MTA

New York City transit riders might have taken some small measure of satisfaction from the sight of Carl Kruger resigning from the State Senate earlier this week. Pleading guilty to federal corruption charges, Kruger became the third member of the "Fare Hike Four" -- the gang who killed a 2009 plan to fund transit by putting a price on NYC's free bridges -- to exit Albany in disgrace. Two others, Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate, were run out of town by voters and their fellow legislators under clouds of scandal. Ruben Diaz, Sr. is the only one who remains, reduced to irrelevance now that marriage equality is the law of the land and the Republicans control the Senate.

Earlier this week, Streetsblog contributor Charles Komanoff crunched the numbers to see what could happen if Governor Andrew Cuomo doesn't follow through on his pledge to restore the $320 million in MTA funding cuts he signed into law on Monday. The cost to commuters, the economy, and public health, he found, could substantially outweigh the value of the tax relief.

Albany’s latest raid of transit funds could hit New York City particularly hard. To help pay for his upper-middle-class tax cut, Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature are stripping an estimated $320 million a year in revenues from the MTA payroll tax. Although the legislation is said to contain a pledge to find equivalent funds elsewhere, the as-yet unspecified reimbursement mechanism is likely to make the transit agency more vulnerable to future cuts, as Streetsblog noted last week.The potential deterioration in service could easily end up costing drivers and transit riders more in lost time and damaged health than they will gain in lower taxes.

Governor Andrew Cuomo sent out an "editorial" this weekend putting infrastructure investment at the center of his job creation agenda. In a rough outline, the governor touted public-private partnerships (or PPPs, as they're known) as a key mechanism to pay for "the repair and development of highways, bridges and major construction projects."

Governor Andrew Cuomo today named Joseph Lhota as his pick to run the nation's largest transit system. Lhota, a former deputy mayor and budget director under mayor Rudy Giuliani, will officially hold the position of MTA CEO after a confirmation vote by the New York State Senate, which is not expected to pose much of a hurdle.

Any moment now, Governor Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce that Joe Lhota, the former budget director and deputy mayor for Rudy Giuliani, will be the next chairman of the MTA. There will be a press conference and press releases -- a singular opportunity for Cuomo and Lhota to put forward their vision for the transit agency.

With about 70 days to go until Jay Walder puts in his last day as MTA CEO, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that he has assembled a search committee to help pinpoint the right candidate to take over the nation's largest transit agency.

Ever since the State Senate killed bridge tolls in the 2009 MTA funding package, the question has lingered: How is Albany going to finish the job and pay for the final three years of the MTA's five-year capital program?

The final budget agreement reached by Albany leadership will not make additional cuts to transit funding, a state budget division spokesperson confirmed this afternoon. Negotiations with the legislature did not ultimately change the total amount of transit funding from Andrew Cuomo's executive budget, which raided $100 million from dedicated transit funds.