Fare Hike Four and allies busted by Post

Every now and then, The Post’s’ in-your-face style of tabloid reporting comes up with a gem of a piece. This one — in which Brendan Scott and Tom Namako confronted the six anti-MTA State Senators over their lack of subway support — is just such a piece.

As Streetsblog noted earlier, four of the six senators who do not support the Ravitch Plan claimed to use the subway. One — Hiram Monserrate — couldn’t be reached for comment due to his legal troubles. The other? Well, take it away, Ruben Diaz, Sr.:

And one of the lawmakers who came up empty-handed, Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx), exploded when asked if he ever rides the transit system.

“Don’t ask me if I ride or don’t ride. It doesn’t mean anything,” said Diaz. “Who rides the subway doesn’t matter. You don’t listen to me. It doesn’t matter who rides the subway. I don’t care who rides the train or who doesn’t ride the train.

“Listen to what I’m saying,” he said on a continuing tirade. “English, English, English. I don’t care who rides the train who rides the train or not. Whoever rides the train or whenever they ride the train, I’m offering the best plan.”

That plan, one that he said would hit straphangers with only “a 4 percent” fare increase, was slammed by Gov. Paterson, the MTA and transit advocates as having bad math. It would actually carry a 17 percent fare increase, they said.

“I’m here representing a community,” Diaz said. “For the community I represent, I’m offering four things: No layoffs, no tolls, no cut of services, and a 4 percent increase of fare.”

Diaz’s response is typical. He can’t handle getting challenged on an obvious issue and just starts blubbering away about nothing related to the problem at hand. His constituents should be up in arms over this.

But while Diaz’s reaction makes for good headlines and pull quotes, Ruth Hassell-Thompson comes across even worse. “I blocked the plan because we have to be sure that what we’re paying for is what we’re really getting,” she said. “If the service isn’t improving, why the hell am I giving them more money?”

Why the hell are you giving them more money, Ruth? So the MTA can stay afloat. So the MTA can continue to provide the same level of service it currently provides. So the MTA doesn’t have to raise fares, cut service and fire employees to balance its books.

This reaction simply angers me. It’s stunningly out of touch with reality and represents a complete abrogation of Hassell-Thompson’s duty as an elected representative of New York City. If politicians can’t understand this — or, in the case of Hassell-Thompson, refuse to acknowledge the situation on the ground — there is no hope for the city.