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Asides

DNAInfo: On MTA’s mixed accessibility record

by Benjamin Kabak August 9, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 9, 2011

A few weeks ago, the MTA settled a pending lawsuit concerning the Dyckman St. rehabilitation and the handicapped accessibility in Upper Manhattan. The authority agreed to install an elevator on one side of the station, and the settlement was a clear victory for advocates of the disabled subway riders in New York City. Still, the authority has a long way to go before the system is up to par.

A DNA Info article today highlights the challenges disabled riders face when the confront the subways. While it is a story we’ve heard before, it’s one that constantly serves as a reminder of the costs associated with Access-A-Ride and the progress the MTA must make. Right now, 73 of the 100 key stations that must be accessible by 2020 have been completed, and the remaining 27 have been planned for the currently capital plan and the next. Once the funding situation is addressed, these renovations will move forward.

The article itself showcases the other challenges. Even if stations are supposedly accessible, it’s still hard to get around. Chris Noel, a wheelchair-bound straphanger, took the reporter with him as he highlighted broken-down or offensively smelly elevators as well “steeply sloped walkways, gaps between platforms and trains and elevators that only access one platform.” Accessibility is improving but only ever so slowly.

August 9, 2011 6 comments

Asides MTA Politics

WMATA head Sarles turns down Walder’s job

by Benjamin Kabak August 8, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 8, 2011

As Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his cadre of transportation experts scrambles to replace Jay Walder as head of the MTA, they haven’t found many takers yet. One high-profile transit official from down south, in fact, said no. According to both The Examiner and The Washington Post, New York officials asked current WMATA General Manager Richard Sarles if he wanted the MTA top spot, and he turned them down.

Sarles, who has worked as an executive at Amtrak, New Jersey Transit and the Port Authority, has been with the WMATA since April of 2010 when he was named interim General Manager. The Metro Board made his tenure as GM and CEO official this past January, and the struggling system has seen marked improvements under his tenture. Still, he has no plans to leave. “He was flattered but he’s committed to Washington,” he said through a spokesman.

Approaching Sarles makes sense. He’s a northeastern with decades of experience in the New York area and has enjoyed success improving and expanding transit systems. That New York approached him though so soon into his time with the WMATA and that he turned them down speaks volumes of both how prepared Gov. Cuomo was for Walder’s departure and the ways in which outsiders view the MTA’s top position right now.

August 8, 2011 8 comments

Asides MTA

Handicapping the Walder replacement race

by Benjamin Kabak August 5, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 5, 2011

While some folks in Albany want to lower the next MTA CEO’s salary, Streetsblog has handicapped the race to replace Jay Walder. In an extensive piece that examines both internet and external candidates for the job, Noah Kazis offers up thumbnails on those who could be under consideration. If Gov. Cuomo looks internally, he could tab Transit head Thomas Prendergast, LIRR president Helena Williams or current COO Charles Monheim. The external names are more intriguing.

First, Kazis runs down the list of those who have MTA experience. He mentions bringing back Elliot Sander, but with the ongoing signal scandal and various other issues stemming from Sander’s last term atop the MTA, that’s a non-starter. Marc Shaw’s name will resurface, but he wasn’t too popular the last time around. The two names that intrigue me the most in the Streetsblog piece are Nat Ford, former head of the San Francisco MTA, and Edgar Sandoval, the first managing director of TransMilenio in Bogota. An international pick could signal an attempt at true reform that has evaded the MTA over the past decade.

August 5, 2011 11 comments

Asides New York City Transit

Father/son duo dismissed as signal scandal expands

by Benjamin Kabak August 4, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 4, 2011

As New York City Transit continues to investigate the signal inspection scandal that has plagued the authority for a better part of the last year, the latest pair to get the axe are a father-and-son team who used nepotism to their advantage. As Pete Donohue reports, Patrick Sohan and his dad of the same name were dismissed after a series of illicit dealings. The younger Sohan requested time off ostensibly to see his sick grandmother when in fact he was in jail for violating his probation. The elder Sohan signed off on the time-off request knowing full well where his son was heading. The Post broke that story earlier this week.

