Author

Benjamin Kabak

Color amidst Columbus Circle construction

by Benjamin Kabak September 10, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 10, 2009

The Sol LeWitt installation at 59th St./Columbus Circle. (Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Transportation Authority/Rob Wilson. Click to enlarge.)

Taking a walk through the Columbus Circle station right now is one of the least pleasant experiences in the subway. Undergoing a complete rehab that is behind schedule, the station is hot and dusty. Platforms are cut off; walls are exposed; staircases are closed.

Eventually, the station will be completely transformed, but for now, it is in a perpetual state of construction. On Wednesday, a glimpse of color appeared amidst the construction as the Sol LeWitt Arts for Transit installation opened on a double-wide wall on a mezzanine in between the A/B/C/D and 1 train platforms.

The piece, shown above and again at the bottom of the post, was commissioned in 2004, and LeWitt, who passed away two years ago, selected the site himself. The work is 53 feet wide by 11 feet tall and is made of 250 porcelain tiles of six varying colors. It is called “Whirls and twirls (MTA)” and is one of the more vibrantly-colored entries in the Arts for Transit program.

“LeWitt’s genius comes through in this artwork, which is a major work of precision with its curves and bands in vibrant color that completely fills the space,” MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger said. “It will become a landmark and is a great tribute to one of our major artists.”

Sadly, LeWitt is no longer with us to see the piece’s grand unveiling. He died in April 2007, but the artist is enjoying much posthumous success. As his obituary says, LeWitt was known for “deceptively simple geometric sculptures and drawings and ecstatically colored and jazzy wall paintings.” An exhibit of his works, recently named one of the top art shows in the nation, is on display for 25 years at Mass MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts, and LeWitt was very much looking forward to his collaboration with the MTA.

“When an artist uses a conceptual form of art, it means that all of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair. The idea becomes a machine that makes the art,” he said in an Arts for Transit interview a year before his death.

After LeWitt’s death, Sandra Bloodworth, director of Arts for Transit and Facilities Design, worked closely with the artist’s family to ensure that his vision would be realized. “This project,” she said, “was filled with challenges, as we prepared several samples of tile and glazes to meet with Mr. LeWitt’s approval and found a facility that could produce large tiles mandated by the design. Working with Arts for Transit, his family and colleagues helped bring the project to completion. It is a very special and unique creation because it is a permanent public installation of a wall drawing, executed in porcelain tile. Usually the wall drawings are executed in paint or pencil based on exacting instructions by the artist.”

While some may criticize Arts for Transit as a superfluous use of money in tight economic times, LeWitt’s piece brings some color and levity to our normally serious commutes. It lightens up a once-dull space and should be recognized and embraced as a leading example of underground art.

Click through for another view.

September 10, 2009 17 comments

Fulton Street

Fulton St. costs rising after legal ruling

by Benjamin Kabak September 9, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 9, 2009

The tortured history of the Fulton St. Hub is one we know quite well. Nearly seven years behind schedule and 100 percent over budget, this project aimed at revitalizing Lower Manhattan has become a symbol of the MTA’s construction problems. Recently, the MTA faced another economic setback as a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled that the agency owes displaced real estate owners another $40 million.

While I first saw this write-up in the Post, GlobeSt.com has a more thorough story. In a ruling issued late last month, State Justice Walter Tolub told the MTA that it will have to up its valuation of three Lower Manhattan parcels seized as part of the Fulton St. Transit Center project. The MTA had priced them as individual parcels, but the judge is considering them to be an assemblage with a higher price tag. Paul Bubny has more:

“The highest, best and most profitable use of the properties would have resulted in the construction of residential rental and condominium development, with ground and second floor retail development,” Tolub wrote in his August 28 ruling. Given that, “there is simply no question” that the three northernmost parcels along lower Broadway between Fulton and John streets “would have constituted an assemblage, and that the parties would have entered into a zoning lot merger, transferring the development rights. These lots were, for all intents and purposes, under common ownership and control.”

That common ownership of the four properties on these parcels came from the Reformed Protestant Church of the City of New York, the fee owners of 192, 198 and 204-210 Broadway; and from Brookfield Properties, which entered into a joint venture with the church on ownership of 200 Broadway. Brookfield and the church had discussed an assemblage of these parcels well before the MTA’s eminent domain seizure of the properties in March 2006, Tolub wrote. All have since been demolished.

