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Rockland Should Join Fight Against Payroll Tax

Posted by
on August 11th, 2010 at 12:40 am

A big financial battle that has taken on a life of its own over the last brief period of time is the one over the MTA Mobility Tax aka MTA Payroll Tax. As I originally opined in December 2008, it was a horrible way to create revenue for the cash strapped transit agency due to the negative effects it would have on the region’s economy.

Some have taken this sentiment & added their own in a much bigger stage, lawsuits against the tax in which they question the constitutional legality of it. Nassau County took the lead as they joined a suit against the tax. Shortly after they announced their intention, other towns & counties jumped in including Orange & Putnam. Now we might add another county to the list if Edwin Day has his way.

The Republican Legislator out of New City, NY wants Rockland County to join the fight against the tax. William Demarest of the New City Patch has more in this report:

Rockland County Legislator Edwin Day, R- New City, has formally requested that Rockland join other suburban counties in a legal fight against the state to overturn the Metropolitan Transit Authority Payroll Mobility tax.

“Last year, our illustrious state legislature foisted this egregious payroll tax upon each and every person in Rockland County, further exacerbating the so called transportation value gap where we now pay $106 million each year in order to receive only $46 million in value,” said Day, who is the deputy minority leader in the county Legislature. “That is a paltry 43 cents back for each dollar we give.

While we in Rockland chart a course of withdrawal from the MTA ‘Consortium of Inequity,’ an action which I sponsored last year, these critical financial times compel us to use any and all strategies at our disposal to stop the bleeding of Rockland taxpayers,” said Legislator Day.

During discussions with Putnam County Legislative Chairman Vincent Tamagna, Day determined that they have joined with Nassau County in having the MTA tax overturned as unconstitutional. Additionally, three towns in Orange County have signed onto the lawsuit.

Some of the legal grounds being explored include the passage of the tax without the required two-thirds vote of the legislature; implementing more than one appropriation in violation of Article VII of the State Constitution; a defacto, yet illegal, amending of the Vehicular and Traffic law; and a violation of the New York Public Authorities Law, which mandates that the MTA be self-sustaining.

Click here for the complete report.

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MTA Unveils Capital Program Dashboard

Posted by
on August 10th, 2010 at 5:24 pm

For those such as myself who like to keep tabs on anything & everything involving the MTA, this news is exciting. Earlier today, the MTA unveiled a Capital Program Dashboard which enables anyone interested to track the progress of any & all capital projects. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today unveiled a new on-line Dashboard that will enable the public to track the progress of the MTA’s various capital projects. This new web tool will feature a user-friendly interactive system that will provide information on project scopes, budgets, and schedules, all easily accessible on the MTA’s web site (www.mta.info).

The public will be able to search the Dashboard for specific projects and follow their progression from inception to completion. This information will be available for every project in the 2010-2014 Capital Program and selected projects still underway in the 2005-2009 program.

“The Dashboard provides an unprecedented level of detail and information on our capital projects,” said Jay H. Walder, MTA Chairman and CEO. “From station improvements to the purchase of equipment, signal improvements to updates on the Second Avenue Subway, the Dashboard will allow anyone to monitor the MTA’s new approach to capital projects designed to keep the 2010-2014 Capital Program on schedule and on budget — all with a few clicks of the mouse.”

As the agency continues to transform how it does business, the Chairman added that the Dashboard will promote further transparency and reinforce the agency’s commitment to provide information to customers that is more concise and easier to understand.

The Capital Program Dashboard will enable anyone to search for a project in the 2010-2014 Capital Program by keyword, project category, by MTA agency, project phase (planning, design, construction, or complete), or by location where an interactive map, powered by Google, will list projects within a geographical area.

Additional project information will be accessible by clicking on the link that will provide a more detailed project description. The Dashboard can be used to check if the scope of a project has changed, when the project started, and whether or not it is still on schedule and on budget. Project milestones and budget data that break down project funding by year will be readily available as well.

The Dashboard will also encapsulate the entire Capital Program providing a thorough “Plan Review” that includes figures on the number of projects in the Program, how many are on budget, and the number of projects that are on schedule, ahead of schedule, or behind schedule.

