In his Inside City Hall column today, David Seifman analyzes the political woes of the MTA and comes to a conclusion that may surprise transit advocates. Mayor Bloomberg, he writes, will take the political fall from the inaction and ineptitude coming out of Albany. Bloomberg, he notes, has been largely silent on the MTA’s fiscal issues because Albany legislatures don’t like the mayor, and transit advocates worried Bloomberg’s statements would hurt their cause. Now, though, because the mayor is, according to Seifman’s sources, viewed by the public as “the king,” Albany insiders believe that Bloomberg’s poll numbers will suffer as the supposedly immune State Senators escape unscathed.
As much as it pains me to admit it, Seifman is probably right. For some reason, New Yorkers are willing to forgive, ignore or remain ignorant of Albany’s problems and the ways in which our state senators are completely out of touch with their constituents. The Fare Hike Four — a bunch of populist phones doing more harm than good for transit in the city — will earn their reelections while people fighting for transit end up buried by the scorn. All we can do is point our fingers at the right villains, but if no one is listening — as City Room comments and various letters to the editors make clear — it won’t matter.