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MTA Board Officially Appoints Helena Williams

Posted by
on May 27th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Earlier today, the MTA officially appointed Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) President Helena Williams as the MTA’s interim CEO/Executive Director. This was a story I first blogged about 6 days ago when the MTA first made the announcement pending board approval. New York 1 filed this brief report:

Helena Williams was formally appointed as the MTA’s interim executive director Wednesday, three weeks after Lee Sander submitted his resignation.

Williams is the president of the Long Island Rail Road, and will continue to handle those duties as well. She would not speculate on whether she’s a candidate for the permanent post.

“The governor has a selection process in place, and it’s his prerogative. Wherever it takes us, it takes us,” said Williams.

Meanwhile, MTA Chairman Dale Hemmerdinger says he may stay on longer than expected. Under the recently passed state bailout, Hemmerdinger’s term expires next month, and says Governor David Paterson has asked him to stay on until a replacement has been named.

Click here for the complete report.

My feelings on Helena’s appointment can be found in the thread I linked to earlier. I still stand my those feelings & wish she would be legitimately considered as a replacement for the recently resigned Elliot Sander. She deserves better than the interim tag that the agency is forced to provide her.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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MTA Failed To Fix Hazardous Subway Platforms

Posted by
on May 26th, 2009 at 11:56 pm

For those of us who ride the subway often, certain characteristics are common place to us at the majority of stations. Some of those things include rats, dirty trackbed, dirty walls, etc…. However there is one more characteristic that is common place & that is hazardous subway platforms.

This is not the first time that a concern about these platforms has come to mind. Back in January 2008, a 14 year old named Avi Katz fell to the trackbed after stepping on a platform edge to see if a Q Train Train was on its way. The incident led to a co-sponsored report by State Assemblyman Dov Hikind & Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer which highlighted the horrific condition of a high percentage of subway platforms.

Fast forward to the present when a report from the MTA General Inspector’s Office says that the NYC Transit division failed to fix hazardous subway platforms. Pete Dononue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:

NYC Transit failed to fix hazards on subway platforms citywide – despite warnings and instances of riders falling to the tracks, a report released Tuesday reveals.

The MTA inspector general’s office found significant trip-and-fall hazards along platform edges in need of immediate repair at 23 of 27 stations surveyed last year, the report said.

The survey of so-called rubbing boards was launched after a Brooklyn teen fell to the tracks after a board broke under him in January 2008, and NYC Transit promised to improve inspection and maintenance efforts.

“Rubbing boards with safety defects resulting from damage and deterioration pose a serious, predictable and widespread safety hazard,” the report by Inspector General Barry Kluger’s office concluded.

“Yet, despite increased awareness, new procedures and good intentions … a highly significant number of platform-edge conditions sampled were not correctly identified and reported by NYCT as safety defects.”

NYC Transit’s haphazard and unsound inspections “created a false impression of system safety” and significantly delayed repairs, the report says.

“It’s an absolute disgrace,” fumed Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn).

Click here for the complete report.

Click here for the complete MTA Inspector General’s Report which is available as a .pdf file.

I agree 100% with Assemblyman Dov Hikind. It is completely unacceptable for MTA NYC Transit to not have done a better job addressing an ever growing platform. I just finished blogging about how the MTA should not be forced to pay for the irresponsible actions of others. The same goes for riders who should not have to pay for the pure negligence that is on display in regards to addressing these hazardous subway platforms.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Legal Quirks Cost MTA Major Money

Posted by
on May 26th, 2009 at 11:36 pm

Over the years, the finances of the MTA have taken a hit from many different directions. The usual suspects are lower than expected tax revenue, cost overruns, etc…. However one of the other issues that hurt the MTA’s financial picture is the money dished out to lawsuit winners. The New York Daily News takes a look at how legal quirks have been costing the MTA major money. Pete Donohue has more:

NYC Transit has been forced to shell out nearly $1 billion in personal injury suits over the past two decades – partly because of legal quirks that make it an easy mark, officials claim.

