Results tagged “peterkalikow”

Faced with reports that MTA board members get E-ZPass for free, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo thinks the policy should end. His office's letter to the MTA was even titled, "Illegal Compensation of Board Members."

Mayor Bloomberg's un-campaign for President is losing momentum even before it could officially get started. Bloomberg's position on a run has always been that he is not running at any particular point at that time, even as his Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey aggressively pursues advance work for the campaign that is not happening. Political consultant Doug Schoen confirmed that Sheekey has a formal plan in place already that merely needs the Mayor's go-ahead to begin.

Subway conductors no longer have to hype the Top of the Rock observation deck when they pull into Manhattan's 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center Station. Back in October 2006, we wrote how conductors had been instructed to append the attraction "Top of the Rock" to the actual station name. An MTA sokesman said the announcement was just a courtesy to let riders know about the attraction, but the co-owners of Rockefeller Center, Tishman-Speyer, decided to remain mum on the announcements.

H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Gov. Spitzer's nominee to replace Peter Kalikow as chairman of the MTA, relinquished his membership in the Harmonie Club, a private social club that some accused of excluding minorities. The club has a membership of 1,100 and none of them are minorities. Mayor Bloomberg is a former member, but he also resigned when the club's complexion came under scrutiny.

Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a baby was struck on 120th St. in Queens, an auto extrication on Wilson Ave. in Brooklyn, and a shooting on Sherman Ave. in Manhattan. Forgetting the name of the 13-year-old boy injured in a game of Quiet last week, his middle school principal just referred to him as "spleen boy" during a faculty meeting. A former concierge at a Central Park South residential building is suing building owner...

During a board meeting to present the MTA's 2008-2011 financial plan, MTA executive director Lee Sander confirmed yesterday that, yes, fare and toll hikes would be needed in the future because of looming billion-dollar deficits - even in spite of a current billion dollar surplus. And though some politicians were quick to criticize potential hikes (no pol wants fare increases on their watch), the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff told the Times, "[The MTA has] good arguments, and I think they’re worth listening to. We’ve been complaining for a decade that there’s this debt bomb that’s going to go off, so it would be very hypocritical to say it will solve itself in 2009.”

Governor Spitzer nominated H. Dale Hemmerdinger to be Peter Kalikow's replacement as MTA Chairman. Hemmerdinger is a real estate developer with long and varied ties to New York City. He is the president of ATCO Properties and Management, which owns and manages two million square feet of residential, commercial, industrial, and retail space. A longtime backer of Democratic politians, Hemmerdinger's wife donated $40,000 to Spitzer's campaigns since 2000, and Mrs. Spitzer hosted a fundraiser at the Hemmerdinger's Central Park South home last month, according to the Daily News. He is also the former head of the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission, where he recommended balancing the MTA's operating budget by hiking subway and bus fares, as well as increasing tolls for motorists.

usher the MTA into an era of high ridership and capital improvement and help ed set up many big projects (Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access). But he also oversaw the agency during the transit strike.

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"

Yesterday's Second Avenue Subway groundbreaking was notable for a few things: First of all, as we all know by now, it's was the fourth groundbreaking - three occurred in the 1970s, so yesterday's event was an introduction to the pomp and pageantry of subway groundbreakings for many of us. Second, it was pouring. When it rains at weddings, some people say that's lucky (though we suspect it's just to make the couple feel better). We say it's lucky that parts of the subway were already built, so the dignitaries and MTA official gathered could stay relatively dry.

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!"

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.

This could also be titled "Kalikow Doesn't Care As Much About Non-Hamptons People." After receiving a complaint about the Montauk LIRR station, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow took care of the matter immediately. Corcoran agent and Montauk resident Deanna Banks wrote a letter to Hamptons.com saying that after leaving a message with Kalikow's secretary, the secretary called to say, "Mr. Kalikow said he would make efforts to fix the parking lot." Potholes were filled nine day later, ugly railroad ties are being removed, and a new shelter is being built.

