For the last few weeks, Jay Walder has been preaching responsible investment and an increased attention toward improving surface transit. He knows that the agency he heads has long been plagued by an inability to manage its capital projects, and a CBC report issued last week confirmed a history of cost overruns and missed deadlines.
Today, in a short piece in The Post, Walder talks about his new approach toward cost overruns: They will not be tolerated. The first thing to go is a $2 million overrun for a public plaza at South Ferry. Tom Namako reports:
Hands off straphangers’ wallets! That was the message new MTA chief Jay Walder had for agency and city officials yesterday when he vetoed any move to spend an additional $2 million in cost overruns at the new South Ferry station.
Walder said he would rather scale down the last part of the project — an outdoor plaza connecting Staten Island Ferry service to the subway station — than lay out any more dough. “If we need to reduce the scope to stay within the budget, then we should reduce the scope to stay within the budget. But there is no more money,” Walder told the MTA’s head of construction at a public meeting.
Allan Cappelli, one of the board members from Staten Island, worried that ferry riders would be stranded “out in the rain.” That seems to be a bit of a stretch. But as Walder threatened to downsize other costly projects, I have to wonder if this is the right approach.
Currently, the MTA is facing capital funding gaps in the billions of dollars. The agency is facing cost overruns of the same magnitude along Second Ave. and at Fulton St. Does skimping on a public plaza for a mere fraction of the savings make sense?
The MTA needs to take a good hard look at the funding for its major billion-dollar projects and figure out ways to save. It makes sense to put forward a consistent approach to cost overruns, and for that, $2 million will be cut from the South Ferry project. This is but small beans compared to the MTA’s true fiscal problems.
Let’s talk for a minute about God. Or maybe I should say: Let’s talk for a minute about those who don’t believe God, a god, any gods exist. Now, I’m not going to get all religious on you, but a recent advertisement in the subways has raised the ire of, well, anyone religious who does not respond well to people with beliefs that may differ from their own.
A few months ago, the MTA unveiled the details of its 
As Second Ave. Sagas nears its third birthday, I’m always looking for ways to expand my offerings to my readers. The site started out as a one-a-day blog back in 2006, and I’ve expanded it to feature at least three posts per day. I’ve brought on some guest columnists, and I’ve encouraged readers to interact with me via a 
Jay Walder is currently the MTA CEO and Chairman because of the success he enjoyed in London and then at McKinsey as a transit consultant. A veteran of New York’s MTA, he helped turn around Transport for London and led an effort to modernize the system. Now, as New York’s transit network stands in need of some major investment and massive upgrades, Walder is looking to bring his team from London across the pond to help drag the MTA into the 21st Century.