In addition, the Dashboard will also include projects in the 2005-2009 Capital Program that are under construction but not completed and with budgets over $20 million. Information will also be available for projects funded by the federal stimulus (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) as well as projects contained within the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access, and 7 line Extension projects.

“I believe the MTA has taken a significant step in providing MTA managers, public officials and the public itself a more user friendly tool to track the progress, in dollars and time, of capital projects,” said MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger. “I am particularly gratified that MTA has accepted the recommendation made in our Dashboard Report to make it a more transparent and useful reporting tool to the public.”

“The MTA’s new Dashboard is an important step towards enabling the agency to manage its capital program more effectively and permitting the public to monitor how its money is being converted into transit improvements,” said Charles Brecher, Research Director at the Citizens Budget Commission. “The Citizens Budget Commission has been pleased to work with MTA staff in developing this significant tool for greater transparency.”

“The Capital Program Dashboard is a major step forward in making information about the MTA’s capital projects readily available to the public,” said Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee Executive Director William Henderson. “We believe that it is a significant advance toward increasing the transparency of the MTA.”

The $26.3 billion 2010-2014 Capital Program reflects a nearly $2 billion reduction as the result of a comprehensive review and a new MTA focus on cost effectiveness and efficiency. The program aims to benefit customers by maintaining the high levels of service reliability and safety provided today; improve service on the existing system with new technology; and complete critical expansion projects to ease crowding and support growth. The full plan and an executive summary are also available online at www.mta.info.

I have not had the chance to take a look at it but will do so later tonight or tomorrow.

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Chambers St Reconstruction Affects M22

Posted by
on August 10th, 2010 at 5:14 pm

Riders who depend on the M22 should know that service will be affected due to the Chambers Street Reconstruction Project. MTA NYC Transit issued a press release about it which I received yesterday with complete details:

Chambers Street between West Broadway and West Street is slated to be converted into a one-way street, westbound traffic only, for approximately 18 months beginning next week. As a result of this reconstruction project by the New York City Department of Design and Construction, effective immediately, the eastbound M22 bus has been detoured from Chambers Street to Warren Street between West Street and Church Street.

Three new westbound bus stops have been installed as follows: on Chambers Street at West Broadway, near side, north curb, between Church Street & West Broadway (M22); on Chambers Street at West Street, near side, north curb, between Greenwich and West Streets (M20 & M22); and on West Broadway at Chambers Street, west curb, near side, between Reade and Chambers Streets (M20). A new eastbound bus stop for the M22 is on Warren Street at Greenwich Street, east curb, near side, between West and Greenwich Streets.

Discontinued bus stops in the westbound direction are: on Chambers Street at Hudson Street, far side, north curb, between Hudson and Greenwich Streets (M20 & M22); and on Chambers Street at Greenwich Street, far side, north curb, between Greenwich and West Streets (M20 & M22).

In the eastbound direction, the following M22 stops have been discontinued: on North End Avenue at Murray Street, far side, east curb, between Murray and Warren Streets; on North End Avenue at Warren Street, far side, east curb, between Warren and Chambers Streets; on Chambers Street at Greenwich Street, far side, south curb, between Greenwich and Hudson Streets; and on Chambers Street at West Broadway, near side, south curb, between Greenwich Street and West Broadway. These stops are in the process of being removed by NYC Department of Transportation.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 08-09-10

Posted by
on August 9th, 2010 at 4:44 am

I have just updated the “Service Diversions” page by removing all of the work scheduled to end by 5AM today.. The latest information for the upcoming week & beyond in some cases is at the forefront.

As always, I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to have with you while riding. You may also use any phone or electronic device to access the mobile friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe week & do your best to keep cool!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 08-07-10

Posted by
on August 7th, 2010 at 12:04 am

I just updated the “Service Diversions” page by removing all of the scheduled work that wrapped up by 11:59 PM last night. The weekend diversions which I posted on Thursday have now moved to the top followed by the subsequent work during the week.

If you are going to the Dragon Boat Festival in Flushing, click here for information on shuttle bus service being provided.

If you are going to the Dominican Day Parade, click here for service advisory information.

I suggest you print out a copy of the page to carry with you or use any mobile device to access the phone-friendly version of Transit Blogger. As always, have safe travels!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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