Meanwhile, investigators are looking into KJ McGinley Electrical Contracting, the company where the Sohans allegedly gained enough experience to work on the tracks. KJ McGinley has been, according to the News, “unable to provide any documentation, like a pay stub or tax form, proving their experience.” The MTA Inspector General and Manhattan DA have yet to decide if they will pursue criminal charges in the case, but this won’t be the last we’ll hear from the signal inspection investigations.

August 4, 2011 18 comments

Asides MTA Economics

Sen. Fuschillo: Fare-jumping fine should be $500

by Benjamin Kabak August 4, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 4, 2011

On the heels of a report that the MTA is losing $31 million to fare-jumpers, one State Senator wants to jack up the penalty. Charles Fuschillo, a Nassau County Republican, has proposed to raise the fine for fare-jumpers from $100 to $500, and he wants scofflaws who fail to pay the fine in a timely fashion to be penalized an additional $100.

Fuschillo, who has submitted a bill with these proposed changes, says he has the MTA’s bottom line in mind. “Fare-paying riders are being forced to pay the multi-million tab for those who are trying to beat the system. At a time when every dollar counts, the MTA and its riders can’t afford to pay for freeloading fare-beaters. Raising the fines for fare evasion will create a stronger deterrent by making the cost of an illegal free ride far more expensive,” he said.

The bill, which has been referred to the Senate Rules Committee, is numbered S05870 and is available here. The $500 fine would likely to be high enough to serve as a serious deterrent.

August 4, 2011 28 comments

Asides Queens

A thought on density, development and transportation in Flushing

by Benjamin Kabak August 1, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on August 1, 2011

For the first time since 2003, a non-Manhattan subway stop has cracked the MTA’s list of ten busiest. The folks in Flushing are patting themselves on the back as their station is the tenth busiest in the system. In fact, with this on-again, off-again popularity comes politicians who want more more more. In a profile of the 7 line’s eastern terminus and the area around it, Crain’s New York spoke with some politicians who want to “capitalize on their station’s exalted status.”

Both City Council reps and Community Board members want to see the MTA invest in the station. They are requesting a larger mezzanine space, bathrooms and a new look for the Flushing-Main Street LIRR station which is just a block away. “We have the potential to become the Penn Station of Queens,” Peter Koo, the City Council representative from the district, said.

It’s all well and good to want better transit, but as Stephen Smith noted on Twitter, that commitment should come with some urban policy changes. As Smith said, “If Flushing wants ‘the Penn Station of Queens,’ it should be forced to accept some upzoning.” Right now, development around the Flushing terminal isn’t primed for transit-oriented development. Buildings are stunted, and the area has too much parking. It’s a gateway to eastern Queens, but it should also become a beacon of TOD at the end of the 7. Only then could it become the “Penn Station of Queens.”

August 1, 2011 16 comments

Asides MTA

Learning a lesson from Walder’s departure

by Benjamin Kabak July 29, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 29, 2011

As New York’s transit-minded community has analyzed Jay Walder’s departure, our city’s infrastructure deficit has come under the microscope. With obstructionist politicians and mounting debt, the future is hazy for New York City’ transit system. Hong Kong’s MTR, on the other hand, is thriving.

In The Daily News today, Alex Marshall of the RPA looks toward Hong Kong for some transit lessons. The MTA would be wise to imitate the MTR with regards to development. In Hong Kong, the MTR has maintained its real estate holdings while developing and monetizing them. In New York, the MTA gave up the Atlantic Yards land in a below-market deal.

Ultimately, New York will have to reform the way it interacts with its transit network before we can truly move forward. But will the debt lead to a collapse before that time comes? Jay Walder, for one, isn’t sticking around to find out.

July 29, 2011 19 comments

Asides Bronx

Bronx stations come under fire

by Benjamin Kabak July 28, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 28, 2011

When I was a kid traveling to Yankee Stadium from the Upper West Side, I would transfer from the 2 to the 4 at the 149th St. stop, and it was a mess. It’s a deep, dark station, and pipes above the old mosaics had corroded. Mineral-laden water had basically ruined the walls. Today, the pipes are sealed, but the damage remains. The station, a very busy one in the Bronx, is in bad shape, and I’m not the only one noticing.

