As January 2 is a federal holiday commemorating the New Year, the MTA is operating subways on a Saturday schedule and buses on a Sunday schedule. Thus, I’ll be running this site on a weekend schedule as well and will not have the first real post of 2012 up until later in the evening. I hope you all had a safe and sound New Years Eve celebration. Here’s to a 2012 in transit that’s better for New York City than 2011 was. I’ll see you all back here later tonight.
Category:
Asides
Link: Bruce Davidson’s subway photography
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 29, 2011
Bruce Davidson’s photographs of the subway from the early 1980s remain some of the more iconic images from the time period. His stark photos show the system at its nadir. Graffiti-covered trains and dark stations belie the dangers that were inherent in the subways at the time. We’ve come a long way from those days, and now Davidson’s images evoke a bygone era that we’d rather not revisit.
Earlier this year, Davidson’s book was reissued, and a few weeks ago, he penned an essay on his experiences for The New York Review of Books. In it, he talks about overcoming his fear of the subway as he rode into parts of town that a guy with a fancy camera would otherwise never visit. He speaks of approaching subjects to get their permissions for photos, and he relates a tale of getting mugged near Chauncey Street in Brooklyn.
Today, with subway crime far below record highs, we often take safety for granted, and the new rolling stock lends an air of sterility and security to our rides. But Davidson’s essay reminds us that we’re not far from those bad old days. Give it a read; it’s well worth it. (NYRB via Kottke)
On misplaced and misguided priorities
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 28, 2011
If anything defines the year in New York City transportation politics, it concerns misplaced and misguided priorities. We’ve seen politicians wring their hands over minor issues while ignoring systematic problems with transit policies. We’ve seen residents rise up against bus lanes and subway station entrances that would cause, at worse, minor inconveniences. We’ve seen ongoing construction at Fulton St. and a push to realize Moynihan Station, two billion-dollar projects that barely increase transit capacity. As money grows scarce, politicians prefer to invest in tangible monuments of their largesse rather than in behind-the-scenes increases to capacity.
Here, though, is a tale that takes the cake: James Vacca is about to take a hard line against a danger facing all New York pedestrians. He’s going after “rogue bicyclists.” Said the New York City Council Transportation Committee chairman, known for his windshield perspective, ““I get a lot of phone calls and a lot of concerns about rogue bicyclists. Too many bicyclists are going the wrong way on a one-way street. Too many of them are ignoring existing bicycle lanes and driving as they wish, and I think that we have to address that issue.”
Now, it’s true that a certain breed of bicyclists — mostly, I’ve found, delivery guys — are not respectful, but rogue bicyclists are hardly the problem Vacca makes it out to be. Rogue drivers, meanwhile, are responsible for over 75 deaths this year, but Vacca and his ilk could care less about making roads safer for all. Vacca, though, tries. “My priority is protection of the pedestrians, and my mantra is that the pedestrian is always right, even when the pedestrian is wrong. Everything I do is governed by that basic foundation.,” he said to The Post. When he starts working to curtail dangerous driving and giving pedestrians back more street space, I’ll believe it. In the meantime, we’re just seeing another example of misplaced and misguided priorities in a year full of them.
Rails-to-trails project in Queens inching forward
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 27, 2011
A few weeks ago, I explored an on-again, off-again movement in Queens to convert parts of the unused Rockaway Beach Branch line into a park. At the time, I was skeptical of the move because once these rail rights-of-way are converted to trails, they are never restored to their transportation functionality. Doing the same in Queens would forever deprive the area of a potential rail access point.
Now, we hear that activists in Queens are pushing forward with the newly-named QueensWay project. As The Daily News reports, those who are angling for a park have convinced the Trust for Public Land to seek out private funding for a feasibility study. Once conducted, this study will present the potential costs of the problem and the security, safety and engineering work that would have to be done along the 3.5-mile railroad ROW in advance of opening a park. “I think people see this as opportunity to take abandoned land and do something great with it,” Andrea Crawford, head of Queens’ CB9 and a member of the Friends of QueenWay committee, said. “It preserves green space and it opens up green space.”
