I’m taking the New York State Bar Exam on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and so there will be no further posts today. If you’re looking for some thought-provoking transit-related materials, watch the above video. It seems as though Richard Brodsky, former Assembly representative, wouldn’t say no were he to be appointed head of the MTA. Considering his record while in Albany, though, I’m not so keen on that idea. Meanwhile, William Colton, a current Assembly rep from Brooklyn, suggested Gene Russianoff while The Journal says Gov. Andrew Cuomo will look nationally or within the MTA for a potential replacement. Intrigue indeed.
27 comments
Hopefully someone with nerves of steel takes the job, lord knows they’ll need it. They’ll have Albany, the TWU, and angry (and endlessly stupid) transit riders screaming for their head 24/7 while having the MTA starved of funds. I’m sure people are beating down the doors for a shot at this job!
Can’t they just pick up some random guy off the streets of Tokyo or Zurich?
They could pick some random Bellevue inmate and still do better than Brodsky.
Brodsky. What a clownish man he is.
Frankly, Richard Brodsky deserves the MTA given that he is the legislator most responsible for the demise of congestion pricing and the loss of all of the federal funds, the new revenue stream and the bonds that would have come along with it.
What’s David Gunn up to now-a-days?
Probably chopping logs in Maine or Nova Scotia. I really doubt it if he would want the headache at his age but he would be a great choice.
Seconded. Him, or Richard Ravitch.
Ravitch might be the only sane candidate who kind of might like a job.
Freelancing for TTC.
I vote for Benjamin Kabak to head the MTA.
Wow, for the first time in ages I’m grateful I don’t have FiOS, because those reporters are utterly useless.
[…] Ugh: Richard Brodsky Coyly Deflects Suggestion He’ll Be Tapped to Replace Walder (2nd Ave Sagas) […]
I think that instead of picking a new head, they sould look instead into disbanding and restructuring what is now known as the MTA. Appoint a “Blue Ribbon” panel. That’s a trendy thing to do. The MTA is just too highly dysfunctional to let it continue on like this.
Best of luck to you, Ben.
How “dysfunctional” is the MTA compared to other large NYS agencies and authorities? Show me. Is it more “dysfunctional” than NYS Medicaid, which pays out about twice as much per participant as California’s system and has been shown to waste about a fourth of its budget through over billing, unnecessary procedures and fraud? Seriously. Show us a comparison of MTA vs other NYS mega-agency. Is the MTA f*ed? You bet. But is that because the entity is fatally flawed, or because New Yorkers accept a political system that is corrupted by the power of special interest money and power?
It is highly dysfunctional. Compared to other NYS entities, I haven’t the first clue, but I suspect that the MTA does not have this market cornered.
To your other point, NYS needs to change certain rules regarding nomination processes, ballot registering and district re-drawings, not to mention the various fast and loose ethics rules. Change these and perhaps the political system will bend slightly.
Good luck, Ben. At least you’ve missed the heat wave while you’ve been studying.
Good luck on the bar exam!
The bar exam is the easy part. Finding a job is the hard part.
Best of luck today/tomorrow, Ben!
At some point, I would be interested in your take on this weekend’s high-speed rail disaster in China.
http://www.theaustralian.com.a.....6101573803
The debt limit is the only reason Republicans and the hoard of idiocy haven’t taken that man-made disaster (THEY TURNED OFF THE ATS! MORONS!) and turned into a “TRAINS BAD! MORE CARS! MORE ROADS! OIL!” campaign.
Good luck Ben. It’s not nearly as hard as it seems. Just knock the MBE over the fences and sail through the essays.
I just want to tell you good luck, we’re all counting on you.
Most reporters today are useless anyway. If you want to see a verry funny film that drives the point home, watch the Rachel Mcadams/ Harrison Ford film “Morning Glorry.” Even the most rediculous parts of the movie will leave you histericle.
Andrew Albert over Gene Russianoff any day.
Good luck, Ben.
We’re all counting on you.