporting and community volunteering to raise awareness, are the first steps to help fill the void of hundreds of missing subway agents.

— Dana Rapoport

There’s more on the subway cameras that don’t work–this time at City Hall.

The Queens Courier estimates that parents might have to spend $2,300 per year to send their kids to school if the MTA cuts free student Metrocards.

370 Jay Street is causing some tension in Brooklyn. amNewYork reports that the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership is campaigning for the MTA to hand over the former headquarters of the New York City Transit.

Residents who have been displaced due to construction of the Second Avenue Subway will have a chance to meet with the MTA, according to DNAinfo.com.

MTA news is giving straphangers something to cheer (a new station), something to jeer (inaudible subway announcements) and something to fear (dangerous buses). It’s all been happening this week:

* Did you hear that collective sigh of relief from the Upper West Side? After more than two years under construction, a new entrance opened at the 96th Street Station, making it easier for riders to access the 1, 2 and 3 trains. Previously, commuters had to navigate a circuitous route to reach the platform.

* It’s not news to commuters, but an annual Straphangers Campaign’s report estimates that more than half of subway service delays and disruptions result in inaudible or incorrect announcements, if any at all.

* An East Side intersection ranked No. 1 as the most dangerous intersection for public buses, according to a public transit study. There were 29 bus-related accidents at the corner of East 57th and Third Avenues last year.

The cash-strapped MTA rejected a month-long ad campaign – and a potential $25,000 to $50,000 in revenue – last week, calling the ads too obscene for public trains.

The posters, created by the Working Families Party, criticized the MTA and Mayor Bloomberg for allowing the agency’s financial problems to be passed on to riders, in the form of service cuts and rumored fare increases.

That controversy, partnered with unused ad displays on trains, fuel questions about how well the transit agency is capitalizing on potential advertising revenue. Cash from posters and signs hasn’t kept up with ballooning expenses, according to MTA budgets.

Ad payments are categorized with miscellaneous revenue sources in the MTA budget, making it difficult to know exactly how much money comes from advertising. However, the “other revenue” category – which is largely composed of ad sales – is budgeted to fall by 6 percent this year.

(“Other revenue” also includes property leasing, trademark licensing and equipment sales.)

If the 2010 budget stands, the MTA’s expenses will have risen 41 percent since 2005. Revenue from taxes and government subsidies will have risen at least that much.

But “other revenue” will have increased by just 26 percent.

The transit agency has tried to expand advertising dollars, but those efforts have been “very much harmed by the economic downturn,” said spokesman Aaron Donovan.

He noted that the MTA has launched several new advertising options in recent years: motion ads on the sides of buses, cylindrical ads on Grand Central turnstiles and wrap-around ads that have transformed Shuttle trains into giant traveling commercials for Google Maps, the History Channel and Vitamin Water.

— Simone Sebastian

More disturbing news for NYC commuters. After a deadly weekend, new information confirms yet another concern for millions of straphangers.

“The two subway riders fatally stabbed along the downtown 2 line were attacked during a rowdy ‘train party’ — a fast-growing epidemic where youths, packing booze, smokes and sometimes weapons, take over a subway car in “wilding” episodes long after the bars have closed.

“It’s like something from the bad old days of New York,” a law-enforcement source told The NYPost.

Yesterday, 19-year-old Brenddy Garcia confessed to the stabbings but claims he was fending off a group of 7-8 drunken men who hit him in the head with a beer bottle.

Police have arrested three men in connection with the incident. Garcia of Brownsville, Brooklyn was also charged with criminal possession of a weapon, Gothamist reported.

With eliminating station booths and NYPD officers, due to recent spike in underground violence, security has been beefed up during high-crime period.