Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

MTA

MTA

  • 9 Key Takeaways for New York City from Cuomo's State of the State and Budget

    govcuomo jus

    Mayor de Blasio applauds Governor Cuomo (photo via the Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State speech and accompanying $175.2 billion state budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 had something for everything. The 354-page policy book lays out proposals, big and small, on everything from criminal justice reform, transit and infrastructure funding, workforce protections to rent regulations, voting and ethics reform, farmer benefits, legalizing marijuana, women’s rights and reproductive health, LGBTQ protections, and environmental regulation, to name

    ...
  • Promising Sweeping Change, Cuomo Outlines State of the State Policy Agenda and $175 Billion Budget Plan

    cuomo sotos ja

    (photo via the Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat starting his third term, laid out an ambitious social, economic, and racial “justice agenda” at his State of the State speech on Tuesday as he also presented a $175.2 billion executive budget proposal for the 2020 state fiscal year that begins April 1.

    Speaking at the Hart Theater in Albany, Cuomo celebrated full Democratic control of the State Legislature for the first time in his tenure and promised quick movement on a raft of legislation within the first 100 days of the new legislative

    ...
  • Lessons from 'Hell': What’s Cuomo Really Doing with the L Train?

    Cuomo MTA L train

    Cuomo tours the L tunnel (photo: The Governor's Office)


    There’s far more to what Governor Andrew Cuomo is saying than what he says at a major announcement. And when an announcement concerns New York’s public transportation, you can bet it’s a calculated communications decision with serious long-term implications.

    On Thursday, January 3, Governor Cuomo announced he was slamming the brakes on the L train shutdown. After consulting for three weeks with an independent panel of experts, his team insists repairing the Canarsie Tunnel connecting Brooklyn and

    ...
  • Cuomo's SOTS, MTA 'Emergency' L Meeting & More: The Week Ahead in New York Politics, Jan. 14

    New York City Hall

    New York City Hall


    What to watch for this week in New York politics:

    While there is a lot going on, the main event this week will be Governor Andrew Cuomo’s State of the State address and executive budget presentation, set for Tuesday afternoon in Albany. Cuomo, who reportedly moved up the speech by about two weeks due to the Legislature’s plans to start moving significant bills, has already outlined a lengthy and ambitious policy agenda, and he has been adding to it in recent

    ...
  • LIRR’s Heavy Subsidies and the Coming Debate Over MTA Funding

    2 29916410110 9953f914b2 z

    (photo via the Governor's Office)


    This fall Governor Cuomo signed a campaign pledge with Long Island State Senate Democratic candidates, many of whom won their elections, to make New York City bear greater responsibility for the subway and bus system’s capital needs. The campaign pledge was the continuation of a long-standing demand by the governor that New York City contribute more toward the enormous costs of the MTA capital budget. He even suggested in his budget proposal that the city take full financial responsibility for the MTA New

    ...
  • Stabilizing the MTA’s Rocky Finances in 2019 and Beyond

    MTA modernization

    (photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA)


    New York’s colossal and crumbling mass transit system is headed toward another cliff -- this one financial. The MTA’s just-adopted budget says it will have a $500 million deficit in 2020 and the deficit will rise to about $1 billion a year by 2022, even with two fare and toll hikes, in 2019 and 2021. The authority’s summary of its situation actually says it is running deficits right now (2018 and 2019), which are being addressed by using all of its reserve funds, drawing down its inventory, and other methods

    ...
  • Instead of Taking Responsibility for Its Failures, The MTA is Targeting People of Color

    MTA fare beating

    (photo: MTA)


    The MTA seems determined to blame New Yorkers for the mess it’s in.

    The authority’s latest excuse is that poor people who jump turnstiles are responsible for the MTA’s financial woes. The MTA and the politicians and bureaucrats who control it should take responsibility for their own actions -- and inactions -- that have led to the city’s mass transit decline. Instead, the MTA seems to want to pit New Yorkers against each other.

    The MTA and NYPD pledged last week to crack down on fare evaders. The ...

