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| DATE | 2009-03-18 |
| FROM | einker
|
| SUBJECT | Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] The evil that is the MTA
|
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Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:32:41 -0400
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Subject: Re: [NYLXS - HANGOUT] The evil that is the MTA
From: einker
To: hangout-at-mrbrklyn.com,
"Michael L. Richardson"
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Amen Brother Michael!
On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 6:03 PM, wrote:
> Ruben the fokes at the MTA don't care about serving the people. It's abou=
t
> what they can walk away with.
>
> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 08:38:44AM -0400, Michael L. Richardson wrote:
> > Ok what part of this SACRED CASH COW (MTA) don't you understand and
> > believe in?
> >
> > Read the GUARANTEE: www.paymymortgageearly.com
>
>
> The plan has all but collapsed in the Sentate and they are preparing to
> do a deep audit of the MTA books. Meanwhile that doesn't expose their
> incompency by firing up useless programs like the stupid digital signs
> that tell you the map which barely work and cost us 2 billion dollars.
>
> Today it the day to pound the governors office.
>
> Ruben
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Ruben Safir wrote:
> > >The Evil that is the MTA
> > >
> > >Ruben Safir March 12th, 2009
> > >
> > >The Metropolitan Transit Authority is the single biggest threat to the
> > >long term stability of New York City. It has been standing on the thro=
at
> > >of this city for decades, squeezing the economic life blood from this
> > >town. It has proven to be an irresponsible steward of this cities
> > >transportation network. It has political muscle and protection unlike
> > >any organization in our government. Unlike a private enterprise, it ha=
s
> > >no need to constrain its budget for the purposes of profitability.
> > >Unlike a government organization, it escapes any kind of voter over si=
te
> > >at the ballot box. We are all victims of the MTA and its reckless use =
of
> > >government funds, and misguided priorities. This people, the voters of
> > >the City of New York, can never give the MTA enough funds to satiate i=
ts
> > >endless budget. Every dollar they acquire, they budget for completely,
> > >and then they spend one more. The MTA must die if the City of New York
> is
> > >to live.
> > >
> > >First of all, every citizen of this city needs to come to understand t=
he
> > >basic facts of the MTA. It is an independent authority chartered under
> > >New York State Law which has no over site. It has an independent agend=
a.
> > >That agenda benefits the MTA, and is not designed to benefit New
> > >Yorkers. The MTA is not our friend, nor does it respond to our needs,
> > >and most of all it does not respond to public pressure or scrutiny. It
> > >borrows money and leaves the bills for the taxpayer and straphangers. =
It
> > >subsidizes suburban growth, and leaves the bill for the inner city
> > >working class. It buys glitzy toys, like underground radio systems, a
> > >connection for the LIRR to Grand Central Station along with the buildi=
ng
> > >of a new level at the terminal, it buys a new extension of the 7 train
> to
> > >the Javits Center, new cars with digital signage, elevators, and
> > >electronic billboards, it builds a completely uneeded new station
> complex
> > >at Fulton
> > >Street to bribe politicians who can't figure out how to rebuild the WT=
C,
> > >but it ignores basic safety and traffic needs like switches and steel
> > >rails,
> > >station maintenance, and subway cars with enough signs to know what
> > >train your hoping on without needing to look over the platform with th=
e
> > >train arriving. And then they spend hundreds of millions of dollars to
> > >preach to us. Don=92t run up the escalator, Don=92t lean over the plat=
form
> > >(so then how do we know what train is coming since they have removed
> > >most of the side car signage), don=92t walk between cars (which was re=
ally
> > >useful at stopping over crowding for nearly a hundred years before som=
e
> > >idiot decided it was too dangerous), pick up your trash, and give your
> > >seat to a pregnant women.
> > >
> > >Enough. We can=92t take it any more. In 2000 the MTA tried to ram part=
two
> > >of its capital budget program down our throats, by permitting the MTA
> > >more borrowing than it could ever afford, about 1.6 billion dollars wi=
th
> > >another 2.2 billion dollars of pork for upstate highways and roads. It
> > >was rejected soundly by the voters of New York State. But the MTA is
> > >like a fly. If you swat it away, it just comes back. In 2005 the MTA
> > >launched an =93education program=94 for yet another statewide referend=
um,
> > >this time worth 2.9 billion dollars in funding. In 1995 the New York
> > >Times reported that State lawmakers were aghast at the 4.5 billion
> > >dollars that the MTA would need to borrow between 1997 and 1999. That=
=92s
> > >right, we=92ve been playing this game for a very long time. And the ma=
jor
> > >infrastructure we got was the retirement of the perfectly usable Red
> > >Bird Cars on the IRT, and the completely unnecessary electronic signal
> > >system for the =91L=92 train. Is it that hard to safely run trains on =
a
> > >line that has exactly one outbound and one inbound track that we had
> > >to pay almost a billion dollars for it? And with looming service
> cutbacks
> > >was it worth it? And the station rehabilitations that were necessary,
> > >did we get them? Well? Maybe, sort of. They cost us way to much and
> > >took way too long according to Joseph Rappaport of the Straphangers
> > >Campaign =93All we=92re getting in station rehabs is what we were alre=
ady
> > >promised, and we=92re getting it three years late and having to shell =
out
> > >more in the fare to get it.=94
> > >
> > >In 2003 the MTA attempted to side step the whole process when it creat=
ed
> > >YET ANOTHER corporation in their authority with the creation of the
> > >Capital Construction Company with responsibility for overseeing system
> > >expansion projects for all MTA companies and managing their bonds. The
> > >latest
> > >plan for the MTA is for the state to do the same for the bond driven
> > >capital program through a charter. So then we=92ll have yet another
> > >organization completely disenfranchised from the City=92s electorate o=
r
> > >even sensitive to the operations or fare burden, and which can raise
> fares
> > >and taxes without any over site whatsoever. Oh, and for those not
> > >watching, you should note that the latest Richard Ravitch plan calls f=
or
> > >the elimination of public hearings for fare hikes.
> > >
> > >Don=92t you love the Metrocard. Fares can be raised at will with a few=
key
> > >strokes.
> > >
> > >Yet between 1981 and 1991 over 16 billion dollars was spent on MTA
> > >capitalization. And that barely made a dent. The 2001 capital program
> > >borrowed money for a 1.1 billion dollar expansion of the LIRR to reach
> > >Grand Central Station. Who from the city would want this at the cost o=
f
> > >a 2 dollar fare hike and service shutdowns? But these proposals go
> > >through the Capital Program review board which the Mayor is outnumbere=
d
> > >by statewide office holders 3 to 1. And that is how we get this shoved
> > >down our throats. And when horse trading erupted over the 2nd avenue
> > >subway for the LIRR expansion the MTA responded with a two tier bond
> > >program that brought out older less expensive dept for a greater new
> > >bond act over a longer time. Predictions at the time were that this
> > >massive debt would cause fares to skyrocket up to $4.00. But that is n=
ot
> > >the MTA=92s problem. Its just the problem of the poor guy schlepping t=
o
> > >work or ibringing his family around to the museum from Brooklyn and
> > >Queens. It was known as a fact that this program would put massive
> > >pressure on MTA=92s
> > >finances between 2005-2009, just as it has. And the program in 2000 wa=
s
> > >decried by everyone in the know about the MTA including the then forme=
r
> > >MTA chair Robert R. Kiley and Gene Russianoff, the same lawyer pushing
> > >not for east river bridge tolls, and who both wrote jointly at the
> time,
> > >=93In sum, it is our conclusion that the plan not only does not fund n=
ew
> > >capacity, it threatens the ability of the MTA to continue its State of
> > >Good Repair program for this and future plans.=94
> > >
> > >Need to see more? In February of 2004 the Mayor took the MTA to court =
to
> > >stop it from funneling monies for the Subway to buy new Metro North ca=
rs
> > >(NY Times: Feb 26th, 2004). The New York Times wrote then:
> > >
> > >The mayor is trying to exert influence on an obscure state panel that
> > >has the power to deny the $230 million in financing that the
> > >Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs for the new rail cars. He =
is
> > >also considering going to court over the issue if necessary, according
> > >to a senior aide to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke only on condition of
> > >anonymity.
