Second Ave. Sagas

Do the MTA cuts leave straphangers lost in bad weather? · When a severe rain storm knocked out the subway system in August 2007, New York City Transit spend considerable resources investigation ways to better prepare the subways for weather-related emergencies. Although the raised storm grates should protect the system from massive floods, the MTA still needs to communicate with its passengers, and to that end, an internal report suggested doubling the number of full-time staffers handling weather issues from 32 to 64. Now, those folks are on the chopping block, and amNew York wonders if this will leave straphangers without the necessary notifications in the event of weather-related delays.

Of course, the usual suspects bemoan the cuts. “I think it’s a terrible mistake,” Gene Russianoff said. “They are as integral to the system as the trains and electric power.” But as I think about it, I can’t help but wonder why the MTA needs 32, let alone 64, full-time staffers whose sole responsibilities include announcing weather-related delays that simply do not crop up that frequently. Maybe it snows a handful of times over the winter; maybe one rain storm causes some minor delays. The August 2007 storm was an anomaly, and the reaction to it shouldn’t unnecessarily handcuff a fiscally-strapped agency. · (8)

May

An anti-everything Assembly rep slams the MTA

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (26) ·

Meet Janele Hyer-Spencer. This little-known Democrat from Staten Island represents New York’s 60th District in the state assembly. Her constituents from parts of Bay Ridge in Brooklyn and the southeastern shore of Staten Island have competing demands, and she seems very adept at saying no to, well, just about everything.

As far as issues concerning New York City transportation go, Hyer-Spencer represents both the car-heavy areas of Staten Island, a part of State Island with actual rail service and the transit-dependent neighborhoods of Bay Ridge. As you can guess, since she’s now a part of my on-again, off-again profile of politicians who don’t stand up for transit, her record is less than stellar.

She’s in the news today because of a 65-person rally in Bay Ridge that asked the MTA to reconsider cuts to the Third Ave. buses. Since the MTA views those buses as redundant transit options that parallel the R train underneath Fourth Ave., it is planning to do away with the B37, and a handful of handicapped and elderly Bay Ridge residents who can’t negotiate the stairs and don’t have access to handicapped-accessible stations aren’t too happy.

The rally itself was organized by Hyer-Spencer, and State Senator Marty Golden, who recently proposed a pointless Town Hall on the service cuts — but no real solutions to the MTA’s woes &mdash: was in attendance. Coverage of the event was sparse, and we could debate for hours whether 65 people represent a “strong” turnout, as Hyer-Spencer claims. She did claim, however, that the crowd “showed that we will not let the MTA take away this lifeline to our community without a fight.”

So what has she done to help the MTA ensure that this so-called “lifeline to our community” wouldn’t go down without a fight? Well, let’s start with Hyer-Spencer’s biography. Here, she proudly proclaims that she “voting against the MTA bailout.” Why? Because her auto constituents on Staten Island didn’t want to pay higher tolls. I hope those in attendance at the Bay Ridge rally understood that had their gracious host had her way, the service cuts would have gone into effect a year ago.

Beyond that, Hyer-Spencer, in a PDF flyer, has called for the same old, same old. She thinks Jay Walder’s $350,000 salary is too high. She wants the MTA to cut down on managerial compensation. She wants to cut perks at MTA HQ. Unfortunately for her, that’s what the MTA is trying to do, and the agency still has to implement sweeping service cuts. So can we count on Janele to support alternative plans to improve transit in New York City? Of course not!

Two years ago, as the Daily News discovered, Hyer-Spencer would have stopped another pro-transit initiative in its tracks. She was one of the no votes against congestion pricing in 2008, a fact featured on her website. To rub salt into our open transit wounds, she also voted against bus-lane camera enforcement when David Gantt and Co. killed that measure two months after the congestion pricing vote. To make matters even worse, the Daily News highlighted Hyer-Spencer as one of the Assembly reps who voted to reappropriate over $140 million that was earmarked for the MTA to other state causes and later spoke out against the cuts at the MTA’s public hearings. Someone wants to have her cake and eat it too.

Hyer-Spencer joins a long list of politicians in New York State who want to slam the MTA and who don’t want to see their constituents’ buses and subways cut. Yet, when it comes to making difficult decisions that other constituents might remember in the voting booth — Staten Islanders generally do not like the idea of congestion pricing — her support for transit just withers away. So meet Janele Hyer-Spencer, yet another Assembly hypocrite through and through.

