MTA screws over bus commuters, approves Queens routes redesign

 

 

QNS 

The MTA board approved a new Queens bus network redesign on Wednesday that aims to provide better service with faster commutes — but also fewer bus stops.

The $35 million network overhaul includes the addition of 11 more local routes, bringing the total number of bus routes in the borough to 124 (up from 113). Seventeen existing routes will also run with increased frequencies, while eight routes will get increased service spans.

Another major highlight is the addition of “rush routes.” These new lines would operate similarly to subway routes in which some trains run locally for a few miles before switching to express service toward major destinations.

The MTA will add 25 rush routes to the bus network as early as this summer, with full implementation by Labor Day. Details on how they will operate — including time of day and days of the week — are still being finalized. But MTA officials said the swift service would be a game changer for many Queens straphangers, especially those with two-step commutes. 

The agency has been working on a bus redesign since 2019 to accommodate the borough’s changing population and ridership. More than 800,000 commuters ride the buses in Queens each day.

“It represents a generational opportunity to redesign the bus network in a borough that is nearly the size of Chicago,” said Chris Pangilinan, NYC Transit’s chief of operations planning. “We have not had the opportunity in many decades to redesign it, despite the growth that is happening in the borough and in the city.”

Pangilinan added that the increases in service, including weekend service, will support changing travel patterns in the borough.

“New types of routes, routing changing and increased frequencies, increased spans of service and more weekend service recognizing that people’s travel patterns have changed over the last many decades, especially over the last five years,” he said. “We need to be able to have a new bus network that serves people.

However, the redesign will eliminate some bus stops to speed up travel time, creating further distances between existing stops—a potential problem for New Yorkers with mobility issues. 

The Q110, for example, which runs on Jamaica Avenue East, will be rerouted and experience “minor stop balancing”. That means there will be nearly 1,400 feet between stops compared to the previous 752 feet of space. 

The bus will be rerouted and extended along Jamaica Av/Jericho Tpke to the existing Q36 terminal in Queens. Q110 service along Hempstead Av will be discontinued and replaced by the new Q82. 

Many passenger and disability advocates expressed serious concern about this and other changes. 

Jack Nierenberg, vice president of Passengers United, said eliminating bus stops will create “barriers to access” for many disabled New Yorkers and seniors who might have mobility issues. 

“The MTA is just shifting bus routes around. Most concerning to us is the elimination of nearly 1,800 bus stops, which was increased from the 1,400 that were proposed in the 2023 plan. The MTA is touting that this will speed up the buses, but what it really does is create barriers to access for senior citizens, people with disabilities, and other mobility issues who can’t necessarily walk farther to get to the bus stops.”

Niernberg added that he and others in his organization studied the redesign documents and said the needs of vulnerable New Yorkers were not considered. 

“The MTA needs to reconsider their bus stop eliminations,” he said. 

 

Commuter pricing will fix this

AM New York  

The MTA Board approved on Wednesday a budget plan for 2025 that includes public transportation fare hikes and toll increases slated to take effect next summer.

The board unanimously voted to pass the plan during its monthly meeting on Dec. 18. The exact amount of the increases has yet to be announced but could go into effect in August 2025. 

In recent years, the MTA approved 4% increases in fares and tolls. Should that trend continue, a base fare for a subway or bus trip would cost $3, up a dime from $2.90, come next summer, according to an article from ABC 7. 

Meanwhile, during Wednesday’s meeting, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber boasted of “excellent service” and surging subway ridership. 

“Last week, we set a new single-day record for subway ridership, 4.5 million customers,” he said. “Compare that to 2021, when this group began when the average weekday was less than half of that level.”

The most recent fare hike occurred in 2023, when the base NYC Transit fare was bumped up 15 cents, from $2.75 to $2.90. That marked the first such increase in eight years.

 

Despite the fare rise, Lieber remained optimistic and said the agency is coming out “on a high note” for 2024.

“I always look back at the goals we set at the beginning of the year, and when I took the chair a couple of years ago, priority one was recovering ridership to support the region’s comeback and also to help us achieve financial stability,” he said. 

Lieber added that the MTA vowed to deliver “excellent” service to New Yorkers. 

“And we also needed to keep the capital program on track to earn the public’s trust on how the MTA was going to spend money,” he said.

But New Yorkers whom amNewYork Metro talked to Wednesday after the budget vote did not hold back their opinions on the increase, some even calling it “straight-up greed.”

