Last Wednesday, New York City Transit President Howard Roberts announced his resignation effective the end of November. Tom Prendergast will assume the role, and according to Roberts’ resignation letter, he inherits a system in dire need of both physical maintenance and the proper funding for the job. amNew York got its hands on the letter, and the excerpt the free daily printed is a predictable but important indictment of New York’s commitment to transit. The subway’s “greatness,” Roberts said, “certainly does not lie in the condition of its physical assets,” Roberts wrote. “Only a fraction of the funds needed to bring the system up to a good state of repair … have materialized.” Prendergast certainly has his work cut out for him.
Category:
Asides
MTA payroll tax under fire as Walder talks 2010
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 6, 2009
MTA economics are never far from the news pages, and this week, two developments sparked headlines. In Albany, five State Senators have introduced a measure to repeal the payroll tax, and although many state representatives have not offered up another plan, this gang of five has. Their “revenue-neutral” plan calls for fare increases of 13 percent for Metro-North riders in Orange, Rockland, Dutchess and Putnam counties and in Connecticut. This, they say, is a more equitable way to fund the MTA. It does not, however, address the economic externalities — increased property values, general mobility — that all residents of those counties enjoy by having accessible and affordable public transit service the area.
Meanwhile, closer to home, MTA CEO and Chairman Jay Walder has not ruled out a 2010 fare hike if Gov. David Paterson’s threats to slash over $100 million in state contributions to the MTA come to pass. Paterson recently announced that every state agency would see reduced contributions from the state as New York looks to shore up a massive budget hole. To balance the MTA’s ledger, then, Walder may have to examine the fares. “We don’t know yet what the circumstances will be and I don’t want to be in the range of conjecturing what’s going to happen,” he said to The Post. “Clearly, there is a discussion taking place in Albany about what they need to do in terms of the deficit-reduction plan that will take place. And we will deal with all the circumstances as they come up.”
With the Yankees winning the World Series and the celebration continuing on into the wee hours of the morning, I’m taking the first half of Thursday off. I’ll be back this afternoon with some news about the slowest buses in the city and some state representatives who want to repeal the MTA payroll tax three days after it went into effect. Color me unsurprised on both fronts.
Behind the Scenes: Profiling those who restore the subways
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 3, 2009
While many New Yorkers who ride the subways see decrepit stations with uneven floors, leaky walls and cracked tiles, hidden amongst the 105-year-old subway system are some gems of another era. Some of the original IRT stations featuring mosacis that date from the early 1900s and ceramic tiling from the same period. Rich in history and architectural, these aspects of the subway system are too valuable for the MTA to simply discard them during renovations. To that end, the agency often sends away ceramics for restoration. Bob Shenfeld, a Syracuse-based ceramic expert, is currently working on the 96th St. tiles, and Dick Case of Syracuse.com profiled Shenfeld and his restoration work.
Shenfeld says that he gets down to the city approximately once a week and that the MTA sends him carefully labeled shipments once a month. He has wall panels featuring sail boats that will return to Columbus Circle and has worked on a variety of stations up and down the West Side IRT line. His work can be seen at the under-construction 96th St. stop on the 1/2/3 in that station’s new tiling work. As Shenfled said, “They wanted to make the subway stations art gallers” 100 years ago, and today, someone has to keep the art in top shape. [Syracuse.com]
Bus drivers face Halloween pranks
written by Benjamin Kabak on November 2, 2009
Of all the MTA employees who are not working on the tracks, bus drivers have it the worst. They are exposed and vulnerable to violent and unruly passengers. Over the weekend, another threat — Halloween pranksters — emerged. Heather Haddon reports on the death of a man who threw a heavy object and shattered a bus window. (For what it’s worth, the Daily News simply called the incident a jaywalking death.) Another bus faced an attack by a BB gun, and city buses are often egged on Halloween. Although the MTA workers tried to help each other out, bus drivers remain in a precarious position when under attack.