I’m still skeptical of this effort. As I’ve said, the High Line works because it’s in a pedestrian-heavy neighborhood that already was a major tourist attraction. The QueensWay plans do not enjoy similar positioning in the city, and I would be far more intrigued by a feasibility study that assesses the challenges facing anyone who wishes to reactivate the rail line instead. For now, though, the project has the public’s attention, and I’ll keep an eye on it. You can too by following TheQueensWay on Twitter.
During negotiations, MTA, TWU finding common ground
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 22, 2011
The MTA and TWU have been, behind the scenes, working toward a new contract, and while the current one expires on January 15, no one really expects a strike even if a new deal isn’t in place. The reason for that optimism seems to stem, in part, from a better working relationship between MTA Executive Director Joe Lhota and TWU President John Samuelsen. In an excellent piece earlier this week in The Wall Street Journal, Andrew Grossman profiles that relationship.
A few months ago, before Jay Walder’s abrupt resignation, it appeared as though the TWU and MTA were heading toward a collision. Since Day One, the union had protested hard against Walder, and the former MTA head and TWU president couldn’t stand to be in the same room as each other. As Grossman writes, though, Lhota made it a point shortly after earning the MTA nomination to seek common ground with Samuelsen, and the TWU head has responded in turn. “I’ve had three times as many conversations than I did with Jay Walder his whole time here,” Samuelsen said of the new MTA head. “Lhota appears to me to be a reasonable, decent guy that you can have a conversation with and who is fairly easy to communicate with.”
Of course, all the back-slapping in the world can’t forge a labor agreement acceptable to both sides. The MTA is relying heavily on a net-zero increase in labor costs, and the union is going to push back hard. Even without a strike, MTA workers can slow down service by adhering to safety regulations, and Grossman’s sources fear a drawn-out negotiation. “We’re pretty wide apart at this point,” one said. Still, if the two guys going back and forth can get along on some level, that’s a step in the right direction.
Despite increased deficit, no service cuts in 2012 budget
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 21, 2011
After a contentious session in which some board members urged the MTA to restore services lost to the 2010 cuts, the MTA Board voted this morning to approve a 2012 budget that contains no restoration of services but no further cuts either. Yet, with state tax revenues lower than expected, the MTA now faces a deficit of $68 million next year and will cover the gap by reducing internal expenses by $35 million and releasing $33 million from the general fund. “The reduction in projected subsidies underscores the fragility of the MTA’s current fiscal stability,” MTA Executive Director Joseph J. Lhota said. “It also indicates how important it is for the MTA to continue its recent efforts to reduce costs, even as we work to improve service.”
The budget itself, which does not call for a fare hike either, is rather perfunctory. Board officials acknowledged that the assumptions — net-zero labor increase, subsidy levels — could fall short of expectations, but the MTA will addresses those contingencies as they arise. The bigger story concerned the battle between board members who wanted the MTA to spend a few million to restore services and those who believed the agency’s economic situation too fragile to even explore the issue.
This debate over service levels is an ongoing one both at MTA Board meetings and amongst transit advocates. Should the MTA be responsible for the failings of Albany or should the authority look to offer services first and foist the issue of paying for those services onto the shoulders of our elected representatives? Considering how many in Albany get a free pass on transit issues, the latter may be an intriguing outcome. For now, though, fares and service levels in 2012 are as safe as they ever are.
Cuomo signs bill granting street hails to livery cabs
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 20, 2011
After much political wrangling, a move to bypass the City Council and some arm-twisting by the Governor, Andrew Cuomo has signed the bill that will allow livery cabs to accept street hails. Billed as a measure that will improve Outer Borough taxi service, the new plan could help the city realize as much as $1 billion in increased revenue and will improve accessibility options as well.
