Results tagged “executivedirector”

This morning, the first-ever State of the MTA Address was given, with MTA CEO and Executive Director Elliot Sander Sander emphasizing the MTA was born 40 years ago out of crisis and needed federal, state, and municipal cooperation to get things done (in other words, nothing changes!).

The MTA's various fare hikes for the NYC subways and buses, as well as its railroads, went into effect this weekend. Today, subway and bus base fares still cost $2, but higher-value pay-per-ride Metrocards have less of a bonus discount while weekly and monthly unlimited ride Metrocards are more expensive.

Yesterday, Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, MTA CEO and Executive Director Lee Sander and other officials kicked off the extension of the 7 line by unveiling a new sign in Times Square pointing the way to Hudson Yards. Ah, nothing like putting in signs for things that won't be ready for years - the 7 will reach 34th and 11th Avenue in 2013. The 7 line extension will cost $2 billion for the 1.5 miles...

Dunh dunh DUNH! Governor Spitzer has announced that he is asking the MTA to hold off raising subway and bus fares! Spitzer, who has been smarting from widely hated policy proposals and low approval ratings, made a pre-Thanksgiving bid to show he's listening to his public and said, during a specially planned 9AM press conference, via CityRoom: As the M.T.A. budget forecasts, their balance sheets yielded another $220 million. Based on the current economic...

A storefront at the corner of Vanderbilt Avenue and 43rd Street (across from Grand Central) may be a window into the future of the West Side Rail Yards. The MTA unveiled an exhibition of the five proposals to redevelop the rail yards on the Far West Side of Manhattan, and the public will get a chance to see the models every day (except Thanksgiving) through December 3. And what's more, the MTA wants the...

EVENTS: Both Open House NY and The New Yorker Festival are upon us. You can check out more of OHNY's event here, and The New Yorker Festival here. Some picks:

The MTA announced today that it has formed a Sustainability Commission to create a "sustainability master plan" by Earth Day of next year. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "The MTA’s public transportation network makes the entire New York region sustainable, but in the era of climate change we have a responsibility to go even further. The commission will build on the exciting green initiatives we’ve already completed to make sustainability a permanent part of the MTA’s DNA.”

From the looks of these photos, the commute home for those on the L train was no fun last night. On the same day that riders on the line were asked to rate the service, service came to a halt during the evening rush. Who's to blame? It seems like the MTA actually gets a pass this time. Rumor has it that someone pulled the emergency brake.

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg announced a project to commemorate abolitionist activity that occurred in Brooklyn in the 1800s. He named a panel made up of community leaders, academics, and historians to aid the city and Downtown Brooklyn Partnership in asking for and reviewing commemoration proposals.

Like the rest of the city yesterday, Brooklyn was recovering from an angry summer squall that shut down the subways and even had its own tornado.

If you take the Shuttle at Grand Central around 8AM on weekday morning, study this photograph and find this man - it's MTA CEO and Executive Director Lee Sander, and he'll be at the Shuttle platform tomorrow morning!

The MTA is refreshing its campaign to remind mass transit riders to "See Something, Say Something" with some new print and television spots. The work acknowledges that the MTA and/or the police received 1,944 tips in 2006 (a total of 9,000 calls were made to 888-NYC-SAFE). MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot G. Sander said, "We are proud that our customers play such an active role in keeping the system safe, and I am not surprised that the campaign has been copied around the world, from Chicago to Amsterdam. Keeping our customers safe remains the MTA's top priority."

In non-report card 7 train news, the MTA is now offering express 7 service after Mets games during weeknight games. And the service will start after tomorrow's Mets-Cincinnati Reds game. Post-game express service will last an hour, with trains leaving Willets Point-Shea Stadium every six minutes. Trips to Queensboro Plaza will now take 13 minutes (from 19 when taking the local) and trips to Times Square will now take 25 minutes (from 31).

