Comments on: The Straphangers Campaign responds

By: rufustfyrfly

rufustfyrfly — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 14:35:46 +0000

The problem is far more institutional than personal. The transit advocates in NYC fail because they are all (to my knowledge) organized as 501c3’s. They can’t take unambiguous stands against the actual politicians who cause these kinds of crises, nor can they really do anything to help anyone who does the right thing. They can organize letter writing campaigns, gather petitions, and put up posters. But at the end of the day, they can’t make any politician pay a price or reap a reward for their actions. So no one has to listen to them.

If there were a transit-oriented PAC or fusion party, or voter education fund or anything else along those lines, they could maybe exert some political muscle. But we don’t have one.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:17:28 +0000

Facebook:

I went to that rally. There were, at most, a couple hundred people there. Considering there were 70,000 in the Facebook group and 5 million people who ride the subway each day, I certainly don’t call that a success.

Not only that, but the Facebook group’s wall postings and forums turned the MTA into the punching bag, proving that the Straphangers’ message was clearly not getting across to the group’s members.

By: Facebook!

Facebook! — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:10:55 +0000

None of you joined “1,000,000 people against the MTA fare hikes and service cuts” on Facebook?

They had 70,000 fans and organized a huge rally at Union Square with Cate from Straphangers and a few other groups.

No one’s on Facebook here?

By: Kai B

Kai B — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:34:09 +0000

Yes, in their editorial pieces. But the headlines make the average person blame the MTA. When you see a headline such as “MTA to Axe Away” you think “Damn MTA” not “Damn Albany for not funding them”.

By: AlexB

AlexB — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:00:34 +0000

The way I remember things, the vast majority of legislators who supported the fare hike and opposed the Ravitch plan were not in the MTA region. For a whole variety of reasons, the best thing that could be done for transit and NYC in general would be to replace Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate with decent human beings who have their constituents best interests in mind. Could the established public transit advocacy groups have done something more? Probably, but I hardly think they were being lazy.

By: Chris

Chris — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:22:13 +0000

How so? All three New York City newspapers placed the blame for this squarely on the State’s inaction.

By: Kai B

Kai B — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:05:38 +0000

Then again, it’s the Straphangers Campaign versus the tabloids, all of which, at least by their headlines, are much more effective at blaming the MTA than the Straphangers Campaign ever could be. It’s going to take more than a public advocacy group to change that image.

By: zz

zz — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 04:54:05 +0000

Sorry, Gene. We appreciate your efforts, but the outcome is not acceptable.

The advocacy community failed to persuade the public or the legislature to put the MTA’s operating or capital programs on sustainable fiscal footing. The taxi revenues may never materialize, and the auto rental tax falls heavily on transit riders. The public has no better grasp than it did before of why we are in this fiscal crisis, and what should be done to resolve it. We have not yet had a frank public discussion about the structure of MTA’s labor agreements, and the public does not yet comprehend the importance of paying down the MTA’s massive debt. No elected officials who bashed the MTA in the media as cover for their own inaction have been held accountable.

Despite ESTA’s valiant efforts, the MTA is a battered organization, its best leadership in decades has been run out of town, and the public blames the MTA rather than elected officials for all of the above.

The question at hand is not how much effort you put into this failed campaign. The question is what you have learned from it, and how you plan to retool your message and methods to win the debate next time.