Details are still emerging from Albany, but right now, we know that what the contours of the final compromise will be. The new bill approves the issuance of 2000 new yellow cab medallions, all of which much be wheelchair-accessible and 18,000 livery street-hail permits. Of those, 3600 will be for wheelchair-accessible vehicles. These street-hail permits will sell initially for $1500 each, and then purchasers can sell them for market value. To improve accessibility — a major sticking point for the Governor — the city will spend $54 million on taxi subsidies and must submit to Albany a long-term plan for accessibility in order to release 1600 of the new 2000 yellow cab medallions.
I’ll have more as this story develops, but it seems that, at the last minute, New Yorkers finally gained something related to transportation from the governor. Over the next three years, as these 18000 medallions are phased in, no longer will residents in cab-starved neighborhoods have to search for street transportation in vain. This measure will change the way we get around.
After payroll tax cut, Moody’s casts wary eye on MTA bonds
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 20, 2011
As New York lawmakers push for a full payroll tax repeal with nary a nod toward its impact on the region’s transportation or economy, bond ratings are casting a wary eye on the MTA’s offerings as the agency’s revenue projections decline. As Bloomberg News reports, Moody’s Investment Services is warning of a “credit strain” at the MTA as the move to remove payroll tax funds “signals a shift in government support” for New York City’s transit network.
“The MTA’s financial operations are already tight, and failure to restore the lost revenue may put negative pressure on the MTA’s transportation-revenue bonds,” Nicole Johnson, a senior vice president, said in a Moody’s report. “Our credit analysis will focus on how the state establishes a new backstop.”
Moody’s currently rates the MTA bonds — which will soon be coming in bunches as the authority plans to support its capital plan through the issuance of debt — as A2 with a stable outlook. If a “credit strain” and lack of state support leads the ranking agencies to downgrade the bonds, it will cost the MTA more to issue them. No matter the outcome, the costs of the payroll tax repeal will fall on the shoulder’s of riders.
Google: ‘MTA’ 2011’s top New York City search term
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 19, 2011
For online information junkies, the annual release of the Google Zeitgeist is a much-anticipated December event. This year, amidst top global searches for Rebecca Black, Fukushima and the iPhone, New Yorkers showed their true dedication to transit as the top three local search terms in NYC all focused around transportation. The MTA emerged as the reason’s clear top search term followed by NJ Transit and HopStop.
For the MTA, it was quite the year. Between hurricanes and snow storms, the authority withstood some tough weather while end-of-year politicking has left the authority looking for more funding sources. Meanwhile, Select Bus Service continued to spread throughout the region, and the abrupt departure of its CEO and Chairman left many fearful for the MTA’s long- and short-term future. I’ll wrap up the year in a few days, but as the Google searches show, for better or worse, the MTA is never far from the minds of the millions of New Yorkers who ride the rails everyday.
Link: Inside the Transit Museum
written by Benjamin Kabak on December 16, 2011
Some of my earliest memories as a youngster growing up in New York City involve the Transit Museum. Housed at the abandoned Court St. subway station — once a terminus for the IND Fulton St. line and a vague part of some plans for the Second Ave. Subway — the two-track museum features comprehensive exhibits upstairs and a stellar collection of vintage trains below. Now that I’m a grown-up, I can’t run through the trains with wild abandon, but I will be hosting a discussion series at the museum next year.
In today’s Times, the Transit Museum takes center stage. Edward Rothstein reviews the museum through the lens its newest exhibit “ElectriCity: Powering New York’s Rails.” The exhibit, he says, highlights the way subway technology is slow to change: “It is also astonishing how much equipment from the turn of the 20th century was used almost to the century’s end. A wooden ammeter for measuring current was in use from 1900 until the 1980s; the system’s rotary converters that changed alternating current into direct current were used until 1999; a 1932 control board was in service until 1994. How is this possible, given the ordinary pace of technological change?”
I’ve always believed the Transit Museum to be an undiscovered gem in New York’s museum-rich landscape. As a little kid, Brooklyn seemed so exotic to me, but today, it’s a short subway ride and a jump back in time away. If you’ve never been, give yourself a treat and go.