MTA

Governor Cuomo is coming out with his draft budget today, and some sort of transit funding raid is expected to be included in the package. The press release from his budget office includes these details about MTA funding:

Andrew Cuomo has been governor for all of three days, but even his small first actions could have big implications. With the state's massive deficit looming, Cuomo won't be able to avoid tough choices and big fights, and transportation is very much in the crosshairs. Bigger news could come as early as Wednesday, when Cuomo announces his emergency financial plan -- in which he could announce raids on the MTA's dedicated finances in the hundreds of millions -- but already a picture of this year's agenda is beginning to emerge.

A broad coalition of good government groups, transit and environmental advocates, and unions sent a letter to Andrew Cuomo on Friday [PDF] urging the incoming governor to protect straphangers by ensuring that transit revenues are spent on transit.

It's been 20 months since the state legislature passed an MTA funding package with a conspicuous missing piece. In early 2009, the transit agency was reeling from the recession, and straphangers were about to get walloped by deep service cuts and a 23 percent fare hike. Albany responded by enacting just a partial fix: a regional payroll tax and a smattering of new fees on taxis and car rentals. Tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges were supposed to be part of the deal -- getting car commuters who benefit from the congestion-busting effect of transit to contribute their fair share. But the State Senate insisted on preserving the free ride for motorists.

Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch opens his new report on transportation funding in his characteristically blunt fashion:

Yesterday, City Council transportation committee chair Jimmy Vacca and leading transportation advocates sent a letter to New York state's current leadership urging them not to raid the MTA's dedicated funds to close an impending $315 million budget deficit.

Andrew Cuomo won his election yesterday by an enormous margin, racking up 62 percent of the vote. When he takes office, he will be the most powerful man in New York state politics.

With November 2 just 11 days away, it's probably time to concede that Andrew Cuomo won't offer any constructive ideas for solving the state's transit funding crisis before election day. After avoiding taking any stands while outlining his infrastructure plan, Cuomo happily joined in the gubernatorial debate's MTA-bashfest, trotting out the old and discredited "two sets of books" line. Yesterday, the former HUD Secretary released his "urban agenda," in which the only item on transit calls, banally, for limiting service cuts if possible.

Try this little experiment. Click over to the video of last night's seven-candidate gubernatorial debate. Start at the 55:30 mark, then close your eyes and listen to seven solid minutes of MTA bashing. Which of those candidates is the presumptive governor-in-waiting with a 35-point lead in the latest poll and, presumably, some political leeway to tell voters the truth about what's happening to their transit system?