Remember that Captain Obvious report buried on a Sunday by Comptrollers John Liu and Thomas DiNapoli that highlighted how the MTA handles service changes and track work? It seems that some folks did not take too kindly to Liu and DiNapoli’s blustering attempt at a blatant headline grab. The Daily News’ editorial board, for one, found the report misguided and petty.

Here’s how they put it:

The press release trumpeted that the state and city controllers had conducted their first joint audit in more than a decade. Thomas DiNapoli (Albany) and John Liu (New York) had trained their collective investigative firepower on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, their highly paid publicity aides announced. Gee, they must have discovered something huge. Right?

No, not exactly.

The report released Sunday by DiNapoli and Liu was more like a junior high school research paper than a serious examination of the state of mass transit in New York City. Did you know that auditors visited 39 subway stations where service had been diverted for track repairs? And did you know, horror of horrors, that the transit authority posted no more than 20 signs in each station alerting riders to the disruption? Well, now you do, thanks to the crusading of DiNapoli and Liu, who want every straphanger to know whose side they are on.

While this is one of the oldest PR tricks in the book, rarely have two such high officials attempted it with such feeble results. It goes this way: Zero in on something that annoys riders, such as service disruptions for repairs. Then count up the numbers and look for anything that suggests the MTA is bollixing up the work.

The News, not exactly a friend of the MTA’s over the years, has a better solution: Focus on the big picture and show how “the MTA is struggling to complete necessary repairs and system upgrades without proper state funding.” The paper is probably being a little tougher on Liu and DiNapoli than they need to be, but their point — that nothing new comes out of the comptrollers’ offices — is one I’ve made before. All we hear about from them are issues the MTA has already vowed to address or institutional problems that transcend an audit.

Once upon a time, the Citizens Budget Commission explored how funding from Albany for the MTA’s capital plans had dried up over the course of the Pataki Administration. If DiNapoli and Liu want to make waves, they should conduct that forensic audit of the MTA’s books while looking at Albany’s support as well. Perhaps then they would find real savings and real reform rather than the complaint that stations which see a few thousand riders per day have only 20 service change posters instead of 50.

I missed this gem when Jay Walder originally announced his resignation a few weeks ago, but as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to name a successor, it’s still timely. From Little Littlefield comes a job description:

Wanted, politically savvy transit manager willing to preside over the gradual re-collapse of New York City’s transit system due to deferred maintenance while denying it is occuring, be publicly blamed for the consequences by those actually responsible (all of whom drive everywhere to parking spaces reserved for them by placard), and hated by the suckers who believe them. In exchange for decent pay, little work, and a fat pension.

The successful applicant is expected to live outside New York City in an undisclosed location, and not appear in public except during the first half hour of public hearings, during which elected officials castigate them for the very situation they created while the MTA head sits in silence. Among the key selection criteria are the willingness to not object to an assertion that a 20/50 pension enhancement wil cost nothing, the willingness to go on borrowing money the MTA cannot possibly repay, and the ability to make sure those affluent municipal bond holders and Florida residents get paid, no matter what. Any interest in actual transportation is optional, as most public services are optional as well. However, the ability to come up with cutsey distractions like shifting the transit map around to generate favorable New York Times press is always helpful. Apply to Sheldon Silver and Dean Skelos Andrew Cuomo.

Larry might be slightly more pessimistic about the MTA’s physical future than I am. I believe we’re witnessing only the political and economic collapse of the transit system and not the physical collapse as well. Yet, this critique is right on the money, and it highlights how the next MTA head will be in a very tough position with little support and a future that does not look too bright.

For two years, Jay Walder was literally and figuratively the center of attention at the MTA. (Photo by Benjamin Kabak)

The week of Jay Walder has continued into August as civic leaders and politicians are still coming to grips with Waler’s departure. The biggest news came from a Times article published on Saturday that illuminated Walder’s motivations for leaving.

As I’ve heard from the beginning, much of the impetus behind the MTA CEO and Chairman’s decision came about because of money and circumstances. The MTR offer simply overwhelmed his current MTA salary, and he had grown tired of politicians who would use the MTA as their personal whipping boy without offering political or fiscal stability. But our new Governor, who hasn’t embraced transit and never warmed to Walder, had much to do with it as well.

Michael Grynbaum and Christine Haughney report:

Jay H. Walder, chairman of the embattled Metropolitan Transportation Authority, traveled to Albany earlier this year seeking help for a transit system in peril. Mr. Walder, a kid from Queens who rose to the top of his field and harbored big ambitions for his state, was not unlike the man he had hoped to see: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

And he did see him. For a moment.

Mr. Walder was meeting the governor’s staff at the Capitol when Mr. Cuomo walked in. The governor greeted Mr. Walder, then promptly turned his attention to his director of state operations, Howard Glaser, with whom he spoke for several moments before departing, said two people familiar with the meeting. Mr. Cuomo and the man in charge of the biggest mass transit system in the nation did not meet in person again, suggesting a lack of interest by Mr. Cuomo that irked and discouraged Mr. Walder, several officials said.

The Times notes that Cuomo was “caught…by surprise” by Walder’s departure and “had no plans” to replace him before his term expired. Yet, still, Cuomo reportedly shunned Walder and has garnered more headlines for his collection of muscle cars than he has his support of transit.

During his campaign last year, Gov. Cuomo vowed to stand behind the MTA. “I believe the governor should be accountable for the MTA,” he said in October. “These authorities that are often nameless and faceless–I understand the theory behind an authority. I also understand the theory behind accountability. In a situation like the MTA. I think that people have the right to know who’s in charge, who’s responsible and I think it should be the governor of the state.”

Now, Cuomo can put his money where his mouth is, and he will have some fight on his hands. The Times has urged him to avoid naming a political friend as head of the MTA and urged him to find someone who will “provide the best service for 8.5 million commuters.” Crain’s New York suggests two women for the job: either Karen Rae, currently with the Federal Railroad Administration, or Polly Trottenberg, assistant secretary for transportation policy at the U.S. Department of Transportation who once worked for Senator Chuck Schumer.

No matter who Cuomo picks, the next MTA head will have to negotiation with the labor unions, deal with fare hikes and debt levels and confront a system that must move forward with its capital plans as money grows ever tighter. It’s an unenviable job, and the number of people qualified to take it are quickly dwindling. Soon, Cuomo will have to name a replacement. For now, though, we’ll continue to find out just how the governor’s lukewarm embrace of the MTA head helped push him toward a decision to depart.