> > >
> > >Then in December of 2004 the Times published this:
> > >
> > >Four years ago, the governor of New York and leading state legislators
> > >gave permission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay o=
ff
> > >old bonds by borrowing $14 billion, creating a steep pile of new debt
> > >for a transit system filled with ancient structures, middle-aged
> > >equipment and little money to replace them.
> > >
> > >Today, with the M.T.A. facing short- and long-range financial crises,
> > >the public benefit of that decision remains a matter of vigorous
> > >dispute.
> > >
> > >On April 3rd, 2000 the Times published this little tidbit:
> > >
> > >In the last month, government and private analysts have developed a
> > >striking consensus that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s
> > >five-year, $16.5 billion capital improvement plan is a
> > >disaster-in-waiting, built on a mountain of borrowed money, that would
> > >force a major fare increase.
> > >
> > >They say the crush of debt would cripple the authority=92s ability to =
keep
> > >New York City=92s subways and buses and the commuter railroads in good
> > >repair, and would make the financing of future capital plans nearly
> > >impossible. The plan would require by far the largest sale of municipa=
l
> > >bonds in history, more than $20 billion.
> > >
> > >October 3rd, 2004:
> > >
> > >The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is projecting budget deficit=
s
> > >of more than a billion dollars in the coming years, and another round =
of
> > >fare increases and service cuts appears imminent. But now transportati=
on
> > >authority officials want to spend even more money to continue to
> > >maintain the system, and even the authority=92s critics are hard-press=
ed
> > >to fault them for it.
> > >
> > >The trouble is, no one has quite figured out how to pay for the
> > >improvements.
> > >
> > >=93I don=92t think there=92s any question that more money is needed fo=
r the
> > >system=92s operation and for upkeep and maintenance,=94 said Doug Ture=
tsky,
> > >a spokesman for the Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan city
> > >agency, on the financial quandary. =93The question is where those
> > >resources are going to come from.=94
> > >
> > >On the authority=92s shopping list: more than $17 billion in system
> > >upgrades and replacement of old equipment, $500 million for security
> > >improvements and several billion dollars for expansion projects,
> > >including the building of the first phase of the long-awaited Second
> > >Avenue subway and connecting the Long Island Rail Road with Grand
> > >Central Terminal.
> > >
> > >It is all part of the authority=92s proposed five-year capital improve=
ment
> > >plan for 2005 to 2009, sent to Albany last week for approval. Making h=
is
> > >priority clear, Peter S. Kalikow, the authority=92s chairman, said he
> > >would be willing to sacrifice the highly publicized expansion projects
> > >if it meant protecting the $17 billion for the existing system.
> > >
> > >=93This is the minimum number that we will accept,=94 he said Wednesda=
y at
> > >the authority=92s board meeting. =93It=92s the minimum number to keep =
the
> > >system running.=94
> > >
> > >It will be up to lawmakers, however, to wrangle over how to come up wi=
th
> > >the money, or if they even can.
> > >
> > >The problem is a familiar one for the authority. Similar hand-wringing
> > >accompanied the passage of the authority=92s current $19 billion capit=
al
> > >program for 2000 to 2004. In the end, much of that program was paid fo=
r
> > >by bonds, repaid out of riders=92 fares. But that has left the authori=
ty
> > >facing a mountain of debt. Payments coming due on that debt are at the
> > >core of the authority=92s struggle with its operating budget.
> > >
> > >As Gene Russianoff, a staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, a
> > >transit advocacy group, put it, =93Their credit card is maxed out.=94
> > >
> > >Authority officials have made clear that issuing more debt, paid for b=
y
> > >riders, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
> > >
> > >October 25th, 2005:
> > >
> > >New York=92s city and suburban transit network faces enormous,
> > >fast-growing debts and budget deficits, with no clear plan for
> > >addressing them. It raised fares last year, plans to raise them again
> > >next year and warns that it may do so again in 2006.
> > >
> > >This is not a surprise to people who monitor the Metropolitan
> > >Transportation Authority. The current situation was predicted four yea=
rs
> > >ago by, among others, former top transit officials, fiscal watchdogs
> > >like the Independent Budget Office and the Citizens Budget Commission,
> > >the state comptroller, business groups like the New York City
> > >Partnership and transit advocates like the Regional Plan Association a=
nd
> > >the Straphangers Campaign.
> > >
> > >The financial problems, critics contend, are the direct result of more
> > >than a decade of policies by New York State, New York City, and the
> > >authority, which operates the city=92s subways, buses, bridges and
> > >tunnels, and the Metro-North and Long Island commuter railroads. In
> > >particular, they point to a $17 billion capital maintenance and
> > >expansion program adopted four years ago that was broadly denounced at
> > >the time as a fiscal time bomb.
> > >
> > >March 6th 2003:
> > >
> > >The decision of transit officials to propose substantial fare increase=
s
> > >to close a budget shortfall has not ended a bitter political fight abo=
ut
> > >whether the public should be given more information about the
> > >Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s budget.
> > >
> > >The state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat, has subpoenaed 18
> > >cartons of budget documents from the authority and forced three of its
> > >top budget officials to give lengthy depositions about their
> > >bookkeeping. He vowed today to continue that inquiry to its conclusion
> > >no matter what the authority=92s board decides on Thursday when it vot=
es
> > >on the fare increase.
> > >
> > >Both Mr. Hevesi and the New York City comptroller, William C. Thompson
> > >Jr., called on the authority=92s board to postpone the vote Thursday u=
ntil
> > >Mr. Hevesi=92s office completed its review of the authority=92s books.
> > >
> > >MTA debt is what is driving up the fares of the MTA. They have been
> > >rolling in public financed doe through out the fat years and now they
> > >must face the reality of a deep recession and a declining City economy=
.
> > >And it is LONG time for New York City to get its SUBWAY BACK without t=
he
> > >interference of Albany. It is time for the Queen of Hearts and to stop
> > >the lies that our current state legislator is somehow responsible for
> > >the MTA=92s crimes. If a massive fair hike comes on March 25th, it wil=
l be
> > >squarely the fault of the MTA. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. It is high time t=
o
> > >end the MTA
> > >
>
> --
> http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
> http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
>
> So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like
> Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI
> Safir
> 1998
>
> http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI
> Safir
> 2002
>
> "Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
>
> "The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to
> our
> own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own
> society."
>
> "> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be
> damned.<
> You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have
> been
> attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you
> missed
> that one."
>
> =A9 Copyright for the Digital Millennium
>
>
>
> --
> Read the GUARANTEE: www.paymymortgageearly.com
>
>
--=20
Regards,
Evan M. Inker
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Amen Brother Michael!