Categories : MTA Politics

Comments (26)

May

Subway Quiz: Name the colors as the MTA does

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (23) ·

For the subway literati among us, a quiz: Can you name the colors of the above subway bullets — less the G train — as the MTA describes them? The answers are in invisible text at the end of the post.

As a companion piece to his take on the changing Transit signage, New York Times scribe Michael Grynbaum profiled the MTA’s color schemes this afternoon. He writes of the unique names the MTA gives its subway bullets and of the history as well:

Every shade in the subway color scheme has a secret name, known only to the handful of transit workers who oversee the system’s maps and signs. But on a recent visit to the New York City Transit sign shop in Brooklyn, Off The Rails was offered a glimpse at the palette. The colors, which have stayed static since the map changed to its current design in 1979, are provided by an outside paint supplier for use on the system’s signs. Each shade has its own moniker…

Colors are assigned based on a subway route’s “trunk line” – that is, which avenue it runs along in Manhattan. (This might provide fodder to those who feel the city’s transit service is biased toward Manhattanites.) The recent decision to re-route the M line up Avenue of the Americas, instead of its previous run into southern parts of Brooklyn, is why the route is about to lose its [brown] tint…

Subway colors have shifted over time. The scheme now in place was adapted from the Modernist map by Massimo Vignelli in the early 1970s, an abstract masterpiece that was scrapped because its right angles left riders too confused. Some of Mr. Vignelli’s colors were kept in place, according to Michael Hertz, the designer of the subsequent, less right-angled 1979 map. “We felt there was a familiarity already with dark blue on Eighth Avenue,” Mr. Hertz said in a recent interview.

But Mr. Hertz, whose firm is still in charge of maintaining the transportation authority’s maps, said he was skeptical of a few of his predecessor’s other choices. “His Lex colors were weak,” Mr. Hertz said. “One was a pink, one was a light gray.”

These little idiosyncrasies are what makes the New York City subway system so fascinating to me. In Washington, D.C., the routes were pre-planned and have been saddled with boring names. The red line goes somewhere; the blue lines goes elsewhere; and the green line wanders its way through the District. Even the board game Clue had more compelling names. In New York, though, the mixture of colors, numbers and letters lends the map an air of organization amidst the chaos of a system that emerged from three competing subway companies in the 1940s.

And now for the great color reveal. Highlight the text to read the answers to the quiz and learn about Transit’s own monikers for what we call red, green, purple, blue, gray, yellow and brown. As often happens with the poor, neglected G train, its color merited nary a mention in Grynbaum’s article. Answers: tomato red (1, 2, 3), apple green (4, 5, 6), raspberry (7), vivid blue (A, C, E), bright orange (B, D, F, V), slate gray (L, S), sunflower yellow (N, Q, R, W) and terra cotta brown (J, M, Z)

Categories : View from Underground

Comments (23)

May

Walder, Samuelsen square off with dismissals on the way

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (23) ·

As the temporary restraining order preventing the MTA from firing 475 station agents remained in place throughout the weekend, the relationship between the authority and the TWU grew icier. Transit announced layoffs in spite of the injunction, and MTA Chair and CEO Jay Walder has engaged in a war of words with TWU President John Samuelsen over what Walder believes to be antiquated work rules hampering the authority.

The first development arrived on Saturday morning when Transit announced that 250 station agents would be let go this week while the remaining 225 would be retained until, as the agency anticipates, the temporary injunction is lifted. Since the restraining order focused only on keeping the booths open, the authority decided it could do so with a skeletal staff.

“A temporary restraining order issued by a court Wednesday night put the MTA’s closure of the 42 subway booths on hold for now,” Transit said in a statement on Saturday. “In light of the order, the MTA is refraining from laying off the employees needed to staff those booths while the litigation proceeds. More than 250 of the station agents, however, are not required to keep those subway booths open, and those layoffs are now scheduled for next week to ensure that we achieve the maximum savings possible in light of the MTA’s budget shortfall.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, those to be fired are the burgundy vest-wearing station agents who roam fare-control areas and help customers with directions and problems that may arise. Union officials have long maintained that station agents are an integral part of the system’s security, but the jury is decidedly out on that claim.