As we mentioned earlier this week, the vendors who set up shop at the Red Hook ballfields may be at risk for losing their permit. According to the New York Times, the vendors have operated for years under a series of temporary use permits, but now they will have to place a formal bid with the city in order to remain in the space. But the vendors are not guaranteed to win this bid, so the fans of this culinary community institution have rallied behind it.

If the report released yesterday by the city's Independent Budget Office is true, it could get a lot more expensive to ride the MTA subways and buses in the future. The IBO believes that the MTA has to increase its revenues by 20% by 2010. That means subway and bus fares could go up at least 20% by 2010, making a single ride $2.40. The worst case scenario - where rates for other revenue sources are not increased - has subway and bus fares jumping to almost $3. The price of a monthly metrocard would would jump from $76 to $112. A weekly card would go from $24 to $36. The last increase in fares was in 2004.

The NYPD was a little bike happy last Wednesday, May 30th. According to witnesses, they showed up without warning and used circular saws to cut the locks off of about 50 bicycles on 6th street between 1st and 2nd Avenue. The NYPD allowed people to take the loose bikes without showing any proof of ownership. They seized 15 bikes (including bikes locked to D.O.T. bike racks) and arrested two bystanders.

Remember how the Port Authority wanted to put Geico ads on various toll booths at the George Washington Bridge? Maybe it's a good thing that plan was scotched, because now the Port Authority is considering elmination of tollbooths at all Hudson River crossings. From the NY Sun:

The plan, which is expected to reduce traffic bottlenecks on the highways leading into the city, would complement Mayor Bloomberg's proposal to charge drivers a fee to use the city's most crowded streets, Port officials said. The Port Authority would use the same camera technology to charge drivers that the city is planning to use if it implements congestion pricing.

MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow announced that he is stepping down from his position as chairman of the MTA. Kalikow, who was appointed by then Governor George Pataki back in 2001, was reappointed to a 6-year term last summer, which suggested there might be battles ahead between him and new governor Eliot Spitzer. But at the end of 2006, Kalikow said he would step down during the second quarter of this year, after finishing up some projects, like the Second Avenue Subway. Here are some quotes from the MTA press release:

“I am a firm believer in setting aggressive goals, accomplishing those goals and then giving others the opportunity to both expand upon those initiatives and create new ones with fresh vision and new energy,” said Kalikow. “As both a longtime public servant and an avid supporter of term limits as a means to maintain healthy and effective government leadership, I believe the public will be best served by my decision.”

Continue reading "MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow Announces Resignation"

A subway transit worker was killed and another was seriously injured when a G train hit them at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Station yesterday afternoon. It seems that Marvin Franklin, a 22-year-veteran, was fatally hit when he and 37-year-old Jeffrey Hill went to pick up a dolly on another track. The G train's operator did see the men, but could not brake in time; Franklin was dragged by the train, while Hill was hit but is now in stable condition at Bellevue. From the Daily News:

The ill-fated workers were performing maintenance jobs in the station while the busy A and C lines were shut down for major track work.

Continue reading "Subway Repair Work Suspended
After Death of 2nd Transit Worker in 5 Days"

Earlier this week, the Post reported on a new trend that even "grandparents, baby boomers and even mothers with carriages" are getting in on: not paying bus fares by using the back door. Dunh dunh DUNH!

It's been 33 years since the last Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking, so it's high time for new generations of straphangers to revel in the hope of a new subway line. We also expect the public -- especially the Upper East Side-residing public -- to become jaded with construction delays, traffic issues, and noise. Here's the press release from the MTA:

Tomorrow morning's historic groundbreaking ceremony for the Second Avenue Subway can be seen by all New Yorkers live on NY1, beginning at 10:30 a.m. The groundbreaking ceremony will take place in one of the subway tunnels built under Second Ave. in the 1970s but never used. Due to the limited capacity of the tunnel, the MTA arranged for the live broadcast with NY1 and will open its board room at 347 Madison Avenue for members of the public to join MTA staff for a public viewing and celebration.

Continue reading "Second Avenue Subway Groundbreaking Day!"