On Tue, Mar 17, 200= 9 at 6:03 PM, <dson.com">mlr52-at-michaellrichardson.com> wrote: class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); =
margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Ruben the fokes at the MTA don't care about serving the people. It'=
s about what they can walk away with.
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 08:38:44AM -0400, Michael L. Richardson wrote: > Ok what part of this SACRED CASH COW (MTA) don't you understand an= d > believe in? > > Read the GUARANTEE: et=3D"_blank">www.paymymortgageearly.comThe plan has all but collapsed in the Sentate and they are preparing to do a deep audit of the MTA books. =A0Meanwhile that doesn't expose thei= r incompency by firing up useless programs like the stupid digital signs that tell you the map which barely work and cost us 2 billion dollars. Today it the day to pound the governors office. Ruben > > > > > Ruben Safir wrote: > >The Evil that is the MTA > > > >Ruben Safir March 12th, 2009 > > > >The Metropolitan Transit Authority is the single biggest threat to= the > >long term stability of New York City. It has been standing on the = throat > >of this city for decades, squeezing the economic life blood from t= his > >town. It has proven to be an irresponsible steward of this cities<= br> > >transportation network. It has political muscle and protection unl= ike > >any organization in our government. Unlike a private enterprise, i= t has > >no need to constrain its budget for the purposes of profitability.= > >Unlike a government organization, it escapes any kind of voter ove= r site > >at the ballot box. We are all victims of the MTA and its reckless = use of > >government funds, and misguided priorities. This people, the voter= s of > >the City of New York, can never give the MTA enough funds to satia= te its > >endless budget. Every dollar they acquire, they budget for complet= ely, > >and then they spend one more. The MTA must die if the City of New = York is > >to live. > > > >First of all, every citizen of this city needs to come to understa= nd the > >basic facts of the MTA. It is an independent authority chartered u= nder > >New York State Law which has no over site. It has an independent a= genda. > >That agenda benefits the MTA, and is not designed to benefit New r>
> >Yorkers. The MTA is not our friend, nor does it respond to our nee=
ds,
> >and most of all it does not respond to public pressure or scrutiny=
. It
> >borrows money and leaves the bills for the taxpayer and straphange=
rs. It
> >subsidizes suburban growth, and leaves the bill for the inner city=
> >working class. It buys glitzy toys, like underground radio systems=
, a
> >connection for the LIRR to Grand Central Station along with the bu=
ilding
> >of a new level at the terminal, it buys a new extension of the 7 t=
rain to
> >the Javits Center, new cars with digital signage, elevators, andr>
> >electronic billboards, it builds a completely uneeded new station =
complex
> >at Fulton
> >Street to bribe politicians who can't figure out how to rebuil=
d the WTC,
> >but it ignores basic safety and traffic needs like switches and st=
eel
> >rails,
> >station maintenance, and subway cars with enough signs to know wha=
t
> >train your hoping on without needing to look over the platform wit=
h the
> >train arriving. And then they spend hundreds of millions of dollar=
s to
> >preach to us. Don=92t run up the escalator, Don=92t lean over the =
platform
> >(so then how do we know what train is coming since they have remov=
ed
> >most of the side car signage), don=92t walk between cars (which wa=
s really
> >useful at stopping over crowding for nearly a hundred years before=
some
> >idiot decided it was too dangerous), pick up your trash, and give =
your
> >seat to a pregnant women.
> >
> >Enough. We can=92t take it any more. In 2000 the MTA tried to ram =
part two
> >of its capital budget program down our throats, by permitting the =
MTA
> >more borrowing than it could ever afford, about 1.6 billion dollar=
s with
> >another 2.2 billion dollars of pork for upstate highways and roads=
. It
> >was rejected soundly by the voters of New York State. But the MTA =
is
> >like a fly. If you swat it away, it just comes back. In 2005 the M=
TA
> >launched an =93education program=94 for yet another statewide refe=
rendum,
> >this time worth 2.9 billion dollars in funding. In 1995 the New Yo=
rk
> >Times reported that State lawmakers were aghast at the 4.5 billion=
> >dollars that the MTA would need to borrow between 1997 and 1999. T=
hat=92s
> >right, we=92ve been playing this game for a very long time. And th=
e major
> >infrastructure we got was the retirement of the perfectly usable R=
ed
> >Bird Cars on the IRT, and the completely unnecessary electronic si=
gnal
> >system for the =91L=92 train. Is it that hard to safely run trains=
on a
> >line that has exactly one outbound and one inbound track that we h=
ad
> >to pay almost a billion dollars for it? And with looming service c=
utbacks
> >was it worth it? And the station rehabilitations that were necessa=
ry,
> >did we get them? Well? Maybe, sort of. They cost us way to much an=
d
> >took way too long according to Joseph Rappaport of the Straphanger=
s
> >Campaign =93All we=92re getting in station rehabs is what we were =
already
> >promised, and we=92re getting it three years late and having to sh=
ell out
> >more in the fare to get it.=94
> >
> >In 2003 the MTA attempted to side step the whole process when it c=
reated
> >YET ANOTHER corporation in their authority with the creation of th=
e
> >Capital Construction Company with responsibility for overseeing sy=
stem
> >expansion projects for all MTA companies and managing their bonds.=
The
> >latest
> >plan for the MTA is for the state to do the same for the bond driv=
en
> >capital program through a charter. So then we=92ll have yet anothe=
r
> >organization completely disenfranchised from the City=92s electora=
te or
> >even sensitive to the operations or fare burden, and which can rai=
se fares
> >and taxes without any over site whatsoever. Oh, and for those not<=
br>
> >watching, you should note that the latest Richard Ravitch plan cal=
ls for
> >the elimination of public hearings for fare hikes.
> >
> >Don=92t you love the Metrocard. Fares can be raised at will with a=
few key
> >strokes.
> >
> >Yet between 1981 and 1991 over 16 billion dollars was spent on MTA=
> >capitalization. And that barely made a dent. The 2001 capital prog=
ram
> >borrowed money for a 1.1 billion dollar expansion of the LIRR to r=
each
> >Grand Central Station. Who from the city would want this at the co=
st of
> >a 2 dollar fare hike and service shutdowns? But these proposals go=
> >through the Capital Program review board which the Mayor is outnum=
bered
> >by statewide office holders 3 to 1. And that is how we get this sh=
oved
> >down our throats. And when horse trading erupted over the 2nd aven=
ue
> >subway for the LIRR expansion the MTA responded with a two tier bo=
nd
> >program that brought out older less expensive dept for a greater n=
ew
> >bond act over a longer time. Predictions at the time were that thi=
s
> >massive debt would cause fares to skyrocket up to $4.00. But that =
is not
> >the MTA=92s problem. Its just the problem of the poor guy schleppi=
ng to
> >work or ibringing his family around to the museum from Brooklyn an=
d
> >Queens. It was known as a fact that this program would put massive=
> >pressure on MTA=92s
> >finances between 2005-2009, just as it has. And the program in 200=
0 was
> >decried by everyone in the know about the MTA including the then f=
ormer
> >MTA chair Robert R. Kiley and Gene Russianoff, the same lawyer pus=
hing
> >not for east river bridge tolls, =A0and who both wrote jointly at =
the time,
> >=93In sum, it is our conclusion that the plan not only does not fu=
nd new
> >capacity, it threatens the ability of the MTA to continue its Stat=
e of
> >Good Repair program for this and future plans.=94
> >
> >Need to see more? In February of 2004 the Mayor took the MTA to co=
urt to
> >stop it from funneling monies for the Subway to buy new Metro Nort=
h cars
> >(NY Times: Feb 26th, 2004). The New York Times wrote then:
> >
> >The mayor is trying to exert influence on an obscure state panel t=
hat
> >has the power to deny the $230 million in financing that the
> >Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs for the new rail cars.=
He is
> >also considering going to court over the issue if necessary, accor=
ding
> >to a senior aide to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke only on condition ofr>
> >anonymity.
