Gov. Paterson’s “New Idea”
Yesterday evening, I blogged about Gov. Paterson’s feeling a MTA deal could be reached by next week. He made a suggestion to Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith & Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The governor would not discuss what the suggestion was as he decided to be coy about it during a press conference in the Bronx yesterday. Jimmy Vielkind of Politicker NY has more in this report:
Speaking at an event this morning in the Bronx, David Paterson continued to be coy about his secret plan to provide money to bail out the M.T.A..
“I’d like for the leaders to get a chance to talk to their members about a suggestion I made to Speaker Silver and Senator Smith about what I think might actually be amenable to the members who are still uncomfortable with the legislation as it is,” Paterson said to reporters. “They are reviewing it with their members. If it passes muster, we’ll make sure you know about it soon enough and hopefully vote on it when we get back, and I would like the day to be Monday.”
That might be hard, given the abbreviated session.
Click here for the complete report.
However some light has been shed on what exactly that suggestion might have been. Jimmy’s report touched on it & so did tomorrow’s print edition report in the New York Times by William Neuman & Nicholas Confessore:
Seeking to break a stalemate on a rescue plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Gov. David A. Paterson made a secret proposal this week to have the state give money to school districts to cover the cost of a new payroll tax, according to people briefed on the proposal.
They said that the school proposal was what Mr. Paterson was referring to on Wednesday when he said that he had a “new idea” to move the stalled authority bailout forward.
The governor has not said publicly what the new idea is. Officials said that he discussed it with the Senate majority leader, Malcolm A. Smith, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on Wednesday. The payroll tax would provide about $1.5 billion to the authority each year, but four suburban Senate Democrats have opposed it, in part because they said it would burden school districts, which would have to pay the tax.
Among their objections: local communities would have to raise already high property taxes so school districts would have the money to pay the payroll tax.
On Thursday, several people briefed on the governor’s idea said that he had proposed using state money to relieve the burden on school districts of the new tax, which would apply to all employers in the 12-county region served by the transportation authority. The people briefed on the governor’s proposal requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about it.
One person briefed on the idea said that the relief would be available to schools in all 12 counties, including in New York City.
Click here for the complete report.
If this is truly Gov. Paterson’s “new idea”, I can’t say I am surprised it was not earth shattering. I have publicly stated my disapproval of every proposal that has come from Albany. This “new idea” from the governor does nothing to sway my opinion. I hope the proposal fails to pass as I know stop-gap measures are not the solution. Albany needs to get this 100% right as anything & I truly mean anything less will not get it done.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Gov. Paterson Wants Action By Tuesday
- Senate Democrats Reach Tentative Deal
- Senate’s Latest MTA Proposal Is Floundering
- Paterson Says MTA Deal Can Arrive Next Week
- Gov. Paterson Comes Out Swinging
Malcolm & The Senate Are Destroying Mass Transit
For readers of this blog & many others like it, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is seen as an enemy of mass transit. We are fully aware that he & the majority of leaders in Albany do not understand or care to, the needs of the MTA & the millions who make up its riding public.
Today’s edition of the New York Daily News contained a very accurate editorial on how Malcolm Smith & the rest of the State Senate are destroying mass transit. Lets take a quick peek at it shall we:
The circus plays on – Malcolm Smith, ringmaster – while New Yorkers face the bitter realities created for them by a government of clowns.
Those realities include the crippling of mass transportation and imposition of fare hikes the likes of which this city has never seen.
With Senate Majority Leader Smith introducing new acts of clownishness under the Albany big top seemingly every day, subway and bus riders are speeding toward a disaster of mounting proportions. And the price of a rescue grows ever steeper.
Having no choice, the agency is on the verge of eliminating bus lines and boosting fares in the 30% range, laying off as many as 600 workers and abandoning projects like station painting – as the first step toward slashing more service and forcing rider costs still higher.
A whole lot higher.
Meanwhile, Smith and his Democrats are piled in a little car and riding in circles while proposing preposterous idea after preposterous idea.
Like gambling in the stock market to raise money for the MTA.
Like trumpeting that you can balance the books even if your numbers don’t add up.
Like slapping city taxi passengers with a $1-a-ride MTA fee while intending to send half the money to the suburbs and upstate.
Click here for the complete editorial.
This was a very strong editorial piece which accurately hammered on the preposterous proposals that have come from Albany during this process. If these so called leaders had any pride, they would be embarrassed for insulting the MTA & most importantly its riders/constituents. You were elected to serve the people yet the daily bickering & lack of sustainable solutions show you are only serving the minority.
Until these leaders remember why they were elected & who they serve, expect one asinine proposal after another & ultimately a doomsday that will severely hurt who they were supposed to help.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Gov. Patterson Calls Out State Senate
- State Senate Leaders Must Save The MTA
- Gov. Paterson’s “New Idea”
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Paterson Says MTA Deal Can Arrive Next Week
Yesterday evening, I blogged about the State Senate amending their latest MTA bailout proposal. This pretty much secured the idea that the earliest a vote could reach the floor would be next week. With that in mind, Gov. Paterson spoke at a press conference today & shared his belief that a deal could be passed by next week. As I & others have come to expect, Jimmy Vielkind of Politicker NY is all over it in his latest report:
David Paterson said he hopes to arrive at a deal with legislative leaders next week to close M.T.A.’s deficit. He played down reports of squabbling between himself, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.
“I don’t think there’s been much squabbling among the leaders,” Paterson said after a press conference related to Swine flu, where Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines said there were three more “probable” cases outside of New York City.