The City Council unanimously reappointed four commissioners and appointed a new one to the Landmarks Preservation Commission yesterday (via the NY Observer). Four of the five have ties to the outer boroughs.

Many businesses have strict policies about accepting "gifts" from vendors, but when you work for a public agency, scrutiny is extremely intense. amNew York found an intriguing connection between an MTA executive's favorite charity and law firms that get business from his division.

A man's fall into the subway tracks is now cause for a lawsuit. Angel Diaz, a nurse's aide who was headed to Lincoln Hospital for a job application, says he slipped on the wet platform at the 143rd Street Station and then "tripped on a bump in the cement used to repair a leak from a janitor's closet." Diaz's lawyer says he "flew" onto the tracks, where a subway car ran over his hand.

Weekend 7 train service has been horrendous the past few weekends due to MTA service work. Many business owners, namely bar and restaurant owners, were worried what the lack of a running 7 train would do to St. Patrick's Day business. St. Patrick's Day falls on a Saturday, and MTA Executive Director said that the MTA may suspend weekend service disruptions on March 17. Another possibility is to have the E, R, and LIRR "pick up slack" for people to go to the parade. Aw, Sander wants to make sure people can get drunk and ride the rails! amNY points out that many Irish immigrants live in Woodside and has a quote from City Councilman Eric Gioia: "You wouldn't close the No. 7 train for the World Series and shouldn't close it for the St. Patrick's Day Parade."

Ah, the first rumble between MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander and the city! Sander has threatened to stop the 7 line extension if the city won't pay for cost overruns. Because Assemblyman Richard Brodsky asked about the project's budget, Sander wrote a letter to him (which he made public), stating, "It is M.T.A.’s position that we are under no legal obligation to absorb any additional costs or overruns." Ha! As we all know, MTA projects attract additional costs and overruns like honey does bees, and budgeting only $100 million for overruns (the city's current commitment is $2.1 billion) sounds low.

After a 13 year old Queens boy running across LIRR tracks was killed by a train, there had been much criticism about the poor state of the fences that surround the tracks. Yesterday, the MTA announced it would try to address track access issues. The MTA will survey tracks and try to "fix the most glaring deficiencies in a system requiring nearly 3,000 miles of fencing to secure," according to Newsday. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "Unfortunately we can't fence the entire system. It's a massive system. But we're going to be looking for those places that are most sensitive in a way we have not done before."

Where do the MTA's executive director and the TWU's president lunch? The Old Homestead! The NY Times reveals that Executive Director Elliot Sander ordered the rack of lamb while TWU President Roger Toussaint had the herb-rubbed roast chicken (what, no one ordered the Kobe Beef Hamburger?) and split the bill. If only we were a fly or a cow on the wall! We bet they discussed how much Pataki sucks, how the real time information boards will take forever to install, and how the new subway cars are pretty cool.

The sad story about 6 year old Andry Perez being killed by a truck driver on Third Avenue at 46th Street in Sunset Park has been very upsetting. With witnesses saying that Andry had the light to walk (even if he may have walked ahead of his sitter) and reports that the driver told the police he was trying to beat a red light, it's galling to hear that the driver wasn't charged with anything. (The police may be still trying to investigate the incident.) Until there's final word, take a look at this 2004 exchange between Transportation Alternatives Executive Director John Kaehny and Brooklyn prosecutor Maureen McCormick, from the Vehicular Crimes Bureau that Streetsblog found:

T.A. Executive Director John Kaehny: Let’s say a mom is walking hand in hand with her young son across the street. They are coming back from a nice morning in the park, it’s broad daylight, they are in the crosswalk and have the walk signal. Suddenly, a motorist runs the red light and kills them both. The motorist pulls over and is found to be sober. Would that motorist be charged with a crime?

Continue reading "Drivers Can Run Red Lights and Kill People, But They'll Only Get a Summons"

Starting yesterday at the cavernous St. Ann’s Warehouse, New York City is getting its first chance to experience “Hell House”, an interactive spectacle that is fast becoming a Halloween tradition in churches across America.