According to Tolub’s ruling, the church had also been in active negotiations with the Riese Organization, which owned 194 Broadway, for developmental rights prior to the MTA’s taking the property. Based on comparable sales that took place in early 2006, Tolub ordered the MTA to pay the Rieses $35.2 million for 194 Broadway, and to pay the church and Brookfield a total of $106.5 million for the four other properties.

In a statement to me about the ruling, the MTA expressed its plans to file an appeal. “The MTA disagrees with the court’s valuation of property required by the MTA to complete the Fulton Street Transit Center and intends to appeal the decision,” the statement said.

Despite this legal setback and the potential for a higher price tag, the Fulton St. plans are not in fiscal jeopardy. “The project’s budget and the proposed 2010-2014 capital program include reserves for contingencies, which, if necessary, would cover these increased valuation costs,” the MTA said.

Attorneys for the victorious plaintiffs said they would seek fees and other expenses from the MTA as the case heads to an appeal. I certainly hope this transit center is worth it in the end.

September 9, 2009 15 comments

MTA Politics

Walder says something and nothing as vote looms

by Benjamin Kabak September 9, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 9, 2009

The Jay Walder confirmation circus hit Harlem on Tuesday. While it seems as though the State Senate will confirm Walder as the new top dog for the MTA, Walder is still speaking in platitudes while offering few glimpses into his MTA strategy.

I unfortunately could not venture uptown yesterday to attend the hearings, but both The Times and amNew York, among other outlets, sent reporters. The tone and substance of the coverage is widely divergent. Michael Grynbaum is skeptical of Walder and his non-answers while Heather Haddon found promises of innovation. We start with The Times:

Based on a public hearing in Harlem on Tuesday, Mr. Walder has already mastered at least one political sleight of hand: the nonanswer answer. Asked about the transportation authority’s much-publicized new labor agreement, Mr. Walder said he had not read the proceedings and could not comment. He said the authority “can do much more with the bus system,” but he was vague on the details, saying he hoped to see more enforcement of bus lanes.

In his testimony, he also said that he hoped to encourage “a new communications strategy with the communities we serve” and to make public information about the system more “comprehensive and comprehensible.” But he declined to be any more specific, leaving the several dozen people attending the hearing with more generic phrases often associated with management consultants, like McKinsey & Company, Mr. Walder’s current employer.

“We need to address the issues of credibility, accountability and transparency,” he said when asked about his goals. “I’m sure we can all agree on that.”

Haddon, meanwhile, highlights three areas of in which the MTA can look to upgrade its system. Walder wants to bring a contact-lass payment system online; he wants to install train-arrival boards with real-time train information; and he wants to beef up the bus operations through consistent ticketing of those who block the bus lanes and an expansion of the city’s nascent bus rapid transit system.

“We walk to the edge of the platform, we look over, we wait to see if there’s a white light. And if we see the white light and hope it’s not a reflection, then we know that the train is actually coming. This is simply not the way to operate a 21st century transit system,” Walder said of the MTA’s technological woes.

It’s hard to argue with either Grynbaum’s or Haddon’s take on the Walder confirmation hearings. On the one hand, Walder can’t really say anything inflammatory during these sessions because he risks losing the support of the State Senate. He can’t bash the labor deal or discuss much about the ongoing legal battle with the TWU — although he could do more than say that he hasn’t read the arbitration award yet. He can’t address the MTA’s real economic short comings right now either without upsetting Senators already antsy about a tax- and fee-heavy MTA bailout plan.

On the other, it always comes back to the money. Walder can talk about technological innovation and our need to catch up with our global transit competitors until he is blue in the face. Without the money, the MTA is stuck spinning its wheels and trying to maintain its State of Good Repair. Walder needs to be confirmed, and he’ll have to be realistic about the MTA’s short- and long-term future. He may have the support of transit advocates, but Walder has yet to show me that he deserves to replace Elliot Sander, the man the Senate and Governor unceremoniously kicked to the curb.