Others said they pay too much for too little service.

“This is absolutely outrageous. That last increase led to subpar service as it is,” said Roger Smith, an Upper West Side resident. 

Carlos Rivera of Harlem questioned what the increases will actually support, as he is often stuck waiting for late trains and buses. 

“I wish us New Yorkers could audit the MTA because this is absolutely ridiculous at this point,” he said. “Track maintenance and the trains and buses are never on time. Where is our money going?”

 

MTA to Far Rockaway: Drop Dead

 

 Gothamist

The MTA will shut down A train service in the Rockaways for five months starting in January, disrupting the commutes of more than 9,000 daily riders.

Beginning on Jan. 17, the A train won’t run between Howard Beach-JFK Airport and the last stops of the line, either Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St. or Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. The Rockaway Park Shuttle trains will also stop running to and from Broad Channel.

The MTA says the lengthy suspension of service is necessary to fortify infrastructure against extreme weather. The viaducts and bridge that carry trains across Broad Channel need “major upgrades to help protect the line from future storms,” the MTA wrote in an announcement.

The agency noted that much of the work is in response to extensive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. It took seven months to restore service to Rockaway after the storm in Oct. 2012.

Free bus shuttle service will be available along the affected stops. The announcement gave no indication that NYC Ferry service from Rockaway would be expanded while the upgrades are underway.

Far Rockaway resident Quazel Trower said the shutdown will upend his life.

“There’s only one train that goes to Far Rockaway. It’s not like two trains, three trains. It’s literally one,” Trower, 27, said. “Taking the shuttle bus always makes your commute longer than it needs to be.”

Trower said his typical commute into Manhattan already takes more than an hour.

In a statement, MTA Deputy Chief Development Officer, Mark Roche, said that the plan was consistent with what has been done in the past for the L train Canarsie Tunnel project and G line modernization work.

"This next phase of the A train resiliency work has undergone internal and external expert review to weigh alternate delivery and construction methods,"he said. "It was determined that the plan presented is the best option for getting this work done as quickly as possible, with the least impact to commuters.”

So if congestion pricing started, this would have happened anyway. Nice of the MTA to drop this right when the weather got chilly, it's really no different how they obfuscate reasons during train delay announcements. 

 

Driving mandate

 

 AMNY

The number of people traveling in and out of New York City by car is higher than ever before, even as mass transit ridership continues to lag behind levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report on MTA finances from State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli revealed.

Crossings on the MTA’s seven bridges and two tunnels across New York City climbed to 335 million in 2023, already a record, and are expected to hit 339 million in 2024, according to DiNapoli’s report. That comes even as paid weekday ridership on the subway still hovers at around 70% of pre-COVID averages, with higher numbers registered on weekends, suggesting a permanent shift to working from home even as New Yorkers take transit for personal activities.

Even worse, MTA ridership over the next several years is expected to recover still more slowly than officials once projected: in November 2020, consulting giant McKinsey & Company predicted ridership would rise to 86% of pre-COVID levels by 2026, but MTA brass now concede it will likely average only 80% by that time.

Suck it, Open Plans.

 

WDEI

Hmm, anyone can apply? I would like to do a heavy metal power hour. Wouldn't it be a sight to see real moshes instead of the ones that are transferring from the subway to the 7 above?

Minimal Transparency Agency

 

Queens Chronicle

The group Passengers United has been making itself heard throughout the Queens bus redesign process, and the public hearing on July 24 was no exception.

Several members addressed officials of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority at the Borough Hall meeting, and they were clear about wanting plenty of changes to the amended proposal released last December [see separate story in some editions or at qchron.com].

The group also held a small protest at Borough Hall prior to the hearing, both calling on the MTA to reschedule the event and denouncing the bus plan as drawn up.

Queens Village resident Charlton D’souza, founder and president of the group, said during the hearing that there has been a lack of public input and transparency on the part of the MTA; and that the agency has reneged on promises to emphasize equity with necessary changes tailored to low-income communities and communities of color.

“The way this agency has treated us is disgraceful,” D’souza said. “If all of us right now, tomorrow, next week, we start protesting outside our elected officials’ offices saying we do not want the Queens bus redesign because equity was not even considered ...