Transit officials have tried in vain to get the Legislature to ban suits from people who engage in dangerous activity, such as drunkenly walking on subway tracks.

Albany’s refusal to act means legal payouts swallow millions of dollars a year, leaving less for service improvements.

“We’re classic deep-pocket defendants,” said Martin Schnabel, NYC Transit vice president and general counsel.

There’s no shortage of logic-defying rulings, officials say.

The state’s highest court three years ago ruled NYC Transit must pay a $1.4 million award to a Queens teen who lost his legs after being struck by a train.

The drunken teen believed part of the No. 7 line was not in service and jumped to the tracks in Queens to walk the rails.

As a train bore down, the teen and his pals tried to outrun it to the next station platform instead of taking shelter between pillars on the track.

Another jury recently gave $2.3 million to a man who couldn’t recall how he wound up on the tracks at the Union Square station.

He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.18 when he was struck by a train entering the station and lost a leg.

The lawyers who sued NYC Transit claimed the motormen in both cases should have been able to stop in time.

Click here for the complete report.

Some of the verdicts awarded to these people is beyond inexcusable. I recall reading about some of them & being outraged. Why should the MTA pay for the irresponsible actions of others? The answer is they should not be bound to financial responsibility for the inability of some idiots whose irresponsible behavior lead to their accidents. The laws need to be changed so the MTA & other companies should not have to pay for the irresponsibility of others.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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3

Ad Company Owes MTA $7.5 Million

Posted by
on May 25th, 2009 at 11:42 pm

It is no secret that the MTA is going through its worst financial crisis ever. Even with Albany passing new funding measures, the agency’s financial future is still in question. So the latest report about finances does nothing to starve off those woes. A report in today’s edition of the New York Times takes a look at how an advertising company responsible for selling ad space in transit system in major cities including New York, is behind on mandatory payemnts to the MTA. William Neuman has more:

The worst advertising market in decades has had a devastating, and well-documented, effect on newspapers, magazines and television networks. But now another recipient of ad dollars is being hurt by the market slump at a time it can little afford it: mass transit.

In recent months, a company that sells many of the ads that appear on buses and trains and in stations in New York, Boston, Minneapolis and other cities has come up short in its payments to transit agencies, citing a sharp drop in ad rates and sales.

New York is among the hardest hit.

The company, Titan Worldwide, fell short a total of $7.5 million in mandatory payments to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority from February through April, citing lower than expected ad sales. That would be enough to buy 16 new buses for the authority, which recently received a state bailout in the face of multibillion-dollar budget deficits over the next few years.

“This is another example of the M.T.A.’s exposure to the global economic recession,” said Aaron Donovan, a spokesman for the authority, which plans to raise fares and tolls by about 10 percent in June.

Click here for the complete report.

Lets be honest, the amount of money owed to the MTA is a drop in the bucket when compared to the overall numbers. However psychologically, this is a big blow to an agency that just can’t seem to win on any financial front lately. William’s report alone should be able to smack sense into Albany & the general public about the reality the MTA is facing.

When a transit agency as big as the MTA is worrying about $7.5M in overdue payments, something is clearly wrong. This should tell everyone what is already common knowledge to those of us who follow things regularly. The MTA needs legitimate funding solutions in place that will be sustainable during all economic conditions. $7.5M should never be a big financial issue outside of the principal of collecting what is rightfully owed to you. Will we ever get to where we need to be?

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 05-22

Posted by
on May 22nd, 2009 at 2:25 pm

I have just updated the service diversions page with the latest scheduled diversions for the weekend & upcoming week (and beyond in some cases). Also note the rare service diversion involving the Staten Island Railway. Lastly, don’t forget to check in for any changes to the page. I also suggest printing out a copy of the page to use while riding the system. Have a safe & wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

P.S. Sorry for not getting these up sooner!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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