MESSAGE
| DATE | 2023-02-09 |
| FROM | Ruben Safir
|
| SUBJECT | Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] MTA theft
|
From hangout-bounces-at-nylxs.com Thu Feb 9 16:32:02 2023
Return-Path:
X-Original-To: archive-at-mrbrklyn.com
Delivered-To: archive-at-mrbrklyn.com
Received: from www2.mrbrklyn.com (www2.mrbrklyn.com [96.57.23.82])
by mrbrklyn.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 37805164066;
Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:31:58 -0500 (EST)
X-Original-To: hangout-at-nylxs.com
Delivered-To: hangout-at-nylxs.com
Received: from mailbackend.panix.com (mailbackend.panix.com [166.84.1.89])
(using TLSv1.2 with cipher ECDHE-RSA-AES256-GCM-SHA384 (256/256 bits))
(Client did not present a certificate)
by mrbrklyn.com (Postfix) with ESMTPS id E2D01164060
for ; Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:31:53 -0500 (EST)
Received: from panix2.panix.com (panix2.panix.com [166.84.1.2])
by mailbackend.panix.com (Postfix) with ESMTP id 4PCVS924NHz4FMH
for ; Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:31:53 -0500 (EST)
DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=simple/simple; d=panix.com; s=panix;
t=1675978313; bh=YIJrMN87R/5ZDspyRKSz404ovi2Stf35OrLenmqaRyc=;
h=Date:From:To:Subject;
b=E+HTpBqCytGMnbwPFBT4dyzN6B1t3pJ/H3h7nvaoCygnX3rH6xrLTq+1QbXIGrfAb
fldWWa9FPBC5h4l+DsyI7AwEF234hdDyJb+VcGZBuv6uLJQdONtOBZG8hIOvb7d0cM
zTKYiMsk7cRJ3yI0nBluzEWjnFqjGijZ1K5XB/eg=
Received: by panix2.panix.com (Postfix, from userid 20529)
id 4PCVS921KBz1ZYZ; Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:31:53 -0500 (EST)
Date: Thu, 9 Feb 2023 16:31:53 -0500
From: Ruben Safir
To: hangout-at-nylxs.com
Message-ID:
MIME-Version: 1.0
Subject: [Hangout - NYLXS] MTA theft
X-BeenThere: hangout-at-nylxs.com
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.30rc1
Precedence: list
List-Id: NYLXS Tech Talk and Politics
List-Unsubscribe: ,
List-Archive:
List-Post:
List-Help:
List-Subscribe: ,
Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="===============0198969271=="
Errors-To: hangout-bounces-at-nylxs.com
Sender: "Hangout"
--===============0198969271==
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Hochul offers $1.6B MTA bailout on backs of NYC workers, biz,
casinos in $227B budget
Hochul offers $1.6B MTA bailout on backs of NYC workers, biz,
casinos in $227B budget Nolan Hicks 6?8 minutes
The money train is back!
Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed giving the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority a rescue package worth as much as $1.6 billion on Wednesday,
answering the agency?s prayers for a bailout.
MTA officials have said that without an injection of new funding,
they would be forced to slash subway, bus and commuter railroad
service to compensate for dramatic declines in ridership ? and
farebox revenues ? since the coronavirus pandemic erupted.
However, Hochul?s budget briefing shows that the governor will not
press the MTA for savings beyond those already promised by the
agency ? despite investigations by The Post and other news
organizations that revealed it has the highest costs in the nation.
?For many, many New Yorkers, the MTA is their lifeblood,? the
governor told reporters during her budget rollout in Albany. ?If
we don?t invest in that, we won?t be looked at favorably by future
generations.?
Hochul?s package, rolled out in her record $227 billion budget
proposal, would be funded by:
Increasing the controversial MTA payroll tax ? which is applied
to all New York City and suburban employers downstate and
trickles down to employees ? to generate $800 million annually.
Pushing City Hall to contribute another $500 million annually
to help fund the MTA?s Access-a-Ride service for the disabled
and discounted student fares.
Promising the agency will receive the bulk of the $1.5 billion
from the sale of three new casino licenses as well as most of
the future tax revenues;
Additionally, Hochul?s budget includes a one-time injection of $300
million to further stabilize the agency?s finances this coming
year. Kathy Hochul. Gov. Kathy Hochul answered the MTA?s prayers
for a bailout on Wednesday. AP
The package on its face appears to largely fill the MTA?s projected
budget shortfalls, which were expected to potentially reach $1.6
billion by 2024 without new funding.
?Governor Hochul has stepped up for millions of riders using the
MTA?s subways, buses, and commuter railroads, preserving the frequent
and reliable service that New Yorkers depend on,? said MTA chairman
Janno Lieber in a statement.
