MTA Will Hold 8 Public Hearings
One of the biggest complaints I kept reading after the MTA passed its budget last month (as required by law), was the lack of them holding public hearings regarding proposed service cuts. Now that complaint will not technically be valid anymore as the agency has scheduled 8 public hearings. Here are the complete details which they sent out a few minutes ago:
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced today it will hold eight public hearings across the metropolitan region to solicit input on proposed service changes needed to help address a nearly $400 million budget gap that developed in December. The MTA Board needed to act quickly to pass a balanced budget in December as required, relying on a package of proposed service reductions prepared in 2008 but never instated. Over the past month, MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder oversaw a review of these proposals to ensure they were designed to limit impact on customers. In many cases, changes have been made to provide service more efficiently and reduce the number of customers affected.
“While the cuts in funding to the MTA require painful actions, we have worked hard to limit the impact on customers,” said MTA Chairman and CEO Jay H. Walder. “We are now making an unprecedented level of information available to the public so our customers understand exactly how these proposals were developed and the impacts they will have well in advance of the public hearings.”
The revised list of proposed service changes is available online at www.mta.info. The schedule of public hearings listed below is also available online and will be officially noticed in early February. Advanced online registration to speak at one of the hearings will open at that time, and comments can also be submitted by email or regular mail. Following the public hearings, a final decision to implement the major service changes will be considered by the MTA board.
Public Hearing Schedule:
Mon, March 1st:
White Plains Performing Arts Center
3rd Floor, City Center
11 City Place
White PlainsDirections:
MNR to White Plains, walk south on Main Street to City Center
Bee-Line Routes 1, 3, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 20, 21, 40, 41, 60, 62, 66, 77, A, B, C, D, E, H, TZx, I-Bus, OWL
I-287 to Exit 6 (Route22)—
Chateau Briand
440 Old Country Road, Carle Place, Long IslandDirections:
LIRR to Carle Place; N22, 79__________
Tues, March 2nd:
Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel
Phoenix Ballroom
135-20 39th Avenue, Flushing, QueensDirections:
7 train to Flushing-Main Street; Q12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20A/B, 26, 27, 28, 34, 44, 48, 58, 25/65, 66, QBx1, N20, 21; LIRR to Flushing-Main Street—
College of Staten Island
Springer Concert Hall
1P Building
2800 Victory Boulevard,
Staten IslandDirections:
S62/92; from Manhattan: X10, X11; from Brooklyn: S53 to S62/92, S93
NYCT shuttle bus will operate from CSI bus stop to concert Hall__________
Wed, March 3rd:
The Paradise Theater
2403 Grand Concourse at 187th Street
BronxDirections:
B, D, trains to Fordham Road; Bx1, Bx2, Bx12 SBS, BxM4A, BxM4B to Fordham Road; MNR to Fordham Road—
Brooklyn Museum
Beaux-Arts Court, 200 Eastern Parkway, BrooklynDirections:
2, 3 trains to Eastern Parkway-Brooklyn Museum; 4,5 trains to Franklin Avenue, Franklin Ave Shuttle S to Botanic Garden; B, Q trains to Grand Army Plaza; B41, 45, 48, 69, 71__________
Thurs, March 4th:
Fashion Institute of Technology
Haft Auditorium, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street, ManhattanDirections:
1 train to 28th Street, 1, 2, 3, A, C, E trains to 34th Street-Penn Station, B, D, F, V, N, R, Q, W trains to 34th Street-Herald Sq; M4, 6, 7, 10, 16, 20, 34, Q32—
Holiday Inn-Suffern
Empire Ballroom
3 Executive Boulevard, SuffernDirections:
MNR Port Jervis Line to SuffernNYS Thruway (I87/287) to Exit 14B (Airmont Road). Turn north at exit, then immediate left onto Executive Boulevard
While it is good to finally have a schedule for these hearings, I think it is ridiculous that 2 hearings per day were scheduled. This will clearly lead to board members not being at every hearing. I feel that 1 hearing per day should have been scheduled with mandatory attendance by every board member. I can pretty much guarantee that complaints will come from some meetings being attended by fewer members versus other ones. Ridiculous…….
xoxo Transit Blogger
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[…] this afternoon, I wrote a quick entry highlighting the 8 public hearings scheduled by the MTA to discuss the proposed service cuts in the budget they were obligated to pass […]