Waiting on the platform for an hour or sitting in the dark between platforms might be a thing of the past soon.
On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Joseph Lhota to serve as the new Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). Lhota is expected to direct the executive management team to address the current service issues facing the MTA.
Lhota previously served as the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of the MTA. Prior to that, he served as the New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations where he oversaw day-to-day management of the City and supervised City agencies.
His reappointment comes as the MTA in recent months has experienced a series of service delays, including signal problems, power outages and train equipment malfunctions that have stranded riders in between and at stations for extended periods of time, sometimes for an hour on trains lacking power to lights and air-conditioning.
“Lhota is a tested and experienced leader with the proven track record needed to address the enormous challenges facing the nation’s largest mass transportation system. In the wake of the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, Joe stepped up and delivered for New Yorkers – ensuring our region’s subways, buses and commuter rails were up and running as quickly as possible. There is much hard work to be done to address the MTA’s current failures, and the level of service and daily frustrations commuters are experiencing are completely unacceptable, said Cuomo.
The crisis has forced many local officials and lawmakers to demand answers from the MTA including Brooklyn Borough President Eric L Adams, who in May, called for the New York City Independent Budget Office (IBO) to conduct an economic impact analysis of the MTA.
Cuomo also introduced a proposal to take over majority control of the MTA. The proposal would add two-state-controlled seats to the MTA board. Currently the Governor appoints the agency’s chairman and has six voting seats out of 14 on the board.
Under the new plan, the MTA board would grow by two voting members, both appointed by the governor and the vote by the board chairman would count as two instead of one. This would give Cuomo nine out of the 16 voting seats, majority control over the entire MTA board.
But this new proposal has left many lawmakers skeptical of the MTA’s future and of its ability to correct its current failures.
“I’m reluctant to hand over control of anything to anybody for any reason. If the Governor had proposed how his majority on the MTA Board would lead to additional resources and a reassessment of the authority’s upkeep priorities, I’d have a better sense of how his proposal would produce results. I do not doubt the Governor. However, we have dedicated funding to transit, it gets swept; and we have agreed upon year-to-year funds we budget for the MTA, it’s been cut. I’ve not heard how the makeup of the board has any effect on those two issues, or others. The truth is, I’m not hearing anything that would amount to a plan to alleviate the burden on New York straphangers,” said State Senator Martin Malave Dilan (D-Bushwick, East New York, Ocean Hill/Brownsville).
But Assemblymember Felix Ortiz (D-Bay Rdige, Sunset Park), expressed confidence that Lhota will be able to pot the MTA figurativly on track.
“I’ve worked with Joe Lhota and trust that his knowledge and experience will help lead the MTA to better subway and bus service and station improvements. We will have a new agency head who will listen to our calls for a better N/R line,” said Ortiz.
The N & R lines have been dramatically impacted with service delays including complete suspension of the train lines this year due to the MTA’s system failures. In fact, the R train is already in the process of a six-month suspension in Bay Ridge, the only train that serves that area. The added service problems have only made the complex commute even more frustrating for riders.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for the MTA and we will immediately and aggressively tackle the problems the system is facing after decades of disinvestment. The hardworking women and men of the MTA are dedicated, driven and talented — they are the engine that makes our city and state run — and working together we will rebuild the system and improve service for all New Yorkers,” said Lhota.