“The whole plan, the way it’s been put out, you guys promised us a final plan before you implemented changes. But then you changed the game on us at the last minute and now you’re saying, ‘We’re going to release the plan after this public hearing.’ That is ridiculous. This is absurd.” He promised a civil suit.

As to the group’s preferences, a 21-page presentation of recommendations released on July 24 appeared to be a detailed extension of a letter Passengers United sent to Gov. Hochul dated July 9.

The report, online at passengersunited.org, calls for “serious revisions” to the bus plan.

 

MTA makes pregnant woman stand to guide commuters

@newyorkrealm MTA makes pregnant transit worker stand all day guiding commuters #NYC #Subway #MTA ♬ original sound - New York Realm

 

Congestion pricing will fix this.

The MTA sucks.

 

 

Happy June 30th

Zip-e-dee-MTA

  

 NY Post

Queens straphangers are worried after spotting zip ties along the tracks at an Ozone Park subway station.

What keeps the trains running in the Big Apple?

Queens straphangers are praying it’s not plastic zip ties.

Dozens of zip ties wrapped around one of the tracks at the Rockaway Boulevard A train station in Ozone Park have been raising eyebrows and making some subway riders queasy.

“Should I be worried?” asked nursing student Kayle Persaud. “If I cut one zip tie, does it start to fall?”

 

The troubling scene, first reported by AM New York, shows a long line of the plastic ties along the middle track at the elevated subway station – which one straphanger noted is “not a good look.”

“The first time I saw it I thought, ‘Hmm… Is it holding the tracks together?'” said subway rider Eliana Rodriguez. “Even the screws look like they’re not all the way in.”

Another subway rider, who only identified himself as Ibrahim M, agreed it was a tad concerning.

“Even if it’s not actually holding the track together, it just looks awful,” he told The Post on Thursday. “They could have cut it off or painted it the same color. I hope it’s not holding the tracks together for all the money we pay to travel on the subway.”

Adding to worries was this week’s MTA announcement that the railroad is halting planned capital projects following Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to hold off on the controversial congestion pricing plan.

MTA Board kills congestion pricing

 

Crain's New York

 The MTA’s board voted Wednesday to indefinitely pause the implementation of congestion pricing tolls, formalizing an eleventh-hour postponement announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this month and officially blowing a $15 billion hole in the authority’s capital budget.

In a 10-to-1 vote, the board at its monthly meeting advanced a resolution that hits the brakes on a long-awaited toll program that would have charged most motorists $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street to reduce traffic and raise funds to improve the region’s mass transit. The vote firmly shut the door on the MTA’s board possibly attempting to advance congestion pricing against Hochul’s wishes.

MTA board member David Mack, who voted against the tolling program in March, was the sole vote that sought to block the resolution, instead preferring a permanent halt on the program.

“The fact is the MTA, it’s just a reality, cannot start implementing congestion pricing without the New York State DOT sign off,” said a dour Janno Lieber, the board chair and chief executive of the MTA during the vote. “Others may litigate that very issue, if so, so be it, but we are right now where we are.” 

As a result, MTA officials said Wednesday that without a replacement to anticipated toll revenue the authority must defer $16.5 billion worth of construction projects to modernize the region’s aging transit system, including a high-profile extension of the Second Avenue subway to Harlem, signal upgrades and new train cars, among many others. Stop-work orders have already gone out to some projects, sending the region’s contractors into a panic.

Tim Mulligan, the MTA’s deputy chief development officer, said the authority will have to prioritize essential maintenance and upgrades to keep the system functioning and defer less critical, but long sought, accessibility, expansion and modernization work.

“Our guiding principles for the last 21 days, as we've been going through this process, has been to maintain the safe and functional operation of the system,” said Mulligan as he detailed likely changes to the MTA’s capital program.

“There are things that make the system better for our customers and for operation,” Mulligan added, “but they aren't directly related to maintaining existing service in all cases, and so more deferrals [will happen] to projects that are from those categories."

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

Subway Dick quits

Photo by JQ LLC

Gothamist 

The MTA executive in charge of running New York City’s subways and buses is slated to leave his job to become CEO of the Massachusetts Port Authority, according to people with knowledge of the decision.

New York City Transit President Richard Davey joined the agency in May 2022 and led it as transit ridership rebounded from the COVID-19 pandemic. His departure is the latest example of turnover at the prominent post that’s had four leaders in just over four years. Davey is responsible for more than 5 million daily commuters.