Click here for the complete report.
I love how Gov. Paterson attempted to downplay the public feud between many of Albany’s heavy hitters including himself. He can’t seriously believe any of us are going to buy that line of bullshit can he? If there was any legitimate harmony in Albany, they would have worked together to come up with sustainable funding solutions. Instead we get the infighting & crafting of individualistic plans that are filled with nothing but stop-gap measures. Let me give you a piece of advice David, stop lying to yourself & the riding public, we are not stupid.
xoxo Transit Blogger
You might enjoy reading these related entries:- Gov. Paterson’s “New Idea”
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Doomsday Might Only Be The Beginning
If you have read this or any major NYC region transportation blog over the last few months, words & phrases such as “draconian” & “doomsday scenario” have become second nature. When you heard or read such words involving the MTA, you could do nothing but think of the massive fare hike & service cuts that were soon to be everyone’s nightmare.
Unfortunately these words & phrases only describe the tip of the iceberg in terms of what we could soon face. The MTA’s financial crisis continues to spiral out of control. Albany has shown its priority is to get anything done regardless if it helps the MTA & its riders in the long term.
The financial crisis is so bad that MTA CEO/Executive Director Elliot Sander is not sure what words could describe the potential new cuts, which could include the elimination of overnight subway service, that might be on the horizon. William Neuman of the New York Times has more in this report:
The executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Wednesday that a possible second round of service cuts and fare hikes would go “beyond doomsday” and he said that even extreme measures, like stopping nighttime subway service, could not be ruled out.
The director, Elliot G. Sander, said that the slumping economy had squeezed the authority’s revenues so tightly that it would have to rip up its budget for this year and start over with a new, leaner spending plan.
“I’m not sure the English language captures what goes beyond doomsday but to me, as a transit professional, as a citizen and a user of the system, they are just unbelievably difficult and I think some would view them as horrific,” Mr. Sander said.
Asked if he would consider shutting down the subway at night to save money, he said, “One can’t say that anything is off the table.”
Click here for the complete report.
This is is getting scarier & scarier by the day. While shutting down overnight subway service seems like an absolute last resort, can we really think it is impossible for it to happen? The financial crisis of the MTA is real as it gets. While they have not had the best track record of being on top of their finances or open about them for that matter, this is not a case of any of those scenarios. The information is out in the open for everyone to see. Whether everyday people or our elected officials care to study them is a completely different story.
I was browsing through the replies to William’s report & saw this ridiculous response by “Serendipitous” who had this to say:
This sounds WAY too much like Henry Paulson’s early September 2008 pleas for $700,000,000,000 in bailout founds, with no strings attached and no oversight. And we’ve seen how that ended up.
In the case of the MTA, short of the transit system being swallowed whole by the earth, or being dismantled and sold for scrap metal, all this ‘beyond doomsday’ talk is ridiculously melodramatic. This is not the apocalypse, so let’s get some perspective. (And I say this as a resident who travels one hour each way for work everyday) City residents managed to survive when the MTA left us high and dry during the December 2005 strike. We’ll find a way to manage now.
Either way, the extortion talk ends here. If we don’t stand for something, we’ll fall for anything. It’s highly unlikely that the MTA has absolutely NOTHING to give in terms of cutting its spending while asking riders to pony up 30%, 50%, 150%, more money to use public transit AND cutting service AND reserving the right to raise fares and cut services at will in the future. And when will someone finally audit their books?
To the casual observer, all the doom & gloom regarding the MTA & its financial crisis could come across as things being blown out of proportion. However to transit advocates & bloggers such as myself, Straphangers Campaign, Streetsblog, Subway Blogger, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, etc…. this is not some overreaction but the actual reality, more accurately nightmare that is staring the MTA & its riders straight in the face with a loaded gun.
The rhetoric spewed by this person shows they are one of the many who either don’t get it or care not to do so. Would they happen to work in Albany by any chance? Elliot Sander has been a straight shooter since he joined the MTA & he is being completely honest about how bad things are now & look for the foreseeable future if sustainable funding solutions are not put into place.
At the rate their finances are spiraling out of control, this could accurately be considered a potential apocalypse. When your commute takes longer or you have no options at your disposal due to them being eliminated or scaled back, ask yourself if Elliot was “extorting” you & the riding public. If you still think that he was, you are a bigger fool than even I had thought after reading your rhetoric.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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- MTA Says Doomsday Scenario Can Be Avoided
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- MTA Lays It All On The Line To State Leaders
Inching Closer To Unemployment
Throughout the current MTA financial crisis, I have touched on how this could ultimately effect the millions who depend on the system. However I also noted on a number of occasions, how this is hitting home with the blue collar workforce of the MTA in terms of jobs being lost. On that note, the MTA presented union leaders with the list of the first 600 employees to lose their jobs. Glenn Blain & Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News have more in this report:
About 600 transit workers edged closer to unemployment Tuesday when the MTA gave union leaders lists of employees facing layoffs in two months.
The first service cut stemming from the fiscal crisis, meanwhile, goes into effect Wednesday, with cancellation of train service to Belmont Park for all but two days of the racing season.
“The public and our workforce are beginning to get impacted,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Elliot Sander said. “We need Albany to act.
Click here for the complete report.
It is unfortunate that the blue collar portion of the MTA has to pay for the mistakes made by Albany over the years. Without them, the entire system would cease to serve a purpose for the millions who depend on it. This is life though as the hard working routinely are the first ones to suffer when shit hits the fan while the fat cats usually find a way to get by. Sad but true……
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