The bigger labor-related headlines this weekend, though, concerned the clash between Samuelsen and Walder. Pete Donohue has the story:

Rules embedded in labor contracts are hampering the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s efforts to increase efficiency – and save money, Walder told the Daily News. “That has to change,” Walder said. “It might mean some of our bus drivers aren’t as good at playing pool as they are now, but we might have to bear that cost.”

Some bus depots have pool tables in crew rooms for drivers to use on their so-called swing shift, a period of time when drivers receive half-pay but aren’t behind the wheel. A typical bus driver’s schedule can span 12 hours: driving a route for four hours during the morning rush and another four hours in the evening rush, the peak travel periods when service is most needed. During the middle four hours – say, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. – drivers don’t have any work-related duties but are still on the clock.

Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen bristled at Walder’s comments. “Our bus operators are away from their families 13, 14 hours a day and are compensated for it,” Samuelsen said.

Donohue details have competing union contracts prevent the MTA from assigning drivers to shifts in other boroughs after rush hour, and the authority is instead left with idle workers. This work rule, though, seems to make some sense. The authority can’t expect to ask its drivers to commute to and from work twice a day just to avoid a few hours of downtime. The flexibility should come in reassigning drivers.

Where Walder has a real gripe though is here, writes Donohue: “He also is miffed that when a driver who is behind the wheel eight hours a day calls in sick, he gets paid for the full 12-hour ‘run,’ including the swing span.” The sick day provisions have come under fire.

I don’t expect the unions to budge right now. They’re being assailed on all sides as the MTA looks to cut its number of employees and scale back compensation practices. Walder, though, is taking this fight to the media. “We should have a well-paid and well-compensated workforce, ” he said to the Daily News. “but the quid pro quo of that is we should have a productive workforce. I think we have a series of work rules and practices that have developed over many years that are all about how people effectively get paid for not working. I think that’s really where the shame of the system is.”

Categories : Service Cuts, TWU

Comments (23)

May

The signs of impending service cuts

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (18) ·

Thousands of signs throughout the subway system will have to be changed in advance of the June service cuts. (Photo by flickr user TheTruthAbout…)

When Monday, June 28 rolls around, New York City commuters will be plenty confused. The MTA’s service changes will knock out hundreds of bus stops and two subway lines with another — the M — being rerouted up Sixth Ave. To make sure the system is telling people where to go, New York City Transit will have to change approximately 2750 signs at 154 stations. We know how the bus stops are being phased out, but what of the signs underground?

Today, Michael Grynbaum takes us inside the sign shop as Transit prepares for a station overhaul. The guys in that division, Grynbaum writes, have to ready 25,000 maps to go along with the 2750 signs that will start to be put in place two weeks before the cuts go into effect. Nothing with the V or W bullets or the current brown M train is too small to be forgotten.

The replacements range in size and price. A small vinyl M decal, newly orange, may cost the agency about $25 to produce. A giant porcelain sign, like “42 St — Times Square,” costs about $300 to make. All told, the cost of the new signs and maps is expected to reach about $800,000. Some of that money was already budgeted, the agency said, since new maps are printed every year.

All traces of the V and W trains, two of this year’s casualties, must be struck from the system, while decals for the rerouted M line — it will head north on Avenue of the Americas in Manhattan, replacing the V — must be added to signs and entrances at dozens of stations. Even more minor changes require dozens of replacements. The Q line, for instance, will now terminate in Queens, not Midtown Manhattan, which means every station along its route must advertise “Q to Astoria” rather than the current “57 St — 7 Av…”

Some of the changes will start as slapdash: The circular logos for the V train — known in-house as bullets — will get an M decal taped over for now, and will later be replaced with a permanent sticker. A small station may need fewer than a dozen signs replaced; a major transfer point, West Fourth Street, which will now be a stop for the M instead of the V, requires 147 new signs. But don’t expect new signs at big stations like Herald Square or Rockefeller Center until just a few hours before the changes. “Anything in Manhattan, we try to wait until the last minute,” Mr. Montemarano said.

A mid-2008 sign change caught on camera. Photo by Benjamin Kabak

For the most part, reports Grynbaum, the changes won’t occur until the weekend before the day the service cuts go into place. Then, he writes, “a phalanx of maintenance workers is poised to fan out across the system — ladders and fresh signs in tow…The idea is to minimize confusion and allow breathing room for any last-minute revisions: In 2009, the entire service-cut package was avoided by an 11th-hour Albany bailout.” That bailout won’t come, but the signs need to change.