September 9, 2009 3 comments

Second Avenue Subway

Second Ave. relocation sagas

by Benjamin Kabak September 8, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 8, 2009

Over the last few years, as work on the Second Ave. subway has progressed, I’ve written extensively about the impact construction has on local businesses. With streets and sidewalks torn up, foot traffic to many Upper East Side businesses has slowed to a crawl, and more than a few shops have closed up in the face of a decade-long threat of subway construction.

Over time, I’ve been less sympathetic to the business owners who bemoan these inconveniences. In the end, the Second Ave. subway will benefit Upper East Side businesses and New Yorkers as a whole. If a few owners who had ample warning of impending construction are facing a tough time, that is a price the city must willing to pay for transportation progress. (For more on the business side of the equation, check out this piece from Friday’s amNew York.)

The residential part of the relocation issue, though, is a different story. Because the MTA has to purchase some Second Ave. properties for substations, ventilation shafts, emergency access stairwells and other infrastructure-related needs, federal law imposes an obligation on the agency to find displaced residents “comparable housing.” As Michael Grynbaum reports, this process has been plagued with problems as residents and the MTA struggle to define what comparable housing really is. He writes:

Dave Zigerelli was told to consider low-income housing across from an on-ramp to the Queensboro Bridge. The first apartment shown to Nicolle Poian was half the size of her own. Ann and Conrad Riedi, ensconced in the same rent-stabilized apartment for 40 years, said they were encouraged to move out of Manhattan — and their dog, Biscuit, might not be allowed to come along. “They told us to think outside the box,” said Ms. Riedi, 64.

The Riedis’ apartment, a big three-bedroom in a stucco-walled walk-up, is one of 60 homes on the Upper East Side that will soon be converted into ventilation shafts, public stairwells and electronics hubs, the infrastructure for the $4.5 billion underground line, scheduled to open in 2017.

The transportation authority said that it was doing its best to accommodate residents who want to stay in the neighborhood, and that no one was being forced to leave the area. Affordable housing was suggested to residents who might be eligible, said a transportation authority spokesman, Kevin Ortiz.

But the options for tenants are limited. At first, Mr. Ortiz denied that the relocation service hired by the authority, a national real estate company called O. R. Colan Associates, had suggested that residents move outside their district, which stretches from East 59th Street to East 96th Street. Given an e-mail message showing that one tenant was encouraged to consider housing in Harlem, at East 116th Street, Mr. Ortiz said the authority wanted to offer as many choices as possible.

“We’re doing our due diligence,” he said. In the case of the Harlem apartments, he added, “No one seemed to be interested.”

According to Grynbaum, officials generally interpret “comparable housing” to be of the same size and rent in the same or a nearby neighborhood. If someone opts to upgrade their housing, says Grynbaum, the MTA will be on the hook for the rent different for 3.5 years. Based on the anecdotes he tracks down, though, this idea of “comparable” has so far eluded the MTA.

Numerous couples report being shown low-income housing. Others talk about options to relocate to Roosevelt Island or an apartment underneath the tram at 60th St. and 3rd Ave. Still others talk about being shown smaller apartments without similar amenities.

In the end, the MTA has few choices in this matter. They are legally obligated to relocate these residents to “comparable housing,” and if the agency cannot accommodate that demand, then the residents can sue for an injunction. Any legal proceedings would slow the long-delayed project to a halt. It is in the best interests of the MTA to find the right housing, and they owe it to these Second Ave. residents to do so.

September 8, 2009 20 comments

Asides TWU

Bloomberg to stay out of TWU/MTA fray

by Benjamin Kabak September 8, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 8, 2009

In a piece critical of New York City’s mayor, The Post’s David Seifman calls Michael Bloomberg’s noise on the MTA/TWU flap just politics. While the mayor has expressed his displeasure with the arbitration finding in favor of the TWU and while he is currently engaging in what I’ve termed a faux-populist takedown of the MTA, he won’t join the MTA in appealing the TWU decision. While a city spokesman says that the Mayor’s Office will be “vigorously supporting” the MTA in its appeal, the city won’t join the suit because its lawyers do not believe it is a “affected party.” Support by any other name…

September 8, 2009 2 comments

New York City Transit View from Underground

Musings on holding the doors

by Benjamin Kabak September 8, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 8, 2009

HoldingDoors

Every year, New York City Transit evaluates why its trains are late, and every year, the leading cause of subway delays is generally straphanger-generated. People holding the doors and people preventing the doors from closing are the two leading culprits behind delayed trains.