His exit comes as the MTA prepares to launch congestion pricing, which aims to push drivers into mass transit.

Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen, who represents NYC Transit’s workforce, said he’d been told Davey is leaving New York.

"My trade union counterparts in Boston confirmed to me that Davey is just waiting on an approval vote from the Massport board,” said Samuelsen, who holds a seat on the MTA board.

Davey neither confirmed nor denied his new job during a news conference on Tuesday.

 "I do get calls from time to time because I got a great team that makes me look good," he said.

Now the MTA does this

 

 AMNY

The MTA plans to boost service on various express bus lines in a bid to spur drivers to switch to mass transit as congestion pricing takes effect in New York City.

Express buses with the highest weekday ridership will see additional trips per day starting in June should the plan be approved by the MTA Board this week, according to a document posted on the MTA’s website. The routes take riders from outer borough neighborhoods with comparatively scant train access, or none at all, to the heart of Manhattan.

The routes that will get beefed up service are the BM2 and BM5, both of which run between southeastern Brooklyn and Midtown Manhattan, as well as the SIM1C, SIM4C, SIM23, and SIM24 between Staten Island and Midtown.

The MTA says the intention of the boost is to incentivize drivers to switch over to mass transit as it prepares to implement congestion pricing on June 30.

“This is belt and suspenders,” said Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit, at the MTA Board meeting on Monday. “You’ve often heard us say that we have capacity in the subway system and the bus system, largely because of COVID. But this is an opportunity for us to continue to improve express bus service in these corridors.”

The plan will be funded with $883,000 per year from the state’s Outer Borough Transportation Account, which is funded by a surcharge on taxi and for-hire vehicle trips. The OBTA also funds toll rebates on outer-borough bridges and will fund a new monthly discount for city riders of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North.

Congestion pricing is expected to take effect in Manhattan below 60th Street on June 30, with a $15 toll charged to most motorists and a higher toll for trucks. The plan has survived numerous rounds of public review but could still be derailed if any of a number of lawsuits are successful.

 Still way too little and much too late. 

MTA's new $$$ummer Of Hell

MTA honors President Biden at incomplete Woodhaven Blvd Station renovation

  JQ LLC

I don't recall ever seeing infrastructure upgrades honoring a president before. This looks like a campaign ad for The Big Guy.

You will take the train and you'll like it

  

Queens Eagle

After years of debate over one of New York City’s most controversial political topics, the MTA officially passed its final congestion pricing plan on Wednesday morning.

Initially passed by the state legislature in 2019, congestion pricing will add a toll for drivers heading into lower Manhattan south of 60th Street. The MTA, Mayor Eric Adams, Governor Kathy Hochul and other advocates hope the program will inject funding into the MTA’s public transit services and cut down on emission-emitting congestion in the busy borough.

But even with the MTA’s final vote, ongoing legal challenges from the governor of New Jersey, the teacher’s union and outer borough officials remain in the courts. Additionally, a handful of elected officials, including many in Eastern and Central Queens, remain frustrated with the program they claim will unfairly tax their car-dependent constituents.

The MTA board passed congestion pricing by an 11-1 vote on Wednesday – the only downvote coming from Long Island representative David Mack – and is the final stop on the plan’s path to implementation, which the MTA expects to happen in mid-June.

“Today’s vote is one of the most significant the board has ever undertaken, and the MTA is ready,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber. “New York has more traffic than any place in the United States and now we're doing something about it.”

According to the MTA, passenger vehicles and small commercial vehicles – sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks and small vans – paying with a valid E-ZPass will be charged $15 during the day and $3.75 at night, when there is less congestion, to enter the “congestion relief zone.” They will be charged once a day, regardless of how many times they enter or exit the area.

Trucks and some buses will be charged a toll of $24 or $36 during the day to enter the area, depending on their size and function, and $6 or $9 at night. Motorcycles will pay $7.50 during the day and $1.75 at night.

With congestion pricing’s implementation almost guaranteed, recent debates over the program have revolved around who would receive discounts or exemptions from the toll.

Yellow taxi, green cab and black car passengers will pay a $1.25 toll for every trip to, from, within or through the zone, and people taking ride-shares like Uber or Lyft will have $2.50 tacked on to their fee.

Qualifying emergency vehicles and qualifying vehicles carrying people with disabilities will be totally exempt, as will school buses, buses providing scheduled commuter services open to the public, commuter vans licensed with the NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission and specialized government vehicles.