Even with the state aid, the agency said it would still need to
hike fares and tolls by an average of 5.5 percent this summer. That
could increase the cost of a swipe to $2.90. Mayor Eric Adams
signaled late Wednesday that he wasn?t yet on board with Hochul?s
proposed $500 million jump in city support for the MTA.
?[W]hile we recognize the significant fiscal challenges the MTA
faces, we are concerned that this increased commitment could further
strain our already-limited resources,? Hizzoner said in a press
release that claimed City Hall already provides $2 billion in
funding and other services to the authority.
A source close to the talks was more blunt, calling the proposal
?totally unfair.? ?At the end of the day, the MTA is a state
authority so it?s the state?s responsibility to close budget gaps,
not the city,? the person added.
Good government groups, business groups and straphanger advocates
lauded Hochul for proposing new long-term funding for the MTA, but
criticized her for not tying the new money to requirements that
the behemoth become more efficient or transparent.
So far, MTA officials have promised to find $400 million in savings
from trims and reforms by 2024 without cutting overall service
levels. That accounts for just two percent of the $16.5 billion
the agency expects to spend on operations alone that year.
A recent Post investigation uncovered $385 million annually that
the MTA?s commuter railroads ? predominantly the Long Island Rail
Road ? waste through overstaffing, mismanagement and failure to
win changes to decades-old work rules in labor agreements. Kathy
Hochul proposal. The MTA bailout would be funded through increased
MTA payroll taxes and casino revenue.
As a result, suburban commuters pay some of the nation?s highest
fares, suffer long waits for trains ? particularly during off-peak
times, and the railroads consume cash that could go to fund expansions
of city bus and subway service.
?Everyone is being asked to do something except labor ? and they?re
not contributing,? said Andrew Rein, the executive director of the
Citizens Budget Commission. ?There?s no question that we should
not be spending a premium for service that should be higher quality
and lower cost.?
?The key to that is labor agreeing to change the way it operates
and management focused on improving those operations,? he added.
The head of the Big Apple?s preeminent business group, the Partnership
for New York City, echoed that assessment.
?New York has the highest taxes in the nation, so we are not
advocates of raising any tax,? said Kathryn Wylde, the president
of PNY. ?That said, if accompanied by reforms that reduce costs of
MTA operations, the Governor?s proposal is preferable to raising
fares when we are struggling to increase bus and subway ridership.?
Subway train. MTA?s projected budget shortfalls were expected to
potentially reach $1.6 billion by 2024 without new funding. dpa
via ZUMAPRESS.com
However, the governor?s budget left some transit activists calling
for more ? including adding $300 million annually to fund running
trains on every subway line at least every six minutes.
Hochul?s budget also promises that the MTA will continue to move
ahead on several major expansion projects, including:
A new MetroNorth line that will link the Bronx neighborhoods
of Co-Op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point to Penn
Station; The $6 billion expansion of the Second Avenue Subway
to East Harlem with stations at 106th, 116th and 125th streets;
And a new $5.5 billion rail line ? the Interborough Express ?
that will run a 14-mile ring along lightly used freight rail
lines from Brooklyn?s Sunset Park to Queens? Jackson Heights.
The new service is modeled, in part, off of a similar conversion
of freight tracks to passenger service in London, called the
Overground.
Preliminary plans call for the construction of 19 stations on the
line, which would link together many neighborhoods that are poorly
served by the existing subway system ? including Borough Park,
Midwood, East Flatbush, East New York, Bushwick, Ridgewood, Middle
Village, Maspeth and Elmhurst.
It is expected to carry more than 100,000 passengers daily.
--===============0198969271==
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline
_______________________________________________
Hangout mailing list
Hangout-at-nylxs.com
http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
--===============0198969271==--
--===============0198969271==
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=unknown-8bit
Content-Disposition: inline
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Hochul offers $1.6B MTA bailout on backs of NYC workers, biz,
casinos in $227B budget
Hochul offers $1.6B MTA bailout on backs of NYC workers, biz,
casinos in $227B budget Nolan Hicks 6?8 minutes
The money train is back!
Gov. Kathy Hochul proposed giving the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority a rescue package worth as much as $1.6 billion on Wednesday,
answering the agency?s prayers for a bailout.
MTA officials have said that without an injection of new funding,
they would be forced to slash subway, bus and commuter railroad
service to compensate for dramatic declines in ridership ? and
farebox revenues ? since the coronavirus pandemic erupted.
However, Hochul?s budget briefing shows that the governor will not
press the MTA for savings beyond those already promised by the
agency ? despite investigations by The Post and other news
organizations that revealed it has the highest costs in the nation.
?For many, many New Yorkers, the MTA is their lifeblood,? the
governor told reporters during her budget rollout in Albany. ?If
we don?t invest in that, we won?t be looked at favorably by future
generations.?
Hochul?s package, rolled out in her record $227 billion budget
proposal, would be funded by:
Increasing the controversial MTA payroll tax ? which is applied
to all New York City and suburban employers downstate and
trickles down to employees ? to generate $800 million annually.