To combat this epidemic of door-holding, New York City Transit has unveiled a new public-service campaign. The poster, above, now appears in 2200 subway cars throughout the system, and the message is a simple one. Don’t hold the doors. It delays this train; it delays the next one. Everyone will see — the red person — and everyone will know that you are responsible for the train delays. (In addition to the posters, a new automated announcement will debut soon as well.)

“The selfish act of holding the doors while one tries to board or exit a train can delay several trains along a line, particularly during rush hour when trains run more closely together,” Steven Feil, senior vice president of Subways for NYC Transit, said. “But aside from that aspect, you can get hurt.”

It’s a simple message, but will it resonate with New Yorkers? The question is one of subway ethics. It involves why we hold doors, why we shimmy into trains too full to fit us and why it doesn’t really matter if this train or the one right behind it is delayed. The delay, after all, is on paper only. The train isn’t delayed if everyone expects to wait at crowded stations during rush hour as people inevitably block or hold the doors.

We start the first questions: Why do we hold doors and why do we block doors? The answer to this conundrum brings us back to my on-again, off-again series of pieces about underground ethics. On the one hand are the people who block doors. These people either cram themselves into subway cars too crowded for another person or insert their arms, legs and backpacks into closing train doors. These are introverted masses. They hold the doors for themselves because they don’t want to be late and can’t deign to wait four minutes for the next train. They don’t really care about this PSA.

On the other hand are the people who hold train doors. Sometimes, these people hold train doors because they see a harried commuter rushing down the staircase, hoping the train won’t leave. Sometimes, these people hold train doors because their friends are right behind them, because the baby stroller is slowly getting on board, because the conductor can’t see the lines of people at the far end of the platform. These are the extroverted helpers, and the PSA probably won’t impact their generally altruistic behavior too much.

In the end, then, I posit that this PSA doesn’t add much to the realm of underground ethics. The subways are delayed only if New York City Transit considers them to be delayed. When I board a rush hour train in the morning or afternoon, I expect a few slow station stops. I expect people to cram into a crowded car, too impatient to wait for the next train. I expect a modicum of door-holding. I expect door-related delays to slow down my ride, and in the end, it’s not really slowing down my ride because I am expecting it.

Maybe this PSA will help. Maybe a few people won’t hold the doors, and a few more people may find themselves waiting for another train. But none of us like to wait; we all want to get to where we need to be as soon as possible. For that, straphangers will continue to hold doors.

September 8, 2009 24 comments

Service Advisories

Long weekend service advisories

by Benjamin Kabak September 4, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 4, 2009

It’s time for the unofficial end of summer, and I’m out of the city for a few days. The subways are going to be running on a Sunday schedule on Monday but with few service disruptions. The following though are in place for the weekend. Remember: These come to me from the MTA and are subject to change without notice. Check signs at your local station and listen to on-board announcements for the latest and greatest.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Monday, August 7, 1 trains skip 28th, 23rd, and 18th Streets in both directions due to a track chip-out at Chambers Street station. 2 and 3 trains provide alternate service.

From 11:30 p.m. Friday, September 4 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 7, there are no 1 trains operating between 14th Street and South Ferry due to a track chip-out at Chambers Street station. 2 and 3 trains provide alternate service between 14th Street and Chambers Street. Free shuttle buses replace 1 trains between Chambers Street and South Ferry.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 7, 2 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to a track chip-out at Chambers Street station.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, 3 trains run local between 96th Street and Chambers Street due to a track chip-out at Chambers Street station.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Monday, September 7, Manhattan-bound 6 trains run express from Hunts Point Avenue to 3rd Avenue-138th Street due to a track chip-out at East 143rd Street.

From 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, September 5 and Sunday, September 6, Manhattan-bound A trains skip 111th and 104th Streets (in Woodhaven, Queens) due to track rail and tie installation.

