Correctly Placing The Potential Blame
This morning’s edition of the New York Times will feature a strong editorial on how the State Senate will be responsible if the MTA’s “doomsday scenario” goes into effect. Here is a sample:
Time is running out for more than eight million public transit riders in the New York City metropolitan area. On May 31, unless Albany quickly devises a solution, subway and bus fares will increase by more than 20 percent. Service will slide. Some routes will disappear. If this happens, New Yorkers will have the State Senate to thank.
Mr. Bloomberg likes to tell New York’s wealthy campaign donors to make certain their money goes to politicians who help the city. He should take his own advice and tell his Republican friends in the State Senate to help the city by supporting its vital public transit system.
Mr. Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver should also use their clout to bring the Senate around. The most workable plan, as adapted by Mr. Silver, would modestly increase fares, add a payroll tax in the 12-county metropolitan area and impose tolls on the remaining free bridges around Manhattan that match the price of a subway fare. Everybody finds something in this plan to dislike, which could be what helps make it work for all.
Click here for the complete editorial.
Arguably the best part of this editorial is the final paragraph which supports the plan proposed by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. The reason I say this is not because I supported his plan. If you recall, I was completely against it. The reason I liked the last paragraph is based on the final line which states:
Everybody finds something in this plan to dislike, which could be what helps make it work for all.
I think this sort of thinking works as any sustainable solution to the MTA financial crisis will anger people on all sides. However in this case that would be a good thing as it would mean all sides are paying their fair share towards a system that benefits everyone, regardless of their actual use of the system if any.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Senate’s Latest MTA Proposal Is Floundering
As usual, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is having to deal with the dreaded foot in mouth disease. He seemed quite confident that the 32 votes needed to pass the Senate’s latest MTA funding proposal were at his disposal. When he first expressed this sentiment, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver immediately countered with the question of did it have enough votes to pass. As I noted a short time later, early word seemed to sort of lean towards that being the case although a rush of Republican support was not present.
The latest word shows that the proposal is floundering in Albany & the main culprit is the dreaded payroll tax. Some suburban Democrats continue to express their opposition to a payroll tax. If Malcolm can’t get all the Democrats to pass a bill, he would need some Republican votes to get it done. Unfortunately for him, some key Republicans have also continued to express their opposition to a payroll tax. William Neuman & Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times had more in this report:
The latest version of a rescue plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority appeared on Tuesday to be just as difficult to pass as earlier ones, as a group of suburban Democratic state senators said they still opposed the regional payroll tax that is its centerpiece.
Without backing from every Democrat in the narrowly divided Senate, the plan will need Republican votes to pass — but Republican senators continued to withhold their support, saying they had been left out of talks on the rescue.
In one faintly hopeful sign, Gov. David A. Paterson met with two key Republican senators on Tuesday and discussed the need to bail out the transportation authority, which faces rapidly growing deficits.
But the Republicans appeared far from ready to help both the authority and their hapless Democratic colleagues in the Senate, who have been unable to deliver on promises that they would stave off deep transit service cuts and soften a steep rise in fares and tolls.
Click here for the complete report.
I can’t say that I am surprised at the opposition. When the payroll tax was first proposed in the Ravitch Commission report, I explained how it was a bad idea at the time & many clearly share that same sentiment & rightfully so. I don’t feel this plan will pass the Senate & I can’t say I would be upset if that is the case. I truly believe that a solution is necessary but not if it is going to be filled with stop-gap measures. Albany needs to get this right & for them to do so, this plan would have to be shot down. In the long run, it is clearly the right thing to do.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Malcolm Says The Proposal Will Pass
A little over 6 hours ago, I wrote about the State Senate’s latest proposed MTA funding package which I felt was a complete dud. In that entry, I had also linked to another piece from Politicker NY which focused on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wondering if the proposal had enough votes to pass. According to Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, the bill will pass when at a press conference he said, “We will have 32 votes to pass an M.T.A. plan.” Jimmy Vielkind of Politicker NY has more in this report:
The State Senate’s second publicly presented plan to provide revenue to the M.T.A. is getting a better reception, at least, than the dead-on-arrival program they introduced last month.
