State Legislature
Streetsblog Basics
Better Bus Service in Jeopardy Thanks to Shelly Silver and Assembly Dems
Chances to improve service on New York City's dedicated bus lanes appeared to narrow yesterday, when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and his Democratic conference rejected bus lane enforcement cameras in the chamber's draft budget. Camera enforcement is one of the linchpins in the city's strategy to put the "rapid" in Bus Rapid Transit. Without it, bus riders will remain stymied by traffic, even on Select Bus Service routes.
March 25, 2010
Silver, Assembly Dems Reject Better NYC Bus Service
Sheldon Silver's office just announced the outlines of the Assembly's budget resolution. On a day when transit riders saw subway and bus cuts start to loom a whole lot closer, the speaker and his conference have piled on. Here's the final line item under "Metropolitan Transportation Authority" in the summary of the Assembly's budget [PDF]:
March 24, 2010
MTA Service Cuts — The Tough Choice Albany Never Has to Vote On
Faced with a budget gap of nearly $800 million, the MTA Board voted to approve a slate of service cuts this afternoon that will affect millions of New Yorkers. The cuts are slated to start
taking effect in June. Unless elected officials intervene to close the MTA's deficit, subway and bus riders will have to contend with less frequent service, more transfers, longer walks to the
bus, and worse crowding on platforms and trains.
March 24, 2010
State Senate Undermines Better Enforcement for New Bus Lanes
The New York State Senate has proposed diluting the bus lane enforcement provisions in the governor's draft budget, a maneuver that threatens the effectiveness of new corridors in the city's fledgling rapid bus network.
March 24, 2010
Albany’s Selective Theft of Transit Funding: Only NYC Pays
Earlier this month we described how Albany made off with more than 100 million dollars in dedicated transit taxes that should have gone to the MTA, using revenues collected from the New York City region to plug the statewide deficit. So we wondered, what's happening to the state's other transit authorities? It turns out that not only are upstate transit agencies still receiving subsidies from the state's general fund, they get a portion of the MTA's dedicated taxes too.
March 19, 2010
After Meeting Walder, Student Transit Advos Set Sights on City and State
New York City high school students met with MTA Chair Jay Walder yesterday afternoon for a much-anticipated discussion of how to continue the MTA's student fare program. The meeting itself was closed to the media, but at a press conference that followed, both parties described their face-to-face as more of a strategy session than a confrontation.
March 18, 2010
Bill Targeting Drivers With Suspended Licenses Gains Steam
Last January, Alexander Aponte struck and killed nine-year-old Ibrihim Ahmed in Ozone Park while driving with a suspended license. He was charged with a misdemeanor -- driving without a license -- that carried a maximum penalty of $500 and/or 30 days in prison. The Queens DA's office said prosecutors couldn't levy more serious charges unless Albany rewrote the laws.
March 15, 2010
Albany Didn’t “Cut” the MTA Budget. They Stole From It.
When the state of New York announced in December that it would slice $143 million from the MTA operating budget, it may have seemed like a belt-tightening measure for lean times. But the truth of the matter -- which often goes unstated, unreported, and unappreciated -- is more insidious.
March 9, 2010
Bus Cams on the Table in Gov’s Budget
Tucked into an otherwise bleak state budget, there's one piece of good news for transit riders. One of Governor Paterson's amendments to the state budget would authorize New York City to keep its bus lanes clear of traffic with camera enforcement.
March 8, 2010
MTA Blame Game: Lowlights From Queens
The MTA roadshow is in full swing, with raucous public hearings on service cuts drawing hundreds in Queens and Staten Island last night. Some press outlets are questioning whether the hearings actually get anything accomplished. It's a good question to chew on, since the MTA Board's options are limited by the agency's massive budget gap.
March 3, 2010