Skanska hits a Second Ave. water main
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 30, 2009
Construction crews at work on relocating utilities along Second Ave. hit a water main yesterday afternoon. Skanska workers digging at 66th St. ruptured a pipe and subsequently flooded a mechanical room at the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Service was not interrupted, and the water was cleared quickly. Skanska, reports The Post will fund the necessary infrastructure repairs.
MTA approves TFL deal, but some Londoners object
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 29, 2009
Jay Walder, as I reported last week, wants to bring some Transport for London consultants to New York to help modernize the MTA and improve its operational efficiencies. Yesterday, the MTA Board approved the unique no-bid, two-year contract to pay up to $200 an hour in expenses and salary for this consulting gig, but not everyone was happy about it.
In fact, the loudest dissent seemed to come from London. Bob Crow, union leader for the U.K.’s Rail Maritime and Transport workers, noted the labor ramifications of the deal. “If these people are as good as they are being cracked up to be, then they should remain in London sorting out our problems, not swanning across to New York,” he said in London. “We will make sure our members know that the same senior T.F.L. managers who have been attacking our campaign for a decent pay increase are queuing up to jet over to New York on $200 an hour,” Mr. Crow said.
Transport for London, meanwhile, reassured its constituents that New York City taxpayers and not Londoners would be footing the bill for this consulting gig aimed at bringing technological innovations to our subway system. “We will ensure,” the U.K. agency said in statement, “that this arrangement financially benefits London, as well as providing New York with the benefit of London’s experience in Oyster technology and the provision of customer information.”
Under new metric, Transit finds more trains late
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 27, 2009
In an effort to improve its internal metrics, New York City Transit recently reevaluated the way it judges on-time train performance. Now that the agency is counting delays brought about by service changes or construction and maintenance disruptions, the numbers look ugly. According to a report released today, Transit’s on-time rate has plummeted to 50 percent on the weekends and 75 percent during the week. “I actually have a couple of horror stories here with respect to the different lines that have particularly low absolute on-time performance,” NYC Transit President Howard Roberts said, referring to the 1 line which had been slowed due to the ceiling collapse at 181st St.
While I understand the need to measure on-time train performance, I have to wonder if this is the right metric. New Yorkers don’t really expect subway trains to run “on time” because the schedules, while available, are rarely used and aren’t considered gospel. The better indication of on-time performance involves train wait times. If I just miss a B train during the day, I expect to wait 8-10 minutes for the next one. If I’m waiting longer than that — no matter what time the schedule comes — I consider the next train to be late. I also come prepared for longer headways on the weekends considering the extent of the service changes. My approach, though, is simple: If the trains run on time, great; just don’t make me wait longer than I ought to for the next one.
Paterson: Schools to be reimbursed for MTA tax
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 26, 2009
When the state legislature passed the MTA bailout this spring, numerous organizations cried foul over the 0.33 percent payroll tax. Schools and non-profits led the charge, but small businesses weren’t silent either. Earlier this year, Gov. David Paterson announced that, despite a $3 billion budget gap, New York State would reimburse schools for the payroll tax, but last year, he put a scare into education officials when he said the state would not be able to deliver all promised funds to schools this year. This week, after Republican representatives cried foul, Paterson reiterated his stance that schools will be reimbursed. Opposition remains to the payroll tax, however, and the state would be wise to look into congestion pricing or East River Bridge tools as a more viable and equitable solution to the MTA’s fiscal woes.
Quiz: Name the subway stations in Manhattan
written by Benjamin Kabak on October 23, 2009
Try this one on for size if you’re looking to kill some time on Friday afternoon. Someone has written an online quiz at Sporcle challenging users to name all 127 Manhattan subway stops in 15 minutes or less. It took me seven minutes, and the last one was a C-only stop that I’ve probably been to twice in my life. If you take the quiz, let me know how you do in the comments. [Sporcle: Can you name the subway stations of Manhattan?]