> >
> >Then in December of 2004 the Times published this:
> >
> >Four years ago, the governor of New York and leading state legisla=
tors
> >gave permission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to p=
ay off
> >old bonds by borrowing $14 billion, creating a steep pile of new d=
ebt
> >for a transit system filled with ancient structures, middle-agedr>
> >equipment and little money to replace them.
> >
> >Today, with the M.T.A. facing short- and long-range financial cris=
es,
> >the public benefit of that decision remains a matter of vigorousr>
> >dispute.
> >
> >On April 3rd, 2000 the Times published this little tidbit:
> >
> >In the last month, government and private analysts have developed =
a
> >striking consensus that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority=
=92s
> >five-year, $16.5 billion capital improvement plan is a
> >disaster-in-waiting, built on a mountain of borrowed money, that w=
ould
> >force a major fare increase.
> >
> >They say the crush of debt would cripple the authority=92s ability=
to keep
> >New York City=92s subways and buses and the commuter railroads in =
good
> >repair, and would make the financing of future capital plans nearl=
y
> >impossible. The plan would require by far the largest sale of muni=
cipal
> >bonds in history, more than $20 billion.
> >
> >October 3rd, 2004:
> >
> >The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is projecting budget def=
icits
> >of more than a billion dollars in the coming years, and another ro=
und of
> >fare increases and service cuts appears imminent. But now transpor=
tation
> >authority officials want to spend even more money to continue tor>
> >maintain the system, and even the authority=92s critics are hard-p=
ressed
> >to fault them for it.
> >
> >The trouble is, no one has quite figured out how to pay for the>
> >improvements.
> >
> >=93I don=92t think there=92s any question that more money is neede=
d for the
> >system=92s operation and for upkeep and maintenance,=94 said Doug =
Turetsky,
> >a spokesman for the Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan city<=
br>
> >agency, on the financial quandary. =93The question is where those<=
br>
> >resources are going to come from.=94
> >
> >On the authority=92s shopping list: more than $17 billion in syste=
m
> >upgrades and replacement of old equipment, $500 million for securi=
ty
> >improvements and several billion dollars for expansion projects,r>
> >including the building of the first phase of the long-awaited Seco=
nd
> >Avenue subway and connecting the Long Island Rail Road with Grand<=
br>
> >Central Terminal.
> >
> >It is all part of the authority=92s proposed five-year capital imp=
rovement
> >plan for 2005 to 2009, sent to Albany last week for approval. Maki=
ng his
> >priority clear, Peter S. Kalikow, the authority=92s chairman, said=
he
> >would be willing to sacrifice the highly publicized expansion proj=
ects
> >if it meant protecting the $17 billion for the existing system.>
> >
> >=93This is the minimum number that we will accept,=94 he said Wedn=
esday at
> >the authority=92s board meeting. =93It=92s the minimum number to k=
eep the
> >system running.=94
> >
> >It will be up to lawmakers, however, to wrangle over how to come u=
p with
> >the money, or if they even can.
> >
> >The problem is a familiar one for the authority. Similar hand-wrin=
ging
> >accompanied the passage of the authority=92s current $19 billion c=
apital
> >program for 2000 to 2004. In the end, much of that program was pai=
d for
> >by bonds, repaid out of riders=92 fares. But that has left the aut=
hority
> >facing a mountain of debt. Payments coming due on that debt are at=
the
> >core of the authority=92s struggle with its operating budget.
> >
> >As Gene Russianoff, a staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, =
a
> >transit advocacy group, put it, =93Their credit card is maxed out.=
=94
> >
> >Authority officials have made clear that issuing more debt, paid f=
or by
> >riders, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
> >
> >October 25th, 2005:
> >
> >New York=92s city and suburban transit network faces enormous,
> >fast-growing debts and budget deficits, with no clear plan for
> >addressing them. It raised fares last year, plans to raise them ag=
ain
> >next year and warns that it may do so again in 2006.
> >
> >This is not a surprise to people who monitor the Metropolitan
> >Transportation Authority. The current situation was predicted four=
years
> >ago by, among others, former top transit officials, fiscal watchdo=
gs
> >like the Independent Budget Office and the Citizens Budget Commiss=
ion,
> >the state comptroller, business groups like the New York City
> >Partnership and transit advocates like the Regional Plan Associati=
on and
> >the Straphangers Campaign.
> >
> >The financial problems, critics contend, are the direct result of =
more
> >than a decade of policies by New York State, New York City, and th=
e
> >authority, which operates the city=92s subways, buses, bridges and=
> >tunnels, and the Metro-North and Long Island commuter railroads. I=
n
> >particular, they point to a $17 billion capital maintenance and>
> >expansion program adopted four years ago that was broadly denounce=
d at
> >the time as a fiscal time bomb.
> >
> >March 6th 2003:
> >
> >The decision of transit officials to propose substantial fare incr=
eases
> >to close a budget shortfall has not ended a bitter political fight=
about
> >whether the public should be given more information about the
> >Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s budget.
> >
> >The state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat, has subpoenaed =
18
> >cartons of budget documents from the authority and forced three of=
its
> >top budget officials to give lengthy depositions about their
> >bookkeeping. He vowed today to continue that inquiry to its conclu=
sion
> >no matter what the authority=92s board decides on Thursday when it=
votes
> >on the fare increase.
> >
> >Both Mr. Hevesi and the New York City comptroller, William C. Thom=
pson
> >Jr., called on the authority=92s board to postpone the vote Thursd=
ay until
> >Mr. Hevesi=92s office completed its review of the authority=92s bo=
oks.
> >
> >MTA debt is what is driving up the fares of the MTA. They have bee=
n
> >rolling in public financed doe through out the fat years and now t=
hey
> >must face the reality of a deep recession and a declining City eco=
nomy.
> >And it is LONG time for New York City to get its SUBWAY BACK witho=
ut the
> >interference of Albany. It is time for the Queen of Hearts and to =
stop
> >the lies that our current state legislator is somehow responsible =
for
> >the MTA=92s crimes. If a massive fair hike comes on March 25th, it=
will be
> >squarely the fault of the MTA. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. It is high ti=
me to
> >end the MTA
> >
--
http://www.mrbrklyn.c=
om - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com=
- Leadership Development in Free Software
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like>
Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world =A0- RI=
Safir
1998
http://fairuse.nylxs=
.com =A0DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir
2002
"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers =
to our
own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own
society."
"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politic=
s be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have bee=
n
attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. =A0I guess you =
missed
that one."
=A9 Copyright for the Digital Millennium
--
Regards, r>
Evan M. Inker
--00151750e5206e028b04656b6c8e--
--00151750e5206e028b04656b6c8e
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Amen Brother Michael!
On Tue, Mar 17, 2009 at 6:03 PM, wrote:
> Ruben the fokes at the MTA don't care about serving the people. It's abou=
t
> what they can walk away with.
>
> On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 08:38:44AM -0400, Michael L. Richardson wrote:
> > Ok what part of this SACRED CASH COW (MTA) don't you understand and
> > believe in?