At this week’s MTA Board meetings, Charlie Moerdler chided the MTA for allowing the Bronx stations to become decrepit. A recent study showed that the Bronx stations are the dirtiest in the system and are ripe for an upgrade. “You cannot expect people in the Bronx who work hard to deal with the fact that the subway stations here are lousy but the stations in Manhattan are pristine,” he said. “Enough is enough.”

For its part, the MTA says that rehabs at 42 at 71 Bronx stations have been completed, and 17 more are set to proceed under the remainder of the capital plan. “The Bronx,” Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr., said, “will no longer be a punching bag.” The problem isn’t that the Bronx is a punching bag; it’s that stations everywhere are in disrepair. The Bronx stops might be the dirtiest, but they certainly don’t have a monopoly on chipped paint, rats or crumbling concrete.

July 28, 2011 15 comments

Asides MTA

Donohue: Walder leaving in ‘third inning of a nine-inning game’

by Benjamin Kabak July 25, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 25, 2011

As much as I believe Jay Walder has done an admirable job in adverse conditions as the head of the MTA, his departure came as a disappointment last week. As I said in my coverage of the resignation, he is leaving midstream, before his job is done and with many obstacles still in the path. Perhaps he couldn’t resist taking a lucrative job in Hong Kong; perhaps he was fed up with dealing with Albany and folks like Lee Zeldin; perhaps he was sick of it all. But the bottom line is that he’s quitting barely a third of the way through his promised tenure.

While Walder deserves some praise for reexamining the way the MTA works, he certainly doesn’t for walking out, and that’s what Nicole Gelinas and Pete Donohue say today. In The Daily News, Donohue seems to be more annoyed that Walder ruined a good story, but the real problem is that he’s departing with labor contracts expiring, a hole in the capital plan and many projects in progress.

Gelinas, meanwhile, lays into Walder: “He didn’t achieve all that much to justify the quick departure. Much of those improvements that we see now, including the countdown clocks and the consolidation of back offices, are the fruit of efforts that started long before his arrival. As for fiscal stability: Sorry, but it would take more time to make sure his cost-cutting sticks.” With December’s snow emergency fresh in everyone’s minds, Walder’s negatives, she says, may balance out the positives, and “isn’t sticking around long enough to get his hands dirty in negotiating a tough labor contract.” Hopefully, the next MTA CEO can tough it out for the full tenure of his deal. A fifth CEO in six years isn’t good for even the best of businesses.

July 25, 2011 21 comments

Asides East Side Access Project

For a TBM, a Park Ave. resting place 14 stories deep

by Benjamin Kabak July 25, 2011

written by Benjamin Kabak on July 25, 2011

As the East Side Access project inches toward completion, one of the tunnel boring machines digging out the tubes in Manhattan has spun its last cutter head, and it won’t be coming up for air. The Spanish contract that owns Seli, the TBM that has been cutting through Manhattan schist since 2007, has decided to abandon the TBM 14 stories beneath Park Avenue. It would, simply put, cost more than the TBM is worth to pull it back out into Sunnyside, dismantle it and sell it for scrap, and so the nether reaches of Manhattan will be its final resting place.

Its exact resting place appears to be at around Park Ave. between 37th and 38th Streets, and the MTA and its contractors will use the laid-to-rest TBM for tunnel support. Later this week, it will be encased in concrete, and the 22.5-foot-long drill will be marked with a plaque only. As The Times notes, the decision evokes images of Planet of the Apes, and while other countries have buried TBMs, this is a first for New York. There is, of course, no room to do the same along Second Ave. or the 7 Line extension. “People will find it, and they will find it exciting to see it, if they ever unearth it,” Michael Horodniceanu, head of MTA Capital Construction, said. “Who knows? Maybe they will want to continue the railroad south, at which point they would have to take it out.”

July 25, 2011 23 comments

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