The signs though aren’t the only things to go. Subway and bus maps that live throughout the system must be switched out as well. Approximately 7000 bus maps will be changed, and 1800 in-station subway maps are to be replaced. With a system as massive as New York City’s, the scope of this project is massive.

When the last remaining vestiges of the W and V trains are removed, when no sign proclaims an M to Bay Parkway, Transit will attempt to sell off the old pieces of metal. Some collectors will buy the signs for wall decorations, some will end up in the Transit Museum’s collection and the rest will be lost to the history of an ever-changing subway system. After all, nothing — not even the short-lived V train — is forever.

Categories : Service Cuts, View from Underground

Comments (18)

May

After a rough week, a rougher weekend

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (0) ·

Between the announcement concerning more upcoming cuts and the injunction blocking the station agent dismissals, the MTA didn’t have a very good work. They are committed to working with developers on mobile applications, but that’s a small consolation for a city that will see drastic reductions in the quality of its transit system.

With Friday upon us, it’s time again for the weekend service changes. As always, this come to me from New York City Transit and are subject to change with no notice. Listen to on-board announcements and check signs at your local station. For a visual representation of these service advisories, check out the map at Subway Weekender.

Fulton Street Transit Center
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10:

AC trains bypass Broadway-Nassau St. in both directions.
No 23 service at Fulton Street.
There are no transfers between the A, 23 and 45 trains at Broadway-Nassau St./Fulton Street.
In Manhattan, free transfers are available between 45 trains at Fulton Street and A trains at Chambers Street. Customers must exit and re-enter the subway system when making this connection.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, there are no 2 trains between Manhattan and Brooklyn:

2 trains are will operate between Wakefield-241st Street and South Ferry. (2 trains will be rerouted at Chambers Street to the 1 line.)
Customers traveling to and from Brooklyn may switch to the 4 or 5 at Bowling Green. (Free out-of-system transfers are available between the 2 at South Ferry and the 4 or 5 at Bowling Green.)
Weekend 5 service is extended to Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn.
During the overnight hours, 2 shuttle trains operate between Atlantic Avenue and Flatbush Avenue. Atlantic Avenue-bound 2 shuttle trains run express from Franklin Avenue to Atlantic Avenue.
Customers may transfer between the 4 and 2 shuttle trains at Atlantic Avenue.

These changes are due to a chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets, and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, 2 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to a track chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Times Square-42nd Street due to a track chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, there are no 3 trains between 14th Street and New Lots Avenue due to a chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

For service between Manhattan and Brooklyn, customers should use 4 service which is extended to New Lots Avenue.
During the overnight hours, 3 service is extended to 14th Street.

From 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, Manhattan-bound 4 trains skip Bedford Park Boulevard, Kingsbridge Road, Fordham Road and 183rd Street due to rail work.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, 4 train service is extended to/from New Lots Avenue to replace the 3 in Brooklyn due to a chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, 5 service is extended to Flatbush Avenue due to a chip out at Borough Hall, a track dig out between Wall and Fulton Streets and a cable pull south of Nevins Street.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, May 9, Pelham Bay Park-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to Pelham Bay Park due to track panel installation. Note: Trains will stop at Parkchester using the Manhattan-bound platform.

From 4 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to10 p.m. Sunday, May 9, the last stop for some Bronx-bound 6 trains is 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to station rehabilitation and structural repair at Whitlock Avenue, Morrison-Sound View Aves., and Parkchester.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, Brooklyn-bound A trains run express from 59th Street to Canal Street due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization Project.

From 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, there are no A trains between Broad Channel and Far Rockaway due to station rehab work at Beach 60th and Beach 36th Streets. Free shuttle buses provide alternate Far Rockaway service and connect with A trains at Beach 90th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, A trains run local between Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. and Euclid Avenue due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization Project.

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, there are no C trains between Euclid Avenue, Brooklyn and West 4th Street, Manhattan due to the Chambers Street Signal Modernization Project. Take the A instead. Downtown C trains are rerouted to the F at West 4th Street and run to/from 2nd Avenue-Lower East Side, the last stop. Note: There is no C service overnight.

From 11 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, Manhattan-bound D trains skip 174th-175th Sts. and 170th Street due to a track chip out north of 170th Street.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, D trains run local between 34th Street-Herald Square and West 4th Street due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, D trains stop at DeKalb Avenue and run local between Pacific Street and 36th Street due to the Jay Street station rehabilitation, construction of the underground connector at Lawrence Street station and the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation.