If Majority Leader Malcolm Smith is to be believed, it might actually pass the chamber.
Smith told reporters, at a press conference about rules reform, “We will have 32 votes to pass an M.T.A. plan.”
He was asked where the votes would come from.
“From the Senate,” he replied, unspecifically.
Gene Russianoff, the head of the Straphanger’s Campaign who had traveled up to the Capitol today with other transportation advocates to meet with top Senate officials, seemed very cautiously optimistic about the fact that there was a plan with a chance of passage. He called off plans to distribute leaflets in Brooklyn urging people to call State Senator Martin Malave Dilan to come up with a plan.
Asked if he himself found the Senate plan sufficient, he said, “That’s the exact question we’ve been trying to grapple with. At least we’ve gotten the religion of getting recognition that the whole problem needs to be addressed.”
Neysa Pranger of the Regional Plan Association, which has advocated for a rescue package in the spirit of the one proposed by M.T.A. chairman Richard Ravitch, said the Senate’s plan is a “positive step.”
Click here for the complete report.
Malcolm seems quite confident in this proposal passing even though Republicans have not come across the aisle pledging support. The possibility of them not giving the more than likely needed votes is out there when you consider one of their biggest complaints, (the payroll tax) is still considered as part of the solution. It will be interesting to see if they can really get the votes needed to pass this. Honestly, I am hoping they do not as I can’t endorse a plan that does not correctly address the problems & provide sustainable solutions.
I will not be alone in wishing for this result as the New York Taxi Workers Alliance is fuming at the taxi surcharge fee in the latest proposal. The alliance feels this proposal is paying for the needs of others off the backs of their hard working members. I feel it is hard to argue that belief when you break down the numbers & the subsequent repercussions that will come from the surcharge. In these tough economic times, it is a guarantee that this surcharge will lead to fewer rides, less tips, & completely breakdown the ridiculously slim profit margins that currently exist.
As usual, Albany continues to shortchange the MTA & the riding public it serves. This proposal is just another example of the inadequate leadership showing how it is out of touch with everyday New Yorkers & could care less about ever understanding them. Great job!
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Raises For Bus & Subway Workers Could Be In Jeopardy
Millions of riders who depend on mass transit daily are not the only ones worrying about the MTA’s ever growing financial crisis. The actual employees responsible for transporting these same millions are looking at an upcoming future that could threaten their ability to get pay raises. Pete Donohue of the New York Daily News has more in this report:
The MTA cash crunch – already blasting straphangers with planned fare hikes and service cuts – may put the squeeze on transit workers next, experts said.
Bus and subway workers face three grim possibilities: no raise this year, a one-time payment that doesn’t carry over into next year or a pay hike of approximately 1.5% or less, experts said.
“Raises probably will be modest at best,” David Gregory, a labor law professor at St. John’s University, said.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s contract with Transport Workers Union Local 100 expired in January.
An arbitration panel is charged with dictating a new and binding pact covering wages, work rules and benefits for approximately 36,000 workers.
Arbitrators must balance workers’ desire for more income with an employer’s ability to pay, labor experts said.
A veteran labor-management mediator said it’s “going to be very difficult” for the panel to grant raises “when you’ve got an organization with a hole as big as the MTA is in.” The mediator spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Click here for the complete report.
The prospects of these hard working employees getting raises in these current times looks quite bleak. The union will have a tough time here as the MTA’s ability to afford pay raises is a big issue. Throw this in with the public sentiment that times are tough & most are not getting raises does not help the cause. It will be interesting to see how the arbitration panel handles this extremely delicate issue.
I will also note that I was not the least bit surprised to see the completely asinine responses left to the Daily News piece. Jokers like those share the herd mentality that the blue collar MTA employees are the bad guys just like the white collar higher ups. The logic is extremely flawed for both sets of employees but don’t tell that to these fools. Everyone is lazy & should consider themselves lucky to have such an easy job. These are the same fools who will support politicians who could give a damn about them & their needs. Go figure…..