> >
> > Read the GUARANTEE: www.paymymortgageearly.com
>
>
> The plan has all but collapsed in the Sentate and they are preparing to
> do a deep audit of the MTA books. Meanwhile that doesn't expose their
> incompency by firing up useless programs like the stupid digital signs
> that tell you the map which barely work and cost us 2 billion dollars.
>
> Today it the day to pound the governors office.
>
> Ruben
>
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Ruben Safir wrote:
> > >The Evil that is the MTA
> > >
> > >Ruben Safir March 12th, 2009
> > >
> > >The Metropolitan Transit Authority is the single biggest threat to the
> > >long term stability of New York City. It has been standing on the thro=
at
> > >of this city for decades, squeezing the economic life blood from this
> > >town. It has proven to be an irresponsible steward of this cities
> > >transportation network. It has political muscle and protection unlike
> > >any organization in our government. Unlike a private enterprise, it ha=
s
> > >no need to constrain its budget for the purposes of profitability.
> > >Unlike a government organization, it escapes any kind of voter over si=
te
> > >at the ballot box. We are all victims of the MTA and its reckless use =
of
> > >government funds, and misguided priorities. This people, the voters of
> > >the City of New York, can never give the MTA enough funds to satiate i=
ts
> > >endless budget. Every dollar they acquire, they budget for completely,
> > >and then they spend one more. The MTA must die if the City of New York
> is
> > >to live.
> > >
> > >First of all, every citizen of this city needs to come to understand t=
he
> > >basic facts of the MTA. It is an independent authority chartered under
> > >New York State Law which has no over site. It has an independent agend=
a.
> > >That agenda benefits the MTA, and is not designed to benefit New
> > >Yorkers. The MTA is not our friend, nor does it respond to our needs,
> > >and most of all it does not respond to public pressure or scrutiny. It
> > >borrows money and leaves the bills for the taxpayer and straphangers. =
It
> > >subsidizes suburban growth, and leaves the bill for the inner city
> > >working class. It buys glitzy toys, like underground radio systems, a
> > >connection for the LIRR to Grand Central Station along with the buildi=
ng
> > >of a new level at the terminal, it buys a new extension of the 7 train
> to
> > >the Javits Center, new cars with digital signage, elevators, and
> > >electronic billboards, it builds a completely uneeded new station
> complex
> > >at Fulton
> > >Street to bribe politicians who can't figure out how to rebuild the WT=
C,
> > >but it ignores basic safety and traffic needs like switches and steel
> > >rails,
> > >station maintenance, and subway cars with enough signs to know what
> > >train your hoping on without needing to look over the platform with th=
e
> > >train arriving. And then they spend hundreds of millions of dollars to
> > >preach to us. Don=92t run up the escalator, Don=92t lean over the plat=
form
> > >(so then how do we know what train is coming since they have removed
> > >most of the side car signage), don=92t walk between cars (which was re=
ally
> > >useful at stopping over crowding for nearly a hundred years before som=
e
> > >idiot decided it was too dangerous), pick up your trash, and give your
> > >seat to a pregnant women.
> > >
> > >Enough. We can=92t take it any more. In 2000 the MTA tried to ram part=
two
> > >of its capital budget program down our throats, by permitting the MTA
> > >more borrowing than it could ever afford, about 1.6 billion dollars wi=
th
> > >another 2.2 billion dollars of pork for upstate highways and roads. It
> > >was rejected soundly by the voters of New York State. But the MTA is
> > >like a fly. If you swat it away, it just comes back. In 2005 the MTA
> > >launched an =93education program=94 for yet another statewide referend=
um,
> > >this time worth 2.9 billion dollars in funding. In 1995 the New York
> > >Times reported that State lawmakers were aghast at the 4.5 billion
> > >dollars that the MTA would need to borrow between 1997 and 1999. That=
=92s
> > >right, we=92ve been playing this game for a very long time. And the ma=
jor
> > >infrastructure we got was the retirement of the perfectly usable Red
> > >Bird Cars on the IRT, and the completely unnecessary electronic signal
> > >system for the =91L=92 train. Is it that hard to safely run trains on =
a
> > >line that has exactly one outbound and one inbound track that we had
> > >to pay almost a billion dollars for it? And with looming service
> cutbacks
> > >was it worth it? And the station rehabilitations that were necessary,
> > >did we get them? Well? Maybe, sort of. They cost us way to much and
> > >took way too long according to Joseph Rappaport of the Straphangers
> > >Campaign =93All we=92re getting in station rehabs is what we were alre=
ady
> > >promised, and we=92re getting it three years late and having to shell =
out
> > >more in the fare to get it.=94
> > >
> > >In 2003 the MTA attempted to side step the whole process when it creat=
ed
> > >YET ANOTHER corporation in their authority with the creation of the
> > >Capital Construction Company with responsibility for overseeing system
> > >expansion projects for all MTA companies and managing their bonds. The
> > >latest
> > >plan for the MTA is for the state to do the same for the bond driven
> > >capital program through a charter. So then we=92ll have yet another
> > >organization completely disenfranchised from the City=92s electorate o=
r
> > >even sensitive to the operations or fare burden, and which can raise
> fares
> > >and taxes without any over site whatsoever. Oh, and for those not
> > >watching, you should note that the latest Richard Ravitch plan calls f=
or
> > >the elimination of public hearings for fare hikes.
> > >
> > >Don=92t you love the Metrocard. Fares can be raised at will with a few=
key
> > >strokes.
> > >
> > >Yet between 1981 and 1991 over 16 billion dollars was spent on MTA
> > >capitalization. And that barely made a dent. The 2001 capital program
> > >borrowed money for a 1.1 billion dollar expansion of the LIRR to reach
> > >Grand Central Station. Who from the city would want this at the cost o=
f
> > >a 2 dollar fare hike and service shutdowns? But these proposals go
> > >through the Capital Program review board which the Mayor is outnumbere=
d
> > >by statewide office holders 3 to 1. And that is how we get this shoved
> > >down our throats. And when horse trading erupted over the 2nd avenue
> > >subway for the LIRR expansion the MTA responded with a two tier bond
> > >program that brought out older less expensive dept for a greater new
> > >bond act over a longer time. Predictions at the time were that this
> > >massive debt would cause fares to skyrocket up to $4.00. But that is n=
ot
> > >the MTA=92s problem. Its just the problem of the poor guy schlepping t=
o
> > >work or ibringing his family around to the museum from Brooklyn and
> > >Queens. It was known as a fact that this program would put massive
> > >pressure on MTA=92s
> > >finances between 2005-2009, just as it has. And the program in 2000 wa=
s
> > >decried by everyone in the know about the MTA including the then forme=
r
> > >MTA chair Robert R. Kiley and Gene Russianoff, the same lawyer pushing
> > >not for east river bridge tolls, and who both wrote jointly at the
> time,
> > >=93In sum, it is our conclusion that the plan not only does not fund n=
ew
> > >capacity, it threatens the ability of the MTA to continue its State of
> > >Good Repair program for this and future plans.=94
> > >
> > >Need to see more? In February of 2004 the Mayor took the MTA to court =
to
> > >stop it from funneling monies for the Subway to buy new Metro North ca=
rs
> > >(NY Times: Feb 26th, 2004). The New York Times wrote then:
> > >
> > >The mayor is trying to exert influence on an obscure state panel that
> > >has the power to deny the $230 million in financing that the
> > >Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs for the new rail cars. He =
is
> > >also considering going to court over the issue if necessary, according
> > >to a senior aide to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke only on condition of
> > >anonymity.