Several officials and electeds celebrated the MTA board’s vote on the plan that many hope will bring help to the city’s transit riders, the environment and those who do need to drive to the city with less traffic in lower Manhattan.

“After nearly five years of gridlock, the MTA board finally paved the way for congestion pricing in New York City,” said city Comptroller Brad Lander. “Congestion pricing will ease traffic, cut carbon emissions and provide our beleaguered transit system with the resources it needs to modernize signals, boost accessibility, and serve more riders.”

Local Queens officials, like Western Queens Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani also celebrated the toll’s passage, but said he wanted to see the MTA meet the goals of bettering transit service for outer borough residents.

“The promise of congestion pricing has long been to transform our city’s public transit,” Mamdani said in a statement. “Congestion pricing cannot just make it more expensive for New Yorkers to drive: instead, we must deliver on this promise for New Yorkers by making public transit more frequent, reliable, and affordable from the very first day of the toll.”

Mamdani is currently pushing for his “Get Congestion Pricing Right” plan, which includes a $90 million infusion for buses to get into the final state budget next week.

On Wednesday when asked about the legislator’s plan, Lieber said the MTA is “always happy to increase service.”

However, not everyone is ready to pay the fare, including some Queens officials who argue the toll will be at the disadvantage of drivers in the World’s Borough who will have to routinely pay the toll to get to work.

"The MTA Board's approval of congestion pricing is a blatant assault on every New Yorker who's already struggling to get by,” Councilmember Bob Holden said in a statement. “It's a disgusting cash grab that punishes our most vulnerable — those with no choice but to commute from transit deserts.”

Although Holden’s office did not reply to follow-up questions, the Common Sense Caucus co-chair said that more legal challenges for congestion pricing could be on the horizon.

“This isn't just a policy failure; it's an act of war on the working class,” he said. “Mark my words: we're taking this fight straight to the courts. See you there."

Holden, who is already signed onto a lawsuit against congestion pricing, argued that the MTA pushed the plan through without conducting an environmental review or public input processes.

“They control this whole process,” Holden said. “The MTA is a fraudulent authority, and they wanted to do this so they rubber stamped it through and again, we're going to blame anybody that was for this, including the governor, we're gonna blame them and they might have a tough time next time when they're running for office.”

Queens Assemblymember David Weprin has long been a challenger of congestion pricing, and is a co-plaintiff on one of the two lawsuits looking to slow its implementation.

“It is a sham,” said Weprin. “Any testimony was all a show. We knew the foregone conclusion before the vote, and I don't think it's fair.”

 

Vanishing New York bus service

CBS New York

 In December, the MTA unveiled its proposed final plan for the Queens Bus Network Redesign, part of a citywide effort to expedite bus service.

But some South Ozone Park residents say the elimination of key stops in their neighborhood is a problem, not a solution.

The Q10 bus serves as a link to JFK Airport and the subway. MTA's proposed plan would reroute riders, in some cases adding travel time.

"You're making people go from one bus to either two or three buses, for what reason? It doesn't make sense to me," South Ozone Park resident Nia Rollins said.

MTA's proposed plan would eliminate the 130th Street stop where she begins her daily commute to Midtown Manhattan, requiring her to pay double the fare for multiple bus transfers. She worries a consolidation of the Q9 and Q10 will intensify crowding on buses at rush hour.

Locals shared emotional testimony at the March monthly meeting of Community Board 10, objecting to proposed alternate routes they call unfamiliar, unsafe and unreliable. 

In a statement, a spokesperson for the MTA told CBS New York: "The proposed reroute of the Q10 is designed for a faster and more reliable riding experience by improving speed and reliability on the Lefferts Blvd corridor. We encourage members of the public to continue to provide feedback on the Plan at upcoming outreach events."

"It feels like lip service," district leader Richard David said. 

He says the neighborhood's trust in the MTA was lost last summer when a southbound bus stop at 130th Street and Sutter Avenue suddenly disappeared. Met with community outrage, the MTA vowed to reinstate the stop but has not yet done so.

David says a vague timeline for the potential bus route changes is keeping neighbors vigilant.

"To just keep an eye on the MTA and their process — and the potential that they might pull a fast one — is a full-time job," he said.

 Here's how you can keep an eye of the regulatory captured MTA and let them know how devastating their reroutes and bus stop removals will be for commuters. 

