Category: MTA Politics

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.

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.

The New York State Senate is a model legislature. Currently on vacation after its taxing summer, the Senate does not have a near-broke and currently-leaderless transit authority on its hands, and a nomination for the Chairmanship of this important body is not sitting on the docket.

Hold on. Let me try that again. The New York State Senate, a model for inept state government, is currently on vacation after making a mockery of itself earlier this year. On its docket rests the nomination of Jay Walder as the MTA head by David Paterson, the embattled governor of New York. As retribution for Paterson’s early-summer machinations surrounding the delinquent legislature, the Senate Democrats plan to grill Walder for all he’s got. Despite his qualifications, despite his pedigree, he will not escape a hearing.

Today, we find out that the political show, at the taxpayer’s expense, will be meaningless. amNew York’s Heather Haddon reports that the Senate will pick up Walder’s nomination on its first day in session and that he will be confirmed. She reports:

The state Senate will discuss Gov. David Paterson’s nominee for the new MTA chief on its first day back in session, said Austin Shafran, spokesman for Democratic Senate President Malcolm Smith.

Last month, Paterson nominated Walder, a former MTA executive and manager of London’s transit system, as the agency’s CEO and chair, a new merged position. Prior to the confirmation, the Senate will hold joint public hearings on Walder in Long Island and Harlem, Shafran said. Senate sources believe Walder is a shoe-in for the job because of his extensive work experience.

So tell me again what the point of this drama is. Walder should have been confirmed last month before the Senate recessed for the summer. He will face the same questions and same level of Senate oversight over the next few weeks as he would have last month. Futhermore, as the MTA grapples with a $10 billion capital program funding gap and myriad other economic issues, Walder needs to be on the job.

The State Senate is an embarrassment to New York. We can’t let them hold the city and its transportation needs hostage. Walder should be confirmed and soon.

For the last two and a half weeks, New Yorkers have been bombarded with Mayor Bloomberg’s plan to Reform the MTA. Constant TV and radio ads as well as a ubiquitous Internet campaign have left astute political observers with little doubt about Bloomberg’s plan. From the pandering to the practical and everything in between, I’ve given Bloomberg’s the plan the once-over as well.

Yesterday, though, New York Times columnist Jim Dwyer succinctly eviscerated Mayor Bloomberg’s commitment to mass transit. He did so in a piece ostensibly about the ceiling collapse at 181st St., but a few paragraphs nearly overshadowed his overall point. Wrote Dwyer:

Under Mr. Bloomberg, what role has the city planned in subway maintenance? His priority has been to finance the expansion of the No. 7 line to the Far West Side of Manhattan — not to maintain the existing stations. The M.T.A. receives capital funds from a number of sources, including the city government. In the mid-1980s, the city contributed about $200 million annually, said Gene Russianoff, the staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign. In recent years, the city’s contribution has dropped to $75 million. Since the buying power of the dollar has eroded over the last 20 years, that means the city today is contributing only about 20 cents for every dollar it gave during the 1980s.

That last sentence says it all. Twenty years ago, the city would contribute five times as much money to the MTA than it does today. That $200 million in today’s dollars would be more than enough to issue bonds for construction projects, to close budget deficits, to upgrade technology. That $200 million would be a real commitment to mass transit from the mayor and the city of New York.

As Bloomberg gears up for his second reelection campaign, it is nearly inevitable that he will win. He has more money than Democratic hopeful William Thompson will ever see, and Thompson frankly is a dud of a candidate, barely able to keep reporters engaged for more than a story or two at a time.

It seems, though, that Bloomberg is hitching his ride to mass transit. He is committing to this MTA reform plan, and he is doing so in a very public matter. But as a wrote last week and as Dwyer noted yesterday, as long as the mayor continues to withhold city funding from the MTA, as long as he continues to dither over the 7 Line Extension, refuse to pony up money for student MetorCards and continue to hold city funding levels at 20 percent of what it was two decades ago, it’s hard to believe Bloomberg’s new found desire to fix transit in New York City.

Call my cynical or skepitcal, but it is all about the money. Right now, Bloomberg has the purse strings, and he’s not loosening them notwithstanding the populist anti-MTA rhetoric he will espouse until his reelection.

With little fanfare last week, the State Senate and New York Assembly passed a bill to reform the way New York State Authorities — including the MTA — do business. Ostensibly, the purpose of the bill is to create an independent budget office with a variety of powers over authorities, but I have to wonder if it’s the right type of oversight for the MTA.

Currently, the bill is sitting on Gov. David Paterson’s desk, awaiting action, and as The Times’ Danny Hakim reports, his approval is no sure thing. Governors, after all, can exercise significant power over state authorities, and the state’s top executives have been loathe to hand over any of their power to the (dysfunctional) legislative branch.

For now, though, the bill’s fate is neither here nor there. Let’s instead take a look at how this act — full text available here — will impact the MTA. Hakim writes:

The legislation would create an independent budget office with an array of powers over authorities, including the ability to issue subpoenas as part of investigations. Authorities would also be required to turn over financial records to the budget office.

Contracts awarded by authorities over $1 million would have to be reviewed by the state comptroller. New limits would be placed on the ability of authorities to issue debt, a major area of concern among financial watchdogs.