From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, Jamaica Center-bound E trains run express from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to the substation rehabilitation north of Roosevelt Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, E trains are rerouted in Manhattan and Queens:

No E service between West 4th Street and World Trade Center
Manhattan-bound E trains are rerouted to the F line after 36th Street in Queens and run to 34th Street-Herald Square, the last stop.
Queens-bound E service begins at 34th Street-Herald Square and runs on the F line to 47th-50th Sts., then at 5th Avenue-53rd Street, resumes on the E line to Jamaica Center.
Free shuttle buses connect the 21st Street-Queensbridge, 23rd Street-Ely Avenue/Court Square and Queens Plaza stations.

These changes are due to the 5th Avenue Interlocking Signal System Modernization.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, free shuttle buses provide alternate service. F trains run in two sections due to Jay Street station rehabilitation, the construction of the underground connector at Lawrence Street station and the Culver Viaduct rehabilitation:

Between 179th Street and Jay Street, then trains are rerouted to the A between Jay Street and Euclid Avenue, the last stop.
Between Church Avenue and Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue.
Customers may transfer between the shuttle buses and F trains at Church Avenue and/or Jay Street in order to continue their trip.

Note: During the overnight hours, F trains run local between Euclid Avenue and Jay Street.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, there are no G trains between Bedford-Nostrand and Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip out north of Metropolitan Avenue. Free shuttle buses, E and R trains provide alternate service:

Between Bedford-Nostrand and Court Square, take the shuttle bus.
Between Court Square and Forest Hills-71st Avenue, take the E or R.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, there are no G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Church Avenue. Free shuttle buses and AF trains provide alternate service via Jay Street due to a track chip out north of Metropolitan Avenue. Note: F trains are rerouted to the A line between Jay Street and Euclid Avenue.

From 3:30 a.m. Saturday, May 8 to 10 p.m. Sunday, May 9, there are no J trains between Crescent Street and Jamaica Center due to track panel installation north of Woodhaven Boulevard. E trains and free shuttle buses provide alternate service via Jamaica-Van Wyck.

From 6:30 a.m. to 12 midnight, Saturday, May 8 and Sunday, May 9, Forest Hills-bound R trains run express from Roosevelt Avenue to Forest Hills-71st Street due to the substation rehabilitation north of Roosevelt Avenue.

From 10:30 p.m. Friday, May 7 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 10, A trains replace the Rockaway Park Shuttle S trains between Broad Channel and Rockaway Park-Beach 116th Street due to track panel installation and station rehab work at Beach 36th and Beach 60th Streets.

Categories : Service Advisories

Comments (0)

May

A toll both ascends

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (9) ·

To publicize the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll booth removal project, the MTA sent along the above photo earlier this week. Taken by Operations Superintendent Marc Levy, it shows toll both number 1, unused since 1986, being hoisted away. Crews will begin to remove the next series of booths this weekend, and traffic patterns on the bridge will change accordingly.

As I noted a few weeks ago, the removal is part of a $2.5-million project aimed at eliminating congestion and bottlenecks at the east-bound entrance to the bridge. The toll booths have been idle for nearly 25 years, and although many believe the MTA should restore two-way tolling on the bridge to cut down on traffic across Canal St., the MTA has opted instead to improve bridge traffic by doing away with the booths altogether.

Categories : MTA Bridges and Tunnels

Comments (9)

The cost of a station agent injunction · As the injunction stopping the dismissal of 475 station agents will last through the weekend, the MTA says the restraining order will cost it $100,000 per day. A hearing is set for Monday morning, and even if a Manhattan Supreme Court judge on Monday sides with the MTA, as the authority expects, Thursday’s injunction will have cost half a million dollars, adding to the agency’s sizable deficit. The TWU claims the MTA is obligated to hold hearings concerning the impact the firings will have on neighborhood safety, but I see neither a law mandating those hearings nor signs of any impact whatsoever. · (5)

May

With more budget cuts, a system begins to slide

By Benjamin Kabak · Comments (35) ·

Scratchiti will become more prevalent as the MTA scales back on maintenance costs. (Photo by flickr user rdcapasso)

Throughout the 1970s and into the early 1980s, New York City’s subways became a dangerous and unreliable system. As the city went broke and the MTA had little money, maintenance schedules slipped. Graffiti took over the system; trash filled the stations; and car breakdowns and track fires were a way of life.