(Notice there are no pop-ups in Middle Village or Maspeth where buses are the only mass transit available. But you think they would do one by the M train on Metropolitan)
 

The Redesign team will be out in communities across Queens on the dates listed below from 4-7 p.m. In the case of extreme weather, events may be rescheduled so customers are advised to check the project webpage before heading out to an event.

 

    Monday, March 25: 165 St Bus Terminal, underneath the canopy of the bus bays
    Tuesday, March 26: Flushing-Main St ​, on the central mezzanine of the subway station
    Wednesday, March 27: Queens Center Mall, the northwest corner of Queens Blvd and Woodhaven Blvd
    Tuesday, April 2:  Jamaica-179 St ​, on the central mezzanine
    Wednesday, April 3: Myrtle-Wyckoff Pedestrian Plaza outside of ​​ subway station (between Gates Av and Palmetto St)
    Wednesday, April 3: Rockaway Park-Beach 116 St ​​(A) subway station main entrance
    Monday, April 8: Diversity Plaza near Jackson Heights 74 St-Roosevelt Av ​​​​​ (7) subway station (between Broadway & 74 St)
    Tuesday, April 9: Woodhaven Blvd southbound bus median outside the Rockaway Blvd ​ subway station (in front of PC Richard & Son)
    Monday, April 15: Queens Village LIRR Station, at the corner of Springfield Blvd and Amboy Ln  
    Tuesday, April 16: Union Tpke and Utopia Pkwy, on the southeast corner
    Wednesday, April 17: Lefferts Blvd AirTrain Station, near the Q3, Q10, and B15 bus stops
    Wednesday, April 17: Queens Plaza South and 28 St, on the southwest corner of the intersection

 

In partnership with the MTA’s Mobile Sales team, the Queens Bus Network Redesign team will be on-site at five Mobile Sales locations this spring to meet with bus customers, talk about the Proposed Final Plan and routes proposed in their neighborhood, and receive feedback.

 

    Monday, April 8 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in Astoria at Ditmars Blvd and 23 Av
    Tuesday, April 16 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Rochdale Village Senior Center
    Thursday, April 18 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. in Jamaica at the Allen Community Senior Citizens Center
    Friday, May 3 from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. at the Rego Park Mall outside Marshall’s
    Monday, May 13 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Bay Terrace Shopping Center (Bell Blvd and 24 Av)

• 
  

 

Operation Hochul Drop

THE CITY 

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday announced the latest in a series of subway safety initiatives, placing MTA police officers, state troopers and 750 National Guard members at some of the city’s busiest stations to conduct bag checks.

Following some headline-grabbing incidents underground — including the slashing last week of a conductor that led to what a top transit official called “some kind of work-stoppage charade” by the transit workers union — Hochul said beefing up the uniformed presence in stations will curb rider and worker fears.

“There’s a psychological impact, people worry they could be next, anxiety takes hold,” the governor said. “And riding the subway, which would be part of your everyday life, is filled with stress and trepidation.”

Hochul unveiled a “five-point plan to rid our subways of people who commit crimes” while standing alongside police officers, National Guard troops and MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber at New York City Transit’s Rail Control Center in Midtown.

The five elements are: deploying about 1,000 more uniformed personnel for bag checks; accelerating the installation of cameras on every train and in conductor cabs; a proposed bill that would allow judges to ban people convicted of assault; expanding the number of mental health response teams; and holding regular meetings between transit personnel, police and prosecutors.

The MTA’s police force, which patrols the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North, already posts officers at subway stations connected to commuter rail hubs.

The latest anti-crime effort in the subway comes as NYPD numbers show transit crime in 2024 through March 3 is up by 13% from the same period last year and just last week TWU International President John Samuelsen said assaults on workers have increased by nearly 60% from last year.

“No one should have to go through what Alton Scott went through,” Lieber said, citing the veteran subway conductor who was slashed in the neck last week.

Overall, crime in the subway system is rare. According to the MTA’s latest data from January, less than two major crimes took place per one million riders that month. Major crimes are defined by the NYPD as burglary, felony assault, robbery, grand larceny, rape and murder.

Richard Davis, president of Transport Workers Union Local 100, praised the plan to put more police in stations, while saying the union’s calls for beefed-up subway security were ignored for months.

“As a result, riders and workers alike have suffered,” Davis said. “While MTA leadership willfully looked the other way, blood has been spilled.”

Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams — who pinned his absence from the latest subway safety announcement on a scheduling conflict — have previously unveiled multiple versions of plans to cut into subway crime and homelessness by increasing the number of police officers in stations.

In an interview on WPIX-11 Wednesday along with Chief Michael Kemper, head of the NYPD Transit Bureau, Adams insisted the new bag checks would not lead to racial or ethnic profiling. 

“We’re not profiling, we’re random based on the count, a number,” the mayor said. “And people who don’t want their bag checks can turn around and not enter the system. You don’t have to come through and do the bag checks, but they are random.”

Still need congestion pricing?

 

NY Post

The MTA could potentially find another $600 million in savings in its bloated plans to extend the Second Avenue Subway, a Post investigation found — as the agency faces pressure to prove it’ll spend its upcoming congestion toll windfall wisely.

New York is potentially just about three months away from launching a controversial $15 daily charge on cars that drive below 60th Street in Manhattan, raising $1 billion a year for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to spend on projects, such as its expansion of the Q line to East Harlem.

“MTA management is ineffective, and handing more money to unelected bureaucrats will not fix the MTA’s problems,” testified real estate agent Lucas Callejas, 38, of Inwood, during a public hearing about the congestion fee plan Monday.

“I absolutely don’t trust the MTA with my money … They spend like crazy,” added Dana Matarazzo, 40 an oncology nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering from Staten Island, who spoke to The Post after testifying against the toll.

MTA officials announced last month they shaved $300 million off the $6.9 billion total estimate to extend the Q line from its terminus at 96th Street another 1.5 miles up Second Avenue and then westward along 125th Street to Lexington Avenue.

But The Post’s analysis found another $600 million in savings in the MTA’s station designs, when compared to what it would cost to build a similar project overseas.

While the tunneling costs are in line with those of other major cities, such as London and Rome, the station costs and designs remain in an entirely different league, The Post’s analysis revealed.

Before the recently-announced trims, the MTA’s budget for tunneling, trackwork, stations and power, computer and radio systems was estimated to be $4.1 billion.

The new, “more efficient” station designs have helped lower the figure to $3.8 billion — still more than the $3.2 billion would cost to build a similar project in London, the most expensive of the European cities examined by The Post, in a worst case scenario.

Experts and researchers zeroed in on two major factors that have pushed the MTA’s station costs to levels not seen elsewhere: The amount of area set aside of passengers to circulate on mezzanines before heading down to the platforms; and the amount of “back of house” areas sealed away from public view that provide space for storage closets, mechanical functions and break rooms.

The feds granted permission to rework the 125th Street station design in 2020 in an earlier second round of reviews for the East Harlem leg, but officials not reveal the full scope of the overhaul until stories ran in The Post highlighting the size of the original 2004 design. The first round of tweaks approved by regulators in 2018 allowed the MTA to put the 116th Station in an empty piece of existing tunnel.

The three rounds of reviews have shaved an estimated 17% off of what could have been a $7.6 billion total price tag, records show. Officials have said the third round of reviews remains ongoing.

The overall now-$6.6 billion budget for the East Harlem expansion also includes $245 million for land purchases and eminent domain, $559 million for outside engineering, design and management firms, plus a whopping $943 million for a budget reserve.

The project’s construction costs alone could have been as high as $4.4 billion had the MTA re-used the station designs from the Second Avenue Subway’s Upper East Side extension, a much-delayed project that shattered cost records.

“That’s the hard part, turning this ship around,” said Eric Goldwyn, who lead a team of researchers at New York University that revealed how oversized the MTA’s Upper East Side designs were compared to those used in Stockholm, Rome and Istanbul, dramatically inflating costs.

“When people asked them about our research, they said ‘we were a–holes,’ basically,” Goldwyn added. “I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen, but there are absolutely things to keep looking at.”

Today is the day to stop the MTA's congestion tax scheme

 

 

Queens Chronicle

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will host four hybrid hearings on the proposed rates for congestion pricing beginning at the end of this month.

The hearings will be hosted in person at 2 Broadway in Manhattan in the William J. Ronan 20th Floor Board Room. People may also register to participate remotely via Zoom or telephone.

The hearings are 6 to 10 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 29; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, March 1; and both 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 to 10 p.m. on Monday, March 4.

The proposed toll rates can be found online at bit.ly/42Hts2F. The MTA hopes to impose them starting in June, though several lawsuits have be filed to block the plan.