The legislation makes clear that those who serve on authority boards have a fiduciary responsibility to the authority and its mission. Spelling out this duty holds directors to a defined standard of conduct and is aimed at curbing favoritism and corruption.

The Straphangers Campaign issued a press release late last week praising the Senate and Assembly for passing this measure. The PIRG also explained some of the logistics:

The bill (Assembly bill 2209 and Senate bill 1537) would create a new Public Authorities Budget Office directly responsible for monitoring and reporting on the State’s public authorities. A similar agency in New York City (the Independent Budget Office) has helped hold City government accountable. In many cases, its agreement with the City has enhanced the City’s credibility. The director of the State Public Authorities Budget Office would be appointed by the Governor and served for a fixed four-year term.

If anything, this act sounds as though it would simply create another layer of red tape for the MTA and similar public authorities. I don’t have enough knowledge of the city’s IBO and its impact to assess how a similar body on a state level would function, but I believe the MTA needs a greater level of oversight than that offered up by this act.

As I mentioned earlier today, the MTA needs to be held accountable for its failures. That public undertaking needs to extend far beyond a rubber stamp for high contracts and a symbolic slap on the wrist by yet another state organization. How that potential MTA oversight board will look is frankly outside the scope of my expertise, but this state Public Authorities Budget Office doesn’t sound as though it will do the job.

One week ago, Gov. David Paterson officially named Jay Walder as the next MTA Chair. During the introductory press conference, Walder made clear his knowledge of the severity of the MTA’s financial situation. He pledged a fully-funded capital plan and noted the uphill battle the man at the top of the MTA must face.

In the wake of the nomination, the city’s papers were full of praise for Paterson, a rare occurrence indeed. Newsday said that Walder had “the right resume and the right attitude.” The Daily News called him “a highly credible candidate.”

Beyond the praise, though, these endorsements were notable for their warning. Newsday’s editorial staff expressed its concern for the process. “Get started now on Walder’s confirmation,” they wrote following a note of dismay:

Let’s get the public hearings started to make sure he is the right person for the job. But State Senate Democrats are threatening to delay his confirmation. Brooklyn Sen. Carl Kruger, chairman of the Finance Committee, says the process could take months. These so-called leaders seem to be playing politics to exact revenge on Paterson for making them work two weekends. How petty.

The News fingered the Fare Hike Four. The four obstructionist Senators were on the verge of holding Paterson’s nominee hostage for no good reason:

It’s now up to the state Senate to vote yes or no on confirming Jay Walder to a post that is critical to delivering 8.5 million rides every weekday. Which leaves New Yorkers in the hands of the same muscle-flexing, shortsighted, wrongheaded bunch that took the Senate hostage, consequences be damned. This is bad. Very bad.

Senate President Malcolm Smith, Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Conference Leader John Sampson and Finance Committee Chairman Carl Kruger yesterday began holding Walder’s appointment for ransom while exacting revenge on Paterson for trying to force them back to work.

Rather than expeditiously convening a hearing and voting on his qualifications, the quartet announced that they would hold conclaves in the MTA service region before someday getting around to his appointment. It could take months, Kruger said. This time, Smith, Espada, Sampson and Kruger are putting personal agendas over the interests of straphangers.

Seven days later, nothing has happened. A very qualified candidate with a realistic idea of what he has to do sits in limbo. Meanwhile, Kruger, Espada, Hiram Monserrate and Ruben Diaz, are being called “the laughingstock of the city” by Albany watchers.

It shouldn’t be like this. Transit is waiting on the edge of a financial crisis. The MTA is teetering on the brink, and the State Senate is playing petty revenge with this city’s lifeblood. One day, we’ll have to exact electoral justice on the Fare Hike Four. For now, just confirm Walder and give the MTA the leadership it needs.

Any head of the MTA will inevitably have to work with the city’s various transit labor unions. To that end, Jay Walder is no novice. While at Transpot for London, he constantly interacted with labor unions more prone to strikes than ours are, and many observers and labor proponents in London wonder if Walder is up for the job.

Pete Donohue in The Daily News yesterday had more:

Bus and subway workers could be in for a bumpy ride if former London transit chief Jay Walder becomes MTA chairman, a London labor leader warned Tuesday. Walder pushed for work-rule and job-assignment changes contrary to contracts with London’s subway and bus workers, British labor leader Bob Crow told the Daily News. He was a behind-the-scenes figure who had the ear of former London Mayor Ken Livingstone, said Crow, head of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers.

“I predict there will big problems with labor at the MTA as a result of his appointment,” Crow said. “He believed the contracts with our members were too restrictive to run the system efficiently. He wanted the workforce to be at the beck and call of management.”

…Longtime union activist John Samuelsen, who is running for Local 100 President, said he has consulted with Crow about Walder and his work in London.

“He didn’t strike me as anti-union, but he certainly was surprised at the antiquated methods of operation on the Underground and no doubt the duplication of roles and the way staff can certainly spend some time not doing anything at all,” Dick Murray, transport reporter for the London Evening Standard, said of Walder.

Since the 2005 transit strike, the MTA and its various unions have reached an uneasy truce. Many union members feel the authority doesn’t do enough while some transit advocates believe the labor deals are the main force behind the MTA’s unsteady finances.

No matter the reality of that situation, Walder will have to both confront and work with the transit labor officials. It is just another task on the growing list of challenges the new MTA Chair must confront.