From 5 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 6, Coney Island-bound D trains run on the N line from 36th Street to Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue due to 38th Street Yard work.

From 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, September 6, D trains run local between DeKalb Avenue and 36th Street due to cable work south of 59th Street-4th Avenue.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, D trains run local between 34th Street and West 4th Street due to a track chip-out in the 53rd Street tunnel.

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, E trains are rerouted on the F line in Manhattan and Queens due to a track chip-out in the 53rd Street tunnel:

There are no E trains between 34th Street-Penn Station and World Trade Center. Customers should take the A or C instead.
Manhattan-bound E trains run on the F from 21st Street-Queensbridge to 34th Street-Herald Square/6 Avenue.
Queens-bound E trains run on the F from 34th Street-Herald Square/6th Avenue to 47th-50th Sts. Trains resume normal E service from 5th Avenue-53rd Street to Roosevelt Avenue.
In Queens, the Manhattan-bound E platforms at Queens Plaza and 23rd Street-Ely Avenue are closed. Free shuttle buses connect these stations with the 21st Street-Queensbridge F station where Manhattan-bound service is available.

From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, Jamaica-bound E trains run local from Queens Plaza to Roosevelt Avenue due to track maintenance.

From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, September 5, Manhattan-bound E trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Roosevelt Avenue due to track cleaning.

From 12:30 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 5 a.m. Tuesday, September 8, F trains run local between Roosevelt Avenue and 21st Street-Queensbridge due to track maintenance.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 5, Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7, there is no Queens-bound G train service from Court Square to Forest Hills-71st Avenue due to a track chip-out in the 53rd Street tunnel. Customers should take the E or R trains instead.

Manhattan-bound F trains run local from Roosevelt Avenue to 21st Street-Queensbridge during this time.
Free shuttle buses connect stations at Court Square G/23rd Street-Ely Avenue, Queens Plaza, and 21st Street Queensbridge F stations.

From 6:30 a.m. to midnight, Saturday, September 5, Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7, there are no Brooklyn-bound G trains from Forest Hills-71st Avenue to Court Square due to a track chip-out in the 53rd Street tunnel. Customers may take the R instead.

From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Saturday, September 5, Brooklyn-bound G trains run express from Forest Hills-71st Street to Roosevelt Avenue due to track cleaning.

From 4:30 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 6, there are no J trains between Myrtle Avenue and Broadway Junction due to switch renewal north of Broadway Junction. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service. Customers may transfer to and from shuttle buses and J trains at Myrtle Avenue and Broadway Junction.

From 5 a.m. Saturday, September 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday, September 6, there are no M trains running due to switch renewal north of Broadway Junction. Rerouted J trains replace the M between Myrtle and Metropolitan Avenues.

From 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, September 6, N trains run on the R between Canal Street and 59th Street (Brooklyn) due to conduit and cable work south of 59th Street-4th Avenue.

From 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday, September 6, there are no R trains between Whitehall Street and Bay Ridge-95th Street due to conduit and cable work south of 59th Street-4th Avenue.

N trains provide alternate service between Whitehall Street and 59th Street (Brooklyn)
Free shuttle buses replace R trains between 59th Street and 95th Street.

September 4, 2009 6 comments

Asides Capital Program 2010-2014

Inside the mysterious Capital Review Board

by Benjamin Kabak September 4, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 4, 2009

During yesterday’s Walder confirmation hearings, transparency was the name of the game. While the MTA has increased its level of public participation and now puts every single budget document on its website, our State Senators cannot be bothered with such a reality, and they spent much of the hearing asking Jay Walder how he would improve the MTA’s transparency and public image issues. It’s typical Albany machinations.

Meanwhile, an in ironic twist of fate, Mobilizing the Region profiled the Capital Review Board yesterday. This four-member oversight committee, with one representative appointed by the Senate, Assembly, Governor and Mayor each, will have the final approval over the MTA’s proposed $25.5 billion five-year capital plan. While we can watch the MTA Board and participate in public hearings, as the Tri-State Transportation Campaign notes, the CRB is practically opaque. Its members do not have to reveal why they voted the way they do, and its decisions often do not make sense. Transparency might earn headlines during a confirmation hearing, but apparently, Albany is more adverse to open government than the MTA. Shocking, I know.

