MTA Chairman Agrees Subways Need Improvements

Finally! MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow has given a talking-to to NYC Transit President Lawrence Reuter to stop painting an overly optimistic view of the subway situation and to just fix things! The big ideas in a Kalikow-issued memo are to start sending email updates of delays in subway service (the way the LIRR already does) and to keep the subway tracks clean, to avoid more fires. Huzzah! Newsday does note that Reuter's job is still safe, but that one source says this shows who's the chairman. Well, yeah, finally. Of course all these measures need to be considered given the fragile MTA budget, but it seems like the money that would have gone towards more "cosmetic" improvements at some stations will be directed to these initiatives. But one program that has moved forward: The start of computerized trains along the L.

And yesterday, when the A, C and E trains had to run more slowly yesterday morning, that wasn't the MTA's fault: A building on West 4th and Sixth Avenue had a wall that was collapsing and the MTA had to slow trains down to "prevent vibrations and a further collapse." Nuts. And to update yesterday's vicious machete killing at the 183rd Street station, a 15 year-old was arrested. There was also another stabbing incident in Brooklyn yesterday, all adding to the rising crime rate in the subways.