Results tagged “metropolitantransportationauthority”

Protests are expected over anticipated fare hikes for subway and bus rides, and the MTA is prepared to listen. The other day, MTA head Dale Hemmerdinger said "We're not deaf," in response to rider complaints about the boost in prices. Riders will get a chance to test that assertion tonight in Brooklyn, as hearings are held about a jump in fare hikes to $2.25 and a boost in weekly and monthly unlimited passes of...

Brooklyn Assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D, 51st District) wants to ban alcohol ads on buses and subways. The ads provide just $3 to $5 million of the $100 million in revenue the Metropolitan Transportation Authority gets from ad sales and the MTA has not taken a position on the proposed legislation. The state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services did express support for the legislation calling it "consistent with our strategy of preventing alcoholism across the state."

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board decided yesterday not to act on a ban of alcoholic beverages on Metro-North and the Long Island Rail Road. Both railroads sell beer, wine, and liquor (along with soft drinks, water and snacks) from carts at Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station, as well as from bar cars on trains. Sales yielded a $1 million profit for the MTA, so the decision was probably more based on pure hard economics than anything else, although an MTA task force looking into the matter determined the sales did not pose a risk to the safety of commuters.

A number of politicians offered their support (though not 100%) of Mayor Bloomberg's Voldemort, aka congestion pricing, today. U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters appeared with Governor Eliot Spitzer and Bloomberg at a press conference today, with Peters saying, "This plan will keep the city that never sleeps from becoming the city that never moves." She also put some pressure on the state Legislature to approve the just submitted S. 6068, the NY State Senate's congestion pricing legislation, by saying that in order for the city to continue to qualify for federal transportation grants, it needs to pass congestion pricing.

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!

Twenty-five-year old Jared Kushner hasn't owned The Observer for a year yet (he bought it last July), but it seems he's fully immersed and determined to make it his own. He's changed it from broadsheet to tabloid-style, which has gotten mixed reviews, but hey, now it's clear that it's not Arthur Carter's Observer anymore. The NY Times, though, wonders if Mr. Kushner will tire of his trophy newspaper, especially given his only other foray into journalism was an article about Harvard's food.

What a way to (almost) end 2006 - with an arbitrator making a decision about the MTA's transit workers' contract! And the decision is pretty anti-climactic - it's basically the deal that ended the strike last year, though it was later rejected by the Transit Workers Union, then passed but then denied by the MTA. Anyway, arbitrator George Nicolau said the deal was "the most just and reasonable" solution. From the AP:

Both the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its foil, Transport Workers Union Local 100, hailed the decision as a triumph -- then needled each other.

Continue reading "Arbitrator Finally Rules on Transit Contract"

Commuters may feel safer when they hear that the MTA is installing a million dollar chemical detection system at Penn Station. But it turns out that the MTA has been testing the system for the past two years at Grand Central, where, as the NY Times reports:

Technicians found that a person walking by with a mop and bucket full of floor cleaner could trigger the chemical sensors.

Continue reading "What it Takes to be a Chemical Detection System in NYC"

If you've used the MTA this should come as no surprise to you: "Many of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's outdoor properties are poorly lighted and rarely cleaned, making them magnets for 'litterers, dumpers and graffiti vandals,'" according to a City Council survey to be released today.

After hearing that the transit strike was possibly nearing an end, there reports now that state mediators have a framework in place to end the strike by the Transit Workers Union, Local 100 against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the TWU executive board has approved it. All it took was an all night meeting with a moderator and the two sides finally ironed out enough differences. While details of the agreement have not been finalized yet, subways and busses are expected to start running before they are. When that might happen right now is still unknown, but we've been reading that it could take 12-24 10-18 hours.

like a good idea, as the NYPD's network is probably much bigger than the other smaller agencies. But there do need to be checks and balances, and other agencies might have their own areas of expertise. The best quote is from Jerome Hauer, who worked in emergency management under Rudy Giuliania: "Since the mayor has no understanding of public safety, he defers to Ray Kelly. And Ray Kelly's idea of public safety is, 'I run everything and I'm the only one that can do it.'" Snap!

, has only spent $25 to 30 million of the $591 million it has budgeted for security.

Asking for a "medium" at Starbucks just to avoid saying "grande?" Done that. Bypassing an automated telephone system by punching zero? Yup. Stacking magazine subscription cards to put back in the mail so that it costs the magazine the postage? Um, no, but that's not a bad idea... In some ways, these little ideas are less about "sticking it to" the offending company, and more about simply registering a protest in an impersonal world. People know that it won't make much difference, but they want someone to know that they object to Starbucks' latte lingo and refuse to comply.

Unsurprisingly, builders yesterday were wary about making an offer for the air rights for the West Side railyards, which the Metropolitan Transportation Authority has opened up for the next month to public bidding. While "licking their chops" at the prospect of such a large parcel of land on the isle of Manhattan, it's clear to developers that dousing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's dreams of a Jets stadium (and the possibility of the city hosting the 2012 Olympics) would carry serious repercussions for anyone who might desire a city permit in the near future.

Newsday's Joshua Robin notes that two Sikh police officers wear their badges on their turbans, and even gets one of them to weigh in: "One of the officers, Amric Rathour, 28, of Ozone Park, said that he was comfortable wearing the badge because it is 'symbolic,' while the MTA patch is an 'advertisement.'"

Basically, the report is trying to get Governor Pataki to invest in transportation infrastructure first, like repairing the 37% of bridges of NY State that were found to be obsolete or damaged. Yeah, that'd be a good idea if you want that fourth term, buddy.

Hillary Duff is on the cover of Teen Vogue. Gothamist's favorite teen queen, Molly Ringwald, is in New York magazine, which reveals she's writing for local newspapers (though not in NYC) as well as acting!