> > >
> > >Then in December of 2004 the Times published this:
> > >
> > >Four years ago, the governor of New York and leading state legislators
> > >gave permission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to pay o=
ff
> > >old bonds by borrowing $14 billion, creating a steep pile of new debt
> > >for a transit system filled with ancient structures, middle-aged
> > >equipment and little money to replace them.
> > >
> > >Today, with the M.T.A. facing short- and long-range financial crises,
> > >the public benefit of that decision remains a matter of vigorous
> > >dispute.
> > >
> > >On April 3rd, 2000 the Times published this little tidbit:
> > >
> > >In the last month, government and private analysts have developed a
> > >striking consensus that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s
> > >five-year, $16.5 billion capital improvement plan is a
> > >disaster-in-waiting, built on a mountain of borrowed money, that would
> > >force a major fare increase.
> > >
> > >They say the crush of debt would cripple the authority=92s ability to =
keep
> > >New York City=92s subways and buses and the commuter railroads in good
> > >repair, and would make the financing of future capital plans nearly
> > >impossible. The plan would require by far the largest sale of municipa=
l
> > >bonds in history, more than $20 billion.
> > >
> > >October 3rd, 2004:
> > >
> > >The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is projecting budget deficit=
s
> > >of more than a billion dollars in the coming years, and another round =
of
> > >fare increases and service cuts appears imminent. But now transportati=
on
> > >authority officials want to spend even more money to continue to
> > >maintain the system, and even the authority=92s critics are hard-press=
ed
> > >to fault them for it.
> > >
> > >The trouble is, no one has quite figured out how to pay for the
> > >improvements.
> > >
> > >=93I don=92t think there=92s any question that more money is needed fo=
r the
> > >system=92s operation and for upkeep and maintenance,=94 said Doug Ture=
tsky,
> > >a spokesman for the Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan city
> > >agency, on the financial quandary. =93The question is where those
> > >resources are going to come from.=94
> > >
> > >On the authority=92s shopping list: more than $17 billion in system
> > >upgrades and replacement of old equipment, $500 million for security
> > >improvements and several billion dollars for expansion projects,
> > >including the building of the first phase of the long-awaited Second
> > >Avenue subway and connecting the Long Island Rail Road with Grand
> > >Central Terminal.
> > >
> > >It is all part of the authority=92s proposed five-year capital improve=
ment
> > >plan for 2005 to 2009, sent to Albany last week for approval. Making h=
is
> > >priority clear, Peter S. Kalikow, the authority=92s chairman, said he
> > >would be willing to sacrifice the highly publicized expansion projects
> > >if it meant protecting the $17 billion for the existing system.
> > >
> > >=93This is the minimum number that we will accept,=94 he said Wednesda=
y at
> > >the authority=92s board meeting. =93It=92s the minimum number to keep =
the
> > >system running.=94
> > >
> > >It will be up to lawmakers, however, to wrangle over how to come up wi=
th
> > >the money, or if they even can.
> > >
> > >The problem is a familiar one for the authority. Similar hand-wringing
> > >accompanied the passage of the authority=92s current $19 billion capit=
al
> > >program for 2000 to 2004. In the end, much of that program was paid fo=
r
> > >by bonds, repaid out of riders=92 fares. But that has left the authori=
ty
> > >facing a mountain of debt. Payments coming due on that debt are at the
> > >core of the authority=92s struggle with its operating budget.
> > >
> > >As Gene Russianoff, a staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, a
> > >transit advocacy group, put it, =93Their credit card is maxed out.=94
> > >
> > >Authority officials have made clear that issuing more debt, paid for b=
y
> > >riders, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
> > >
> > >October 25th, 2005:
> > >
> > >New York=92s city and suburban transit network faces enormous,
> > >fast-growing debts and budget deficits, with no clear plan for
> > >addressing them. It raised fares last year, plans to raise them again
> > >next year and warns that it may do so again in 2006.
> > >
> > >This is not a surprise to people who monitor the Metropolitan
> > >Transportation Authority. The current situation was predicted four yea=
rs
> > >ago by, among others, former top transit officials, fiscal watchdogs
> > >like the Independent Budget Office and the Citizens Budget Commission,
> > >the state comptroller, business groups like the New York City
> > >Partnership and transit advocates like the Regional Plan Association a=
nd
> > >the Straphangers Campaign.
> > >
> > >The financial problems, critics contend, are the direct result of more
> > >than a decade of policies by New York State, New York City, and the
> > >authority, which operates the city=92s subways, buses, bridges and
> > >tunnels, and the Metro-North and Long Island commuter railroads. In
> > >particular, they point to a $17 billion capital maintenance and
> > >expansion program adopted four years ago that was broadly denounced at
> > >the time as a fiscal time bomb.
> > >
> > >March 6th 2003:
> > >
> > >The decision of transit officials to propose substantial fare increase=
s
> > >to close a budget shortfall has not ended a bitter political fight abo=
ut
> > >whether the public should be given more information about the
> > >Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s budget.
> > >
> > >The state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat, has subpoenaed 18
> > >cartons of budget documents from the authority and forced three of its
> > >top budget officials to give lengthy depositions about their
> > >bookkeeping. He vowed today to continue that inquiry to its conclusion
> > >no matter what the authority=92s board decides on Thursday when it vot=
es
> > >on the fare increase.
> > >
> > >Both Mr. Hevesi and the New York City comptroller, William C. Thompson
> > >Jr., called on the authority=92s board to postpone the vote Thursday u=
ntil
> > >Mr. Hevesi=92s office completed its review of the authority=92s books.
> > >
> > >MTA debt is what is driving up the fares of the MTA. They have been
> > >rolling in public financed doe through out the fat years and now they
> > >must face the reality of a deep recession and a declining City economy=
.
> > >And it is LONG time for New York City to get its SUBWAY BACK without t=
he
> > >interference of Albany. It is time for the Queen of Hearts and to stop
> > >the lies that our current state legislator is somehow responsible for
> > >the MTA=92s crimes. If a massive fair hike comes on March 25th, it wil=
l be
> > >squarely the fault of the MTA. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. It is high time t=
o
> > >end the MTA
> > >
>
> --
> http://www.mrbrklyn.com - Interesting Stuff
> http://www.nylxs.com - Leadership Development in Free Software
>
> So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like
> Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world - RI
> Safir
> 1998
>
> http://fairuse.nylxs.com DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI
> Safir
> 2002
>
> "Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
>
> "The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers to
> our
> own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own
> society."
>
> "> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politics be
> damned.<
> You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have
> been
> attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. I guess you
> missed
> that one."
>
> =A9 Copyright for the Digital Millennium
>
>
>
> --
> Read the GUARANTEE: www.paymymortgageearly.com
>
>
--=20
Regards,
Evan M. Inker
--00151750e5206e028b04656b6c8e
Content-Type: text/html; charset=windows-1252
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Amen Brother Michael!
On Tue, Mar 17, 200= 9 at 6:03 PM, <dson.com">mlr52-at-michaellrichardson.com> wrote: class=3D"gmail_quote" style=3D"border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); =
margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
Ruben the fokes at the MTA don't care about serving the people. It'=
s about what they can walk away with.