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Senate Proposes Another Dud
Time is running out for the State Senate to come up with a MTA financial package that would starve off the MTA’s “doomsday scenario“. Both sides of the aisle have spent the majority of the time playing the blame game or coming up with inadequate solutions. Once again, the latter seems to be playing itself out with the latest “proposal” from Democratic Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith. Jimmy Vielkind of Politicker NY has more in this report:
It’s the State Senate’s plan to fix the M.T.A.’s finances, take two.
Here’s what it includes: a $1 surcharge on taxi rides in the 12 counties served by the M.T.A., raising $190 million; a sliding payroll tax on all businesses within that region, raising $1.49 billion; a $25 fee on motor vehicle registration, raising $130 million; a 25 percent increase on the fee to obtain a drivers license, raising $10.5 million; an eight percent increase on fares; and an increase in tax on rental cars, raising $35 million.
No legislators attended the announcement.
A total of $1.76 billion will flow to the M.T.A.; an additional $95 million will be used as the basis for issuing bonds toward $1.2 billion of road and bridge projects on Long Island and upstate.
Click here for the complete report.
Shortly thereafter, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver wondered if the proposal had enough votes to pass. Jimmy Vielkind of Politicker NY once again was on top of it with this report:
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he will examine the latest proposal to provide funding for the M.T.A. from Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith.
“We’re looking at it,” Silver said to reporters outside of his office. “Most important, do they have the votes? And exactly what the plan is–you can go on forever about different details of it.”
By codifying a plan and advancing it, Smith may deflect further criticism of his conference’s seeming inability to agree on a workable alternative to plans from David Paterson and Silver. If the bill does pass, it becomes the Senate’s stated negotiating position while a final plan is worked out with the Assembly and governor.
Click here for the complete report.
I would like to take this moment to commend Ben Fried of Streetsblog who had a very strong piece on why this plan fails to address the actual concerns of the current crisis:
So, just in time for Earth Day, the State Senate has proposed an MTA rescue plan that’s bad for both business and the environment.
Not only will the piecemeal funding approach likely have the MTA begging again within months, but these particular funding streams will make the city’s traffic woes even worse, all while forcing New York City businesses and the city’s car-free majority to shoulder much of the burden. It’s a poor substitute for the Ravitch plan or congestion pricing. Here’s why:
1. Raising tolls on MTA crossings while keeping East and Harlem River bridges free gives car commuters and truckers even more incentive to detour across city streets to the free crossings. Neighborhoods like Downtown Brooklyn, Long Island City, Williamsburg and the Lower East Side that are already pulverized by traffic will see things get worse.
2. Raising fees on car ownership through higher registration and licensing fees does nothing to discourage car use, and may actually encourage people to drive more in order to get more bang for their buck. Using tolls or congestion fees to price driving would have the opposite effect.
3. Raising the cost of car sharing, rentals and taxis makes it tougher to live without a car. And, like higher ownership fees, increasing these one-time charges encourages renters to maximize their driving. Congestion pricing or tolls are far superior.
4. Unlike private motorists taxi drivers faced with higher fees will increase their driving. Why? Since passengers will choose to ride less, given the higher fare, cabbies will have to drive more to recoup the flat fee they pay to operate a taxi.
5. Using cab fees to pay for highway and bridge projects outside of the city transfers wealth from the dense, environmentally sustainable city to the car-dependent suburbs. If anything, taxes on cabs should fund the city bridges and streets used by those cabs.
Over the last few months, I have echoed my firm belief that if Albany is going to come up with half-baked solutions, it would be better to not have one at all. The idea of temporary fixes starving off the MTA’s “doomsday scenario” is quite concerning. We as a region can’t afford to come back to deal with the same issues every few months. The time has clearly come for long term solutions to funding the MTA as anything less will not get the job done.
Band-aid solutions might get praise from constituents, it will only be short term as the mathematical facts of the situation will rear its ugly head & win out in the end. No amount of good press will cover up the potential collapse of our transit infrastructure & possible bankruptcy of the MTA itself. While some out there long for the MTA to not run things, the fact is they are all we have right now & we as a region can’t afford to have them go under.
The battle between the New York City region & Upstate New York has reached a breaking point. In the end, every transit advocate knows this is a battle that our region can’t afford to lose as the repercussions from doing so would be the true doomsday.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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