September 4, 2009 1 comment

MTA Politics

Inside the confirmation hearing circus

by Benjamin Kabak September 4, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 4, 2009

After this summer, it’s really hard to take the New York State Senate seriously. In the eyes of the nation, they have become a laughingstock, and in the eyes of this New York City-based straphanger, they are generally anti-home rule and anti-transit.

Yesterday, as I briefly mentioned late in the afternoon, the Senate finally got around to starting the confirmation process for Jay Walder, Gov. David Paterson’s nominee to head up the MTA. Walder was nominated when the highly qualified Elliot Sander was pushed out in a bit of Senatorial back-stabbing and unnecessary politicking. The MTA didn’t need a new head to straighten itself out; the state needed a new government. But I digress.

Some of the hearing in Mineola was for show. The Senators took issue with Walder’s compensation — pegged at $350,000 and with a golden parachute of around $800,000 should he be kicked out within a certain time period. It took a chart showing the compensation of transit executives around the nation from RPA head Robert Yaro just to get these Senators to come to grips with the fact that a $350,000 for the CEO and Chair position of an agency the size of the MTA just isn’t that much.

After the compensation issue passed, the Senators moved on to what they do best: sounding like idiots. Newsday’s Alfonso Castillo was on hand:

Walder, a Queens native, avoided details on how he would address several of MTA’s specific problems and said he still has “a lot of catching up to do” after being away from New York for 14 years. But he cited his record as Transport For London’s managing director of finance and planning as a hint of what he could do at the MTA.

He listed his top accomplishments there as putting together the city’s largest capital investment plan in transit in recent history; expanding bus service; developing an innovative and cost-reducing fare collection system; and putting together the transportation plan that helped London secure the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Walder agreed that the MTA needs to become more credible and accountable and rebuild its relationship with policy-makers and customers, and show that the ever-increasing cost of operating the agency is being put to good use. “Simply put, the MTA has the responsibility to present information that matters and present it in a way that people can understand,” he said.

While most of the lawmakers and public speakers suggested that Walder was the man for the job, Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) said he was disappointed with what he heard from Walder, especially his support for a recently imposed payroll tax for employers – the foundation for the state’s bailout of the MTA, which faced a $1.8-billion deficit this year. Walder called the tax “absolutely essential” for keeping the MTA running. “If I had to vote today, I tell you right now, my vote would be no,” said Marcellino, who called the tax a “job killer.”

What Marcellino fails to understand is that underfunded transit scaled back to the barest of services and train frequency would be a real job killer. The increase in traffic and congestion coupled with the lack of transit options would kill the entire region’s economy. Heaven forbid a Senator actually know anything about the words coming out of his month.

Meanwhile, Walder also said during the hearings that he would not push for congestion pricing. Unfortunately, the article in The Post doesn’t explore why he said this, but Walder should not be making that promise right now.

In the end, I wish Walder had been more open. He’s had nearly two months to get through that catching up, and he should have some answers as to how he will address the MTA’s problems. We can’t afford for him to learn on the job. Once the Senate votes on his confirmation on September 10, he has to hit the ground running with Albany’s support or without.

September 4, 2009 5 comments

Asides MTA Politics

Senate begins Walder confirmation process

by Benjamin Kabak September 3, 2009

written by Benjamin Kabak on September 3, 2009

Politicker NY’s Jimmy Vielkind was on hand in Mineola this morning as the New York State Senate finally got around to starting the Jay Walder confirmation process. In the first report from the circus sideshow, Vielkind notes that the issue of compensation dominate the conversation. Apparently, our illustrious state senators are worried that $350,000 is to high an annual salary for someone overseeing such an extensive public transit agency. In testimony you can read here as a PDF, Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, supported Walder and defended his compensation package.

The Senate still plans to hold one more hearing on Walder. This one is set for Tuesday in Harlem, and the governing body will vote on the nomination on Sept. 10. Meanwhile, the MTA continues to be an agency adrift with a $10 billion hole in its capital plan and both short- and long-term economic concerns. We’ll just keep on waiting though for the Senate to respond to these challenges.

September 3, 2009 2 comments

Newer Posts

Older Posts