On Sun, Mar 15, 2009 at 08:38:44AM -0400, Michael L. Richardson wrote: > Ok what part of this SACRED CASH COW (MTA) don't you understand an= d > believe in? > > Read the GUARANTEE: et=3D"_blank">www.paymymortgageearly.comThe plan has all but collapsed in the Sentate and they are preparing to do a deep audit of the MTA books. =A0Meanwhile that doesn't expose thei= r incompency by firing up useless programs like the stupid digital signs that tell you the map which barely work and cost us 2 billion dollars. Today it the day to pound the governors office. Ruben > > > > > Ruben Safir wrote: > >The Evil that is the MTA > > > >Ruben Safir March 12th, 2009 > > > >The Metropolitan Transit Authority is the single biggest threat to= the > >long term stability of New York City. It has been standing on the = throat > >of this city for decades, squeezing the economic life blood from t= his > >town. It has proven to be an irresponsible steward of this cities<= br> > >transportation network. It has political muscle and protection unl= ike > >any organization in our government. Unlike a private enterprise, i= t has > >no need to constrain its budget for the purposes of profitability.= > >Unlike a government organization, it escapes any kind of voter ove= r site > >at the ballot box. We are all victims of the MTA and its reckless = use of > >government funds, and misguided priorities. This people, the voter= s of > >the City of New York, can never give the MTA enough funds to satia= te its > >endless budget. Every dollar they acquire, they budget for complet= ely, > >and then they spend one more. The MTA must die if the City of New = York is > >to live. > > > >First of all, every citizen of this city needs to come to understa= nd the > >basic facts of the MTA. It is an independent authority chartered u= nder > >New York State Law which has no over site. It has an independent a= genda. > >That agenda benefits the MTA, and is not designed to benefit New r>
> >Yorkers. The MTA is not our friend, nor does it respond to our nee=
ds,
> >and most of all it does not respond to public pressure or scrutiny=
. It
> >borrows money and leaves the bills for the taxpayer and straphange=
rs. It
> >subsidizes suburban growth, and leaves the bill for the inner city=
> >working class. It buys glitzy toys, like underground radio systems=
, a
> >connection for the LIRR to Grand Central Station along with the bu=
ilding
> >of a new level at the terminal, it buys a new extension of the 7 t=
rain to
> >the Javits Center, new cars with digital signage, elevators, andr>
> >electronic billboards, it builds a completely uneeded new station =
complex
> >at Fulton
> >Street to bribe politicians who can't figure out how to rebuil=
d the WTC,
> >but it ignores basic safety and traffic needs like switches and st=
eel
> >rails,
> >station maintenance, and subway cars with enough signs to know wha=
t
> >train your hoping on without needing to look over the platform wit=
h the
> >train arriving. And then they spend hundreds of millions of dollar=
s to
> >preach to us. Don=92t run up the escalator, Don=92t lean over the =
platform
> >(so then how do we know what train is coming since they have remov=
ed
> >most of the side car signage), don=92t walk between cars (which wa=
s really
> >useful at stopping over crowding for nearly a hundred years before=
some
> >idiot decided it was too dangerous), pick up your trash, and give =
your
> >seat to a pregnant women.
> >
> >Enough. We can=92t take it any more. In 2000 the MTA tried to ram =
part two
> >of its capital budget program down our throats, by permitting the =
MTA
> >more borrowing than it could ever afford, about 1.6 billion dollar=
s with
> >another 2.2 billion dollars of pork for upstate highways and roads=
. It
> >was rejected soundly by the voters of New York State. But the MTA =
is
> >like a fly. If you swat it away, it just comes back. In 2005 the M=
TA
> >launched an =93education program=94 for yet another statewide refe=
rendum,
> >this time worth 2.9 billion dollars in funding. In 1995 the New Yo=
rk
> >Times reported that State lawmakers were aghast at the 4.5 billion=
> >dollars that the MTA would need to borrow between 1997 and 1999. T=
hat=92s
> >right, we=92ve been playing this game for a very long time. And th=
e major
> >infrastructure we got was the retirement of the perfectly usable R=
ed
> >Bird Cars on the IRT, and the completely unnecessary electronic si=
gnal
> >system for the =91L=92 train. Is it that hard to safely run trains=
on a
> >line that has exactly one outbound and one inbound track that we h=
ad
> >to pay almost a billion dollars for it? And with looming service c=
utbacks
> >was it worth it? And the station rehabilitations that were necessa=
ry,
> >did we get them? Well? Maybe, sort of. They cost us way to much an=
d
> >took way too long according to Joseph Rappaport of the Straphanger=
s
> >Campaign =93All we=92re getting in station rehabs is what we were =
already
> >promised, and we=92re getting it three years late and having to sh=
ell out
> >more in the fare to get it.=94
> >
> >In 2003 the MTA attempted to side step the whole process when it c=
reated
> >YET ANOTHER corporation in their authority with the creation of th=
e
> >Capital Construction Company with responsibility for overseeing sy=
stem
> >expansion projects for all MTA companies and managing their bonds.=
The
> >latest
> >plan for the MTA is for the state to do the same for the bond driv=
en
> >capital program through a charter. So then we=92ll have yet anothe=
r
> >organization completely disenfranchised from the City=92s electora=
te or
> >even sensitive to the operations or fare burden, and which can rai=
se fares
> >and taxes without any over site whatsoever. Oh, and for those not<=
br>
> >watching, you should note that the latest Richard Ravitch plan cal=
ls for
> >the elimination of public hearings for fare hikes.
> >
> >Don=92t you love the Metrocard. Fares can be raised at will with a=
few key
> >strokes.
> >
> >Yet between 1981 and 1991 over 16 billion dollars was spent on MTA=
> >capitalization. And that barely made a dent. The 2001 capital prog=
ram
> >borrowed money for a 1.1 billion dollar expansion of the LIRR to r=
each
> >Grand Central Station. Who from the city would want this at the co=
st of
> >a 2 dollar fare hike and service shutdowns? But these proposals go=
> >through the Capital Program review board which the Mayor is outnum=
bered
> >by statewide office holders 3 to 1. And that is how we get this sh=
oved
> >down our throats. And when horse trading erupted over the 2nd aven=
ue
> >subway for the LIRR expansion the MTA responded with a two tier bo=
nd
> >program that brought out older less expensive dept for a greater n=
ew
> >bond act over a longer time. Predictions at the time were that thi=
s
> >massive debt would cause fares to skyrocket up to $4.00. But that =
is not
> >the MTA=92s problem. Its just the problem of the poor guy schleppi=
ng to
> >work or ibringing his family around to the museum from Brooklyn an=
d
> >Queens. It was known as a fact that this program would put massive=
> >pressure on MTA=92s
> >finances between 2005-2009, just as it has. And the program in 200=
0 was
> >decried by everyone in the know about the MTA including the then f=
ormer
> >MTA chair Robert R. Kiley and Gene Russianoff, the same lawyer pus=
hing
> >not for east river bridge tolls, =A0and who both wrote jointly at =
the time,
> >=93In sum, it is our conclusion that the plan not only does not fu=
nd new
> >capacity, it threatens the ability of the MTA to continue its Stat=
e of
> >Good Repair program for this and future plans.=94
> >
> >Need to see more? In February of 2004 the Mayor took the MTA to co=
urt to
> >stop it from funneling monies for the Subway to buy new Metro Nort=
h cars
> >(NY Times: Feb 26th, 2004). The New York Times wrote then:
> >
> >The mayor is trying to exert influence on an obscure state panel t=
hat
> >has the power to deny the $230 million in financing that the
> >Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs for the new rail cars.=
He is
> >also considering going to court over the issue if necessary, accor=
ding
> >to a senior aide to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke only on condition ofr>
> >anonymity.
