Local lawmakers want to know what the top problems facing the city’s transit system are, and intend to get the answers from straphangers across the city.
Earlier today, City Council Speaker and Acting Public Advocate Corey Johnson alongside City Councilman Justin Brannan (D-Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst, Dyker Heights, Bath Beach) asked Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) riders at the 77th Street R station in Bay Ridge for their direct feedback about their commutes.
The event is part of a larger five day, five borough citywide transit survey that Johnson is conducting. The Speaker/Advocate is hoping to learn more about how the transportation system is working for commuters in order for elected officials to make informed decisions about which improvements should be prioritized.
“I take the subway almost everyday and this is about showing folks that we know what it’s like. We’re going to make suggestions and present this data to the MTA and [transit boss] Andy Byford, but sadly we can’t really fix these things. We can advocate but that’s why we need a conversation on municipal control. So we’re going to use the data in a meaningful way, but I’m not sure there are going to be any surprises,” said Johnson.
Both Johnson and Brannan believe the embattled transit authority should be under municipal control, as the majority of MTA riders are within the New York City limits.
Currently the MTA is under state control. Governor Andrew Cuomo appoints the chairperson and a plurality of board members and he almost single-handedly determines the MTA’s fiscal agenda, according to recent reports. Additionally, the City funds a sizable majority of the MTA’s operating budget through taxes, tolls, and fares for subways and buses.
Recently, the MTA released a plan to restore normal operating service to the subway and bus systems over the next 10 years, updating signal and track infrastructure, purchasing new train cars and buses, and improving accessibility at several stations. The cost of this plan is estimated at $40 billion.
“It’s in our backyard, it’s in the five boroughs, so that’s why Corey and I are so in favor of municipal control because it just makes sense,” said Brannan. “It’s about what’s going on here in New York City. It’s not about people in Buffalo or Schenectady, who have no idea about the trains in Bay Ridge or the Bronx or anywhere else.”
The MTA does have authority and routes over a number of counties – 12 in total – in the greater New York City Metropolitan area including all of Long Island, and Westchester, Rockland and Orange Counties in the State’s Mid-Hudson region.
Over the last two years, the R train line has been plagued by systemic failures including signal malfunctions and track delays. The train was delayed by signal problems 11 times and mechanical problems five times over 23 days this past August according to figures from Assemblyman Felix Ortiz’s (D-Sunset Park, Red Hook) office.
“I live in Staten Island but I visit Bay Ridge regularly to visit friends and I am surprised at how often the train stops and how slow it goes. At first, I thought it was just people complaining, but it really is bad,” said Mark Mazella a Staten Island resident and subway commuter.
The R train is the only subway line that serves Bay Ridge, and its lack of service improvements have not made commutes any easier for the transit starved South Brooklyn neighborhood.
“I think the R train holds the crown. It was terrible before the whole world realized the subways were terrible. I think people are fed up and its reached a breaking point where it has become the butt of a really bad joke. People are tired of the same lip service and want results,” added Brannan.
Johnson hopes to release a detailed plan to improve subway service in the next 60 days that will outline a plan of action to improve the transit system in the long run.
So far over 300 people have taken the survey in person and over 1,000 online, with more to come in the following days. Johnson will next head to Staten Island, then Manhattan and lastly the Bronx.
The survey is also available online at the Acting Public Advocate’s website, here.