Each public hearing will be livestreamed on the MTA YouTube channel at MTA Live — YouTube and on the project website: mta.info/CBDTP.

The hearings also will be accessible online at mta.info/CBDTP. Comments can be submitted online, or by email, mail, fax, or voicemail message through Monday, March 11. Comments can be submitted in the following ways:

• Online: contact.mta.info/s/forms/CBDTP;

• Email: cbdtp.feedback@mtabt.org;

• Mail: CBD Tolling Program, 2 Broadway, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10004;

• Phone: (646) 252-7440; and

• Fax: Send to (212) 504-3148 with Attention to CBDTP Team.

The MTA said all comments will be afforded equal weight and will be recorded and submitted for review.

Members of the public who wish to speak at the hearings are required to register in advance online, by calling the Public Hearing Hotline at (646) 252-6777, or in person.

Registration will open one week before the start time of each hearing and will close 30 minutes after the meeting starts. Speakers will be provided two minutes. American Sign Language and CART Captioning Services will be available.

The stated purpose of the tolls is to raise $1 billion per year to fund the MTA’s capital projects budget; and to move traffic congestion and pollution out of Midtown and Downtown Manhattan by charging tolls for any vehicle entering the Central Business District at or below 60th Street.

The base rate is $15 per car during peak hours and $24 or $36 per truck depending on the size. Overnight discounts and other variations apply.

Originally set for April, the implementation could be delayed by any or all of four federal lawsuits that have been filed since.

 

The resistance against congestion pricing is getting bigger and bigger

 

NY Post 

The labor coalition representing New York City’s nearly 400,000 government workers — including uniformed cops, firefighters and other first responders — is backing a federal lawsuit to block the “crazy” $15 congestion toll to enter Midtown.

“We’re not coming into Manhattan once a week for dinner. We’re coming in every day to proudly serve the people of New York City,” Harry Nespoli, head of the NYC Municipal Labor Committee (MLC), told The Post on Monday.

The presidents of the unions that make up the MLC voted overwhelmingly to join the suit filed last month by the United Federation of Teachers union and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, and will issue an amicus brief for the plaintiffs in the case, Nespoli said.

“The congestion toll is just another crazy thing in the city,” Nespoli, who also reps the union of sanitation workers, said.

“No one likes going into our pocket when we’re mandated to come in,” he added. “These are the people who make the city run.”

The MLC’s backing of the lawsuit is evidence of mounting opposition to the controversial new toll to be imposed by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority as early as May to enter the Midtown business district south of 60th Street. 

Transit officials expect the $15 toll to raise $1 billion per year, which will be used to fund $15 billion in bonds to pay for major upgrades to the MTA’s subway, commuter railroads and bus systems.

Drivers will pay significantly less during off-peak hours, as the toll is aimed at helping curb peak-day congestion.

But Nespoli said municipal workers deserve a break — arguing that employees required to work in the Manhattan business district who drive in from the outer boroughs shouldn’t be punished.

“There’s got to be a better way. Pushing the cost onto someone else is not the right way to do it,” he said. “Municipal workers just got raises and now they want to take it away from us.”

 NY Post

Eighteen elected officials have joined a federal lawsuit by the teachers union aimed at blocking the controversial new $15 congestion pricing toll to enter Midtown Manhattan.

More than half the plaintiffs are Democrats whose fellow party members approved the law greenlighting congestion pricing in 2019.

UTF President Mike Mulgrew and Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella welcomed the growing, bipartisan coalition who object to having constituents and members pay such a high toll to drive into Midtown south of 60th Street.

“As we have said time and time again, congestion pricing is a detriment to those that will be affected by this toll, environmentally and financially, and for people of all walks of life from across the five boroughs and beyond,” said Fosella, who initially joined as a co-plaintiff. “We appreciate the support from elected officials and interested groups, as this fight cannot be won by any one of us alone.” 

The suit argues the plan would move pollution from Manhattan to Staten Island and other parts of the city.

“We are determined to challenge the current regressive and discriminatory plan for congestion pricing;  as now constituted, it will only succeed in moving traffic and pollution from one part of the city to another, even as it increases the economic burden on working- and middle-class communities,” Mulgrew said.

Maybe there needs to be a rally song now since this movement against the congestion tax is growing. A little change in the lyrics to this classic would be perfect.