MTA Chairman Clashes With State Senator
Long time readers know how much I hate political grandstanding. Tri-state area riders know full well how much of that goes on with elected officials who seem to always care about mass transit funding & issues when it gives them a chance to earn political brownie points.
MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota is another one who is not fond of the game as he lashed out at State Senator Michael Gianaris who recently tried to score brownie points by acting like he gives a damn about mass transit. Kenneth Lovett of the New York Daily News has more:
MTA Chairman Joseph Lhota Monday shot back at a top legislative Democrat who called on Gov. Cuomo to not accept a new state budget that doesn’t include a new long-term funding stream for the cash-strapped transit agency.
“It’s nice that Sen. (Michael) Gianaris has seen the light,” Lhota said of the deputy Democratic minority leader from Queens. “The current problems at the MTA are due to a lack of investment going back decades.”
The Daily News reported Monday that Gianaris organized a letter from the Senate Democrats telling Cuomo that finding a way to better fund the MTA should be a top priority in the coming budget discussions.
“Hopefully, he and other legislators finally understand that they need to produce for their constituents rather than continuing their political posturing through press releases,” Lhota said. “The MTA has a new slogan for the legislature: ‘See Something, Do Something.’”
Gianaris shot back that “it should tell New Yorkers all they need to know about Joe Lhota’s stewardship of the MTA that he chooses to attack a letter that simply calls for the MTA to be fully funded.”
“Isn’t his job to make sure that actually happens?” Gianaris added. “One would think he should just say ‘thank you’ and work on achieving that goal instead of lobbing nonsensical attacks in furtherance of a political agenda.”
Click here for the complete report.
I loved the comment from Joseph Lhota as it truly showcased the game that these officials play every single chance they get when it comes to the issues of the MTA & transportation in our region. I still wonder if I will ever see a properly developed & funded transportation infrastructure & system in my lifetime……
xoxo Transit Blogger
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