> >
> >Then in December of 2004 the Times published this:
> >
> >Four years ago, the governor of New York and leading state legisla=
tors
> >gave permission for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to p=
ay off
> >old bonds by borrowing $14 billion, creating a steep pile of new d=
ebt
> >for a transit system filled with ancient structures, middle-agedr>
> >equipment and little money to replace them.
> >
> >Today, with the M.T.A. facing short- and long-range financial cris=
es,
> >the public benefit of that decision remains a matter of vigorousr>
> >dispute.
> >
> >On April 3rd, 2000 the Times published this little tidbit:
> >
> >In the last month, government and private analysts have developed =
a
> >striking consensus that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority=
=92s
> >five-year, $16.5 billion capital improvement plan is a
> >disaster-in-waiting, built on a mountain of borrowed money, that w=
ould
> >force a major fare increase.
> >
> >They say the crush of debt would cripple the authority=92s ability=
to keep
> >New York City=92s subways and buses and the commuter railroads in =
good
> >repair, and would make the financing of future capital plans nearl=
y
> >impossible. The plan would require by far the largest sale of muni=
cipal
> >bonds in history, more than $20 billion.
> >
> >October 3rd, 2004:
> >
> >The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is projecting budget def=
icits
> >of more than a billion dollars in the coming years, and another ro=
und of
> >fare increases and service cuts appears imminent. But now transpor=
tation
> >authority officials want to spend even more money to continue tor>
> >maintain the system, and even the authority=92s critics are hard-p=
ressed
> >to fault them for it.
> >
> >The trouble is, no one has quite figured out how to pay for the>
> >improvements.
> >
> >=93I don=92t think there=92s any question that more money is neede=
d for the
> >system=92s operation and for upkeep and maintenance,=94 said Doug =
Turetsky,
> >a spokesman for the Independent Budget Office, a nonpartisan city<=
br>
> >agency, on the financial quandary. =93The question is where those<=
br>
> >resources are going to come from.=94
> >
> >On the authority=92s shopping list: more than $17 billion in syste=
m
> >upgrades and replacement of old equipment, $500 million for securi=
ty
> >improvements and several billion dollars for expansion projects,r>
> >including the building of the first phase of the long-awaited Seco=
nd
> >Avenue subway and connecting the Long Island Rail Road with Grand<=
br>
> >Central Terminal.
> >
> >It is all part of the authority=92s proposed five-year capital imp=
rovement
> >plan for 2005 to 2009, sent to Albany last week for approval. Maki=
ng his
> >priority clear, Peter S. Kalikow, the authority=92s chairman, said=
he
> >would be willing to sacrifice the highly publicized expansion proj=
ects
> >if it meant protecting the $17 billion for the existing system.>
> >
> >=93This is the minimum number that we will accept,=94 he said Wedn=
esday at
> >the authority=92s board meeting. =93It=92s the minimum number to k=
eep the
> >system running.=94
> >
> >It will be up to lawmakers, however, to wrangle over how to come u=
p with
> >the money, or if they even can.
> >
> >The problem is a familiar one for the authority. Similar hand-wrin=
ging
> >accompanied the passage of the authority=92s current $19 billion c=
apital
> >program for 2000 to 2004. In the end, much of that program was pai=
d for
> >by bonds, repaid out of riders=92 fares. But that has left the aut=
hority
> >facing a mountain of debt. Payments coming due on that debt are at=
the
> >core of the authority=92s struggle with its operating budget.
> >
> >As Gene Russianoff, a staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign, =
a
> >transit advocacy group, put it, =93Their credit card is maxed out.=
=94
> >
> >Authority officials have made clear that issuing more debt, paid f=
or by
> >riders, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.
> >
> >October 25th, 2005:
> >
> >New York=92s city and suburban transit network faces enormous,
> >fast-growing debts and budget deficits, with no clear plan for
> >addressing them. It raised fares last year, plans to raise them ag=
ain
> >next year and warns that it may do so again in 2006.
> >
> >This is not a surprise to people who monitor the Metropolitan
> >Transportation Authority. The current situation was predicted four=
years
> >ago by, among others, former top transit officials, fiscal watchdo=
gs
> >like the Independent Budget Office and the Citizens Budget Commiss=
ion,
> >the state comptroller, business groups like the New York City
> >Partnership and transit advocates like the Regional Plan Associati=
on and
> >the Straphangers Campaign.
> >
> >The financial problems, critics contend, are the direct result of =
more
> >than a decade of policies by New York State, New York City, and th=
e
> >authority, which operates the city=92s subways, buses, bridges and=
> >tunnels, and the Metro-North and Long Island commuter railroads. I=
n
> >particular, they point to a $17 billion capital maintenance and>
> >expansion program adopted four years ago that was broadly denounce=
d at
> >the time as a fiscal time bomb.
> >
> >March 6th 2003:
> >
> >The decision of transit officials to propose substantial fare incr=
eases
> >to close a budget shortfall has not ended a bitter political fight=
about
> >whether the public should be given more information about the
> >Metropolitan Transportation Authority=92s budget.
> >
> >The state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat, has subpoenaed =
18
> >cartons of budget documents from the authority and forced three of=
its
> >top budget officials to give lengthy depositions about their
> >bookkeeping. He vowed today to continue that inquiry to its conclu=
sion
> >no matter what the authority=92s board decides on Thursday when it=
votes
> >on the fare increase.
> >
> >Both Mr. Hevesi and the New York City comptroller, William C. Thom=
pson
> >Jr., called on the authority=92s board to postpone the vote Thursd=
ay until
> >Mr. Hevesi=92s office completed its review of the authority=92s bo=
oks.
> >
> >MTA debt is what is driving up the fares of the MTA. They have bee=
n
> >rolling in public financed doe through out the fat years and now t=
hey
> >must face the reality of a deep recession and a declining City eco=
nomy.
> >And it is LONG time for New York City to get its SUBWAY BACK witho=
ut the
> >interference of Albany. It is time for the Queen of Hearts and to =
stop
> >the lies that our current state legislator is somehow responsible =
for
> >the MTA=92s crimes. If a massive fair hike comes on March 25th, it=
will be
> >squarely the fault of the MTA. OFF WITH THEIR HEADS. It is high ti=
me to
> >end the MTA
> >
--
http://www.mrbrklyn.c=
om - Interesting Stuff
http://www.nylxs.com=
- Leadership Development in Free Software
So many immigrant groups have swept through our town that Brooklyn, like>
Atlantis, reaches mythological proportions in the mind of the world =A0- RI=
Safir
1998
http://fairuse.nylxs=
.com =A0DRM is THEFT - We are the STAKEHOLDERS - RI Safir
2002
"Yeah - I write Free Software...so SUE ME"
"The tremendous problem we face is that we are becoming sharecroppers =
to our
own cultural heritage -- we need the ability to participate in our own
society."
"> I'm an engineer. I choose the best tool for the job, politic=
s be damned.<
You must be a stupid engineer then, because politcs and technology have bee=
n
attached at the hip since the 1st dynasty in Ancient Egypt. =A0I guess you =
missed
that one."
=A9 Copyright for the Digital Millennium
--
Regards, r>
Evan M. Inker
--00151750e5206e028b04656b6c8e--
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