Pushing City Hall to contribute another $500 million annually
to help fund the MTA?s Access-a-Ride service for the disabled
and discounted student fares.
Promising the agency will receive the bulk of the $1.5 billion
from the sale of three new casino licenses as well as most of
the future tax revenues;
Additionally, Hochul?s budget includes a one-time injection of $300
million to further stabilize the agency?s finances this coming
year. Kathy Hochul. Gov. Kathy Hochul answered the MTA?s prayers
for a bailout on Wednesday. AP
The package on its face appears to largely fill the MTA?s projected
budget shortfalls, which were expected to potentially reach $1.6
billion by 2024 without new funding.
?Governor Hochul has stepped up for millions of riders using the
MTA?s subways, buses, and commuter railroads, preserving the frequent
and reliable service that New Yorkers depend on,? said MTA chairman
Janno Lieber in a statement.
Even with the state aid, the agency said it would still need to
hike fares and tolls by an average of 5.5 percent this summer. That
could increase the cost of a swipe to $2.90. Mayor Eric Adams
signaled late Wednesday that he wasn?t yet on board with Hochul?s
proposed $500 million jump in city support for the MTA.
?[W]hile we recognize the significant fiscal challenges the MTA
faces, we are concerned that this increased commitment could further
strain our already-limited resources,? Hizzoner said in a press
release that claimed City Hall already provides $2 billion in
funding and other services to the authority.
A source close to the talks was more blunt, calling the proposal
?totally unfair.? ?At the end of the day, the MTA is a state
authority so it?s the state?s responsibility to close budget gaps,
not the city,? the person added.
Good government groups, business groups and straphanger advocates
lauded Hochul for proposing new long-term funding for the MTA, but
criticized her for not tying the new money to requirements that
the behemoth become more efficient or transparent.
So far, MTA officials have promised to find $400 million in savings
from trims and reforms by 2024 without cutting overall service
levels. That accounts for just two percent of the $16.5 billion
the agency expects to spend on operations alone that year.
A recent Post investigation uncovered $385 million annually that
the MTA?s commuter railroads ? predominantly the Long Island Rail
Road ? waste through overstaffing, mismanagement and failure to
win changes to decades-old work rules in labor agreements. Kathy
Hochul proposal. The MTA bailout would be funded through increased
MTA payroll taxes and casino revenue.
As a result, suburban commuters pay some of the nation?s highest
fares, suffer long waits for trains ? particularly during off-peak
times, and the railroads consume cash that could go to fund expansions
of city bus and subway service.
?Everyone is being asked to do something except labor ? and they?re
not contributing,? said Andrew Rein, the executive director of the
Citizens Budget Commission. ?There?s no question that we should
not be spending a premium for service that should be higher quality
and lower cost.?
?The key to that is labor agreeing to change the way it operates
and management focused on improving those operations,? he added.
The head of the Big Apple?s preeminent business group, the Partnership
for New York City, echoed that assessment.
?New York has the highest taxes in the nation, so we are not
advocates of raising any tax,? said Kathryn Wylde, the president
of PNY. ?That said, if accompanied by reforms that reduce costs of
MTA operations, the Governor?s proposal is preferable to raising
fares when we are struggling to increase bus and subway ridership.?
Subway train. MTA?s projected budget shortfalls were expected to
potentially reach $1.6 billion by 2024 without new funding. dpa
via ZUMAPRESS.com
However, the governor?s budget left some transit activists calling
for more ? including adding $300 million annually to fund running
trains on every subway line at least every six minutes.
Hochul?s budget also promises that the MTA will continue to move
ahead on several major expansion projects, including:
A new MetroNorth line that will link the Bronx neighborhoods
of Co-Op City, Morris Park, Parkchester and Hunts Point to Penn
Station; The $6 billion expansion of the Second Avenue Subway
to East Harlem with stations at 106th, 116th and 125th streets;
And a new $5.5 billion rail line ? the Interborough Express ?
that will run a 14-mile ring along lightly used freight rail
lines from Brooklyn?s Sunset Park to Queens? Jackson Heights.
The new service is modeled, in part, off of a similar conversion
of freight tracks to passenger service in London, called the
Overground.
Preliminary plans call for the construction of 19 stations on the
line, which would link together many neighborhoods that are poorly
served by the existing subway system ? including Borough Park,
Midwood, East Flatbush, East New York, Bushwick, Ridgewood, Middle
Village, Maspeth and Elmhurst.
It is expected to carry more than 100,000 passengers daily.
--===============0198969271==
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
Content-Disposition: inline
_______________________________________________
Hangout mailing list
Hangout-at-nylxs.com
http://lists.mrbrklyn.com/mailman/listinfo/hangout
--===============0198969271==--
|
|
