MTA

If you're having a "mad as hell" kind of morning and want to channel your frustration over imminent doomsday fare hikes and service cuts, here's where you can track down the number for your state senator's Albany office. Those in the Union Square area can also drop by Transportation Alternatives' phone-a-thon, which will be going on until noon at the south end of the park.

Last week, some of the biggest unions in New York came out in favor of the Ravitch Commission's MTA rescue plan, including the bridge tolls that a handful of state senators refuse to support. So, what is the stance of the Working Families Party, which is closely aligned with labor? Founded in 1998, the WFP is a growing force in city and state politics. Its endorsement, and the ballot line that comes with it, has become a sought-after electoral commodity. In the current round of state budget talks, the party is widely credited for advancing higher taxes on wealthy New Yorkers, now viewed as all but inevitable.

This vid from Transportation Alternatives is a little loopy, perhaps a commentary on the State Senate's deranged MTA rescue plan -- the one riddled with faulty accounting that the Fare Hike Four were so pleased to unveil last week.

The Daily News published an op-ed today that highlights the broad coalition of labor unions, business interests, good government groups, transportation advocates and neighborhood activists who want Albany to adopt the Ravitch Commission's MTA rescue plan.

If you're the sort of person who just can't resist unscientific internet polls (and I am), there are a couple of good ones about the current state of MTA rescue talks. In NY1's who-to-blame poll, ineffectual Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith was getting off scot-free as of about 4:30 this afternoon:

If you're tracking the progress of MTA rescue talks, Jimmy Vielkind's Albany dispatches at the Politicker are a must-read. I had to highlight this exchange he had yesterday with Fare Hike Four member Pedro Espada, Jr., which pretty much sums up the current predicament:

Hat tip to Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics for this snapshot of four state senators who’ve helped concoct a stopgap, toll-less MTA funding plan that does nothing to address the imminent decline of New York’s transit system. Lest they be accused of completely shortchanging the future, they say maintenance and expansion can be taken … Continued

Constituents picketed outside the office of Ruben Diaz, Sr. yesterday to urge the Bronx state senator to get behind the MTA rescue plan, which includes new tolls on East and Harlem River bridges. Though some 140,000 people in his district use transit every day, and are facing serious service cuts along with steep fare hikes, Diaz is adamantly opposed to the tolls, which would affect a relative handful of drivers.