Since then, the MTA has invested heavily in its rolling stock and maintenance programs. Recognizing that the MTA’s network is one of the — if not the top — drivers of the city’s economy, the authority has spent the last three decades ensuring that trains are graffiti-free and do not break down nearly as often and that stations are relatively cleaner than they once were to minimize track fires.

As the MTA looks to cut more services and employees, we could see the beginnings of a return to the bad old days. Yesterday, the authority announced a series of austerity cuts that will strike at the heart of the system. While I was taking an exhausting final, the authority heads briefed reporters, and Michael Grynbaum has the story. The MTA will eliminate nearly 1000 positions — some administrative and some maintenance-oriented — in an effort to save $115-$150 million. The authority will still face a shortfall of over $200 million that will have to be closed with a larger-than-anticipated fare hike next year. Grynbaum has more:

Hundreds of maintenance workers will be laid off, subway cleaning regimens will be reduced and officials will “let an additional amount of scratchiti occur on windows system-wide” under the plan, said Thomas F. Prendergast, the president of New York City Transit.

The cost-cutting measures are part of an agency-wide plan to close a $400 million budget shortfall, and subway riders will not be the only ones to suffer. Riders on the Long Island Rail Road will be packed into smaller trains on the weekend and occasionally in the morning rush. Football fans will have fewer options for train rides to games at the Meadowlands, and the Metro-North Railroad will place fewer customer assistants in Grand Central Terminal…

Inconvenience is another matter. One item on the chopping block is a program that created two dozen subway announcers, who alerted riders to delays and train progress over station intercoms. Officials said the program proved to be a poor investment.

Prendergast tried to assuage the fears of passengers who still remember the system as it was before the capital investments took hold. “There will be no degradation to safety and reliability,” he said.

Still, programs that improve the underground quality of life are being sacrificed in the name of economics. For instance, anti-scratchiti programs that appeared to be successful are being eliminated due to the expense. Now, the agency will, in the words of Grynbaum, “allow more scratches to accumulate before it replaces windows on trains throughout the system.”

Additionally, trains will be cleaned less frequently. As Heather Haddon of amNew York reports, cleaners will scrub trains only “at one end of the route — meaning a car can travel for more than three hours before it is scrubbed.” Unless New Yorkers make an effort to clean up, train cars will just be dirtier.

This is, of course, nothing short of a failure of politics. The MTA, created 42 years ago to isolate the subways from politicians, has always relied on state funding to break even, and as pension, benefit and debt obligations have saddled the MTA with ever-rising costs, politicians have simply stopped coming up with solutions. East River bridge tolls or congestion pricing with revenue dedicated to the MTA remain the most equitable and rational solutions. Yet, New York State politicians can’t see past their windshield perspectives to understand the role transit plays in the lives of countless millions of New Yorkers a day. The system will have to break down before it is rescued, and it is quickly heading that way.

Site Note: Apologies for the late start this morning. I had a long takehome final yesterday and fell asleep before I could get a post up. I’ll have another one later before the weekend service advisories tonight.

Categories : MTA Economics, Service Cuts

Comments (35)

Station agent injunction to last the weekend · Updating this earlier story: The Daily News is reporting that the temporary injunction barring the MTA from dismissing 475 station agents today will remain in place through the weekend. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Alice Schlesinger heard arguments late last night and issued the TRO, but Justice Saliann Scarpulla declined to hear further arguments in the case today. The legal proceedings are expected to resume on Monday or Tuesday. In the meantime, the station agents will stay on the job, and union heads will continue to present spurious arguments concerning safety or stimulus funding. (To which I respond, wouldn’t the MTA use stimulus funding to stave off service cuts before it rolls back agent dismissal? After all, the authority is in the business of transit service.) There is no word on how much this injunction is costing the MTA, but agents will continue to draw their salaries until at least next week. · (4)

Page 147 of 360« First «...145 146147148 149...»Last »

An anti-everything Assembly rep slams the MTA

Subway Quiz: Name the colors as the MTA does

Walder, Samuelsen square off with dismissals on the way

The signs of impending service cuts

After a rough week, a rougher weekend

A toll both ascends

With more budget cuts, a system begins to slide

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