  • A Simple First Step to Help the MTA Re-Establish Credibility

    mta rf

    Andy Byford (photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)


    This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
    Find the rest of the series here

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is teetering on financial collapse and still struggling to overcome a meltdown in subway service and collapse in bus ridership. No one doubts that the MTA has serious problems and riders are suffering. But before the State Legislature approves tens of billions of new funding, the MTA needs to

    ...
  • Designing Bus Routes to Attract Passengers and Reverse Declining Ridership (Part 3)

    bus line

    (photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA)


    The first two parts of this series discussed the causes for bus ridership decline, the Fast Forward plan as it relates to buses and why its focus needs to be changed to reverse this decline, a plan that worked: the southwest Brooklyn changes, and MTA studies that did not achieve their desired results. Read part 1 and

    ...
  • Designing Bus Routes to Attract Passengers and Reverse Declining Ridership (Part 2)

    department trans

    (photo via NYC Department of Transportation)


    This is the second part of a 3-part series. Part 1 discussed the causes for bus ridership decline, the Fast Forward Plan as it relates to buses and why its focus needs to be changed to reverse this decline. In this part: measures that have worked in the past.

    The Southwest Brooklyn Changes of 1978
    No other group of bus route improvements were that

    ...
  • Infrastructure Planning Should Not Include Vilifying Workers

    sandhogs 12


    Development and infrastructure are among the most widely discussed topics in New York City. Over the last few weeks, for example, City & State hosted the Rebuilding New York Summit focusing on infrastructure, financing, and policy; an article came out regarding MTA contracting reform; and ...

  • Max & Murphy Podcast: Congestion Pricing & the MTA in 2019

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    November 21, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: Congestion Pricing & the MTA - Looking Ahead to 2019

    This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
    Find the rest of the series

    ...
  • Agenda 2019: Long List of Transit Questions Starts with Saving the Subways

    gov an cuomo littering

    Gov. Cuomo on the tracks (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    This is part of AGENDA 2019, a joint Gotham Gazette-City Limits project
    Find the rest of the series here

    2019 will be a pivotal year for New York City transportation, unlike any this city has seen in decades. Not only is

    ...
  • Designing Bus Routes to Attract Passengers and Reverse Declining Ridership (Part 1)

    mta double decker electric bus

    (photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)


    Bus Ridership in New York City is on the decline despite innovations such as Select Bus Service (SBS). Newly appointed New York City Transit (NYCT) President Andy Byford’s ...

  • 8 Steps to Fix New York Transit and Get New Yorkers Moving Again

    Cuomo subway repairs

    Gov. Cuomo underground (photo: The Governor's Office)


    With the transit system in New York City in constant crisis over a sustained period of time, from delayed trains underground to ever-dropping bus speeds on the streets, the question of how exactly to fix mass transit has been on the minds of elected and appointed officials, advocates and analysts, and, of course, frustrated commuters. In the aftermath of the short-term Subway Action Plan, the ...

  • The Path Forward for Cuomo's 'One Real Answer,' Congestion Pricing

    gov cuomo congepric

    Cuomo in the midst of his ABNY presentation


    One major issue that hung over the 2018 state budget season was congestion pricing, a plan to charge a fee to all motor vehicles entering parts of Manhattan and diverting the revenue toward funding the beleaguered subway system. Governor Andrew Cuomo directed a panel to study the issue, which determined that a congestion pricing scheme should be implemented and offered options for what it could look like, including a three-year, three-phase proposal. Activist groups applied significant public pressure on the governor and the

    ...
  • To Save the MTA, Push ‘Fast Forward’ Ahead Quickly and Responsibly

    mta subway action

    (photo: MTA New York City Transit/Marc A. Hermann)


    The fight to fix our ailing transit system took a significant step forward in May when New York City Transit President Andy Byford released his “Fast Forward” plan to dramatically accelerate comprehensive fixes to our city’s subways and buses. We, along with many other legislators and advocates, praised the plan and Byford’s work to create it. Fast Forward isn’t just a clear roadmap to a modern subway system; it’s also a very necessary roadmap to MTA reform.

    Now it’s time for the MTA to take the next step toward

    ...
  • Promising Efficiency and Performance, Molinaro Releases MTA Turnaround Plan

    marc molinaro mta

    Marc Molinaro on the subway (photo: @marcmolinaro)


    Republican gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro said that his plan to fix the state’s ailing subway system is “not sexy,” but argued Tuesday that he will fix the MTA by doing away with what he said is Governor Andrew Cuomo’s approach, marked by uncontrolled spending, prioritizing “vanity projects” over key improvements and frequent fighting with Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    For Molinaro, the chief problem facing the subway system is not lack of funding, but out-of-control costs allowed by bad management. His ...

  • Federal Corporate Tax Cuts Just Gave New Billions to New York Businesses - What About the MTA?

    govcuomo mta transit

    (Photo: Don Pollard/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    There is a sudden new source of money in New York that is getting little attention in the debate about where the MTA will get resources to fund the ambitious plans to solve its problems, let alone just manage to keep the mass transit system going. That source is the big corporate income tax cuts just enacted by the federal government that have put billions - yes, billions - of dollars into the hands of New York businesses and their owners.

    There are several reasons why tapping this resource

    ...
  • What's The [Data] Point? $17 billion, the MTA's Preliminary 2019 Budget

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 49 -- $17 billion with Jamison Dague of CBC on the MTA's preliminary budget for 2019 [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    jamison dague1

    Cuomo Faces Another Decision on MTA Funding ‘Lockbox’

    govancuomo mta transit

    Gov. Cuomo at an MTA-related event (photo: Don Pollard/Governor's Office)


    A bill to create a “transit lockbox” passed both houses of the state Legislature at the end of the session last month, setting up a showdown between the Legislature and Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has presided over hundreds of millions of dollars in diverted MTA funds and has been hesitant to lose flexibility to use money allocated to MTA operations and improvements for other purposes, such as debt service. Cuomo vetoed an identical bill in 2013.

    The legislation would

    ...
  • Max & Murphy Podcast: A New Era at the MTA?

    mxm logo

    Ben Max, left, of Gotham Gazette, and Jarrett Murphy, right, of City Limits


    June 20, 2018 - Max & Murphy Podcast: A New Era at the MTA? with Nicole Gelinas, senior fellow at the Manhattan Instituteand and columnist at the New York Post.

    Nicole Gelinas

    Are we in a new era at the MTA? With Joe Lhota one year on the job as chair and a new transit chief, Andy Byford, in place and out with a plan

    ...
  • On Taxes, the MTA and More, Molinaro Discusses Developing Campaign Platform

    marc molinaro launch

    Marc Molinaro (photo: Ben Max/Gotham Gazette)


    Ask Marc Molinaro about nearly anything, and the Republican nominee for governor will likely bring the conversation back to property taxes and affordability.

    “My focus, ultimately, will be to drive down costs on middle class New Yorkers,” he said in a Wednesday interview with Gotham Gazette. “That focus, again, has to be on property taxes because New York, unlike every other state in America, forces more of its state spending on property taxpayers. Property taxpayers -- small tax base; large, acute burden on

    ...
  • The Byford Plan and the MTA Information Deficit

    m train mta

    Andy Byford (photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit)


    New York City Transit’s new president, Andy Byford, recently presented a major plan to fix the subways, called “Fast Forward,” which involves a massive sustained investment in upgrading and modernizing the subway system, combined with a spending speed-up by closing more subway lines on nights and weekends to get the work done more rapidly. Other major priorities are also in the plan, like improved bus speeds, providing access for disabled people at more stations, strengthening construction management, and

    ...
  • State Budget Does Help Mass Transit, But MTA Capital Plan Uncertainty Rising

    subway train repairs

    (photo: Don Pollard/Governor's Office)


    The MTA received two significant infusions of new money in the state budget effective April 1. The first is the full $836 million, to be provided to the MTA by December 31, to fund phase one of the Subway Action Plan developed last July by Chair Joseph Lhota and MTA management. The second is through a new tax, starting January 1, on for-hire vehicle trips by taxis, Ubers, Lyfts, and others for trips in Manhattan south of 96th street. The tax revenue will put an estimated $400 million a year into the MTA budget

    ...