News flash: The way to get stuff done at the MTA is to play MTA types against each other. There NY Times summarizes the fate of the Fulton Street Transit Hub with the headline: Planners Clash Over Transit Hub, and Riders Win.

- The experiment to have subway riders use their cell phones to pay for fares is ramping up. amNew York reports that one of the trial's sponsors, Citigroup, is looking for willing guinea pigs (suckers?) to participate. Here's how it works:

The three-to-six-month trial is limited to people who are both existing Citi MasterCard holders and Cingular Wireless subscribers. Interested riders need to sign-up at www.nyctrial.com by Dec. 21, Semenchuk said.

Continue reading "MTA News: Swipes, Suits And Sander"

Days away from becoming Governor, Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer appointed twelve people to head various state agencies, including the Port Authority and the MTA. Well, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow, a Pataki appointee, says he's not leaving just yet, but it seems like Elliot Sander (pictured), who was made the executive director and CEO of the MTA, will eventually take over the chairmanship. Sander is currently a corporate senior VP at transportation engineering firm DMJM Harris but may be better known to some New Yorkers as the director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at NYU's Wagner School of Public Service.

A look at some noteworthy programs this week:

In November, it was reported that, in spite of a lack of news, cell phone bids to wiring subway stations were still alive. But the Sun reports that they may actually be "dead in the tracks", as MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow isn't sure if the agency will pick a vendor:

The service providers want riders to make calls while in the tunnels. The MTA has remained adamantly opposed to chatting in transit.

Continue reading "Urban Legend in the Making: Subway Platform Cell Phone Service"

Whoa, is this an early holiday present to Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer? Or is this a fake-out to appease him for now? MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow told a state Assembly oversight hearing that he'll leave office "sometime in the second quarter": "There are things that I want to get finished. When they are finished I would like to resign." Those things being getting funding for the Second Avenue Subway and other capital projects secured.

As we all know now, the soaring glass atrium dome and underlying transit hub designed by Nicholas Grimshaw will be much more modest than originally planned (above). The problem, of course, is b-u-d-g-e-t.

Each year, Grand Central Terminal has a light show for the holidays. And this year, it's a kaleidoscope:

The walls and pillars of the main concourse will be illuminated in a joyful display of color and light created from architectural and historic elements and views of Grand Central Terminal and other well-known New York City icons. Each seven minute show, which will be accompanied by synchronized music, will feature artistically adapted images for a wondrous presentation of fluctuating forms.

Yesterday, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow revealed the 2007 $10 billion MTA budget, confirming that there will be no fare hikes in 2007 and 2009. But some transit advocates think that Kalikow's strategy of implementing hikes every other year (one is expected in 2008) is just delaying the inevitable given the crippling deficits expected. Beverly Dolinsky of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA told the Post, "[Kalikow is] putting it in the lap of the next administration. I don't know how they can say there aren't going to be any fare increases." All Gothamist wants for the holidays is a cage match between Kalikow and Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer over the state of the MTA.

- Even though Mayor Bloomberg says he'll sign the City Council's 25% pay raise (an extra $22,500 to bring the total salary to $112,500), he criticizes the fact that many City Council members are able to have other jobs, since the City Charter says City Council positions are "part-time." He also blasted the "lulus" - aka stipends of thousands of dollars - the City Council members get for chairing committees and the like. Easy for Mayor Moneybags to say!

Yowza! The NY Post reports that a Grand Central "hospitality supervisor" is accused of seducing and harassing male employees. Tourist greeters Filipp Asmolov and Mynor Federico Nunez separately say that they had affairs with boss Mercedes Mercado and when they tried to end them, she threatened them. Here's the Post on Asmolov's suit:

At first, the suit said, the strapping Asmolov was receptive when the petite Mercado pressed herself against him in the midday hours - while he was supposed to be handing out discount coupons or directing baffled tourists. They began having sex consensually, the suit said.

Continue reading "Grand Central Groping Claims"

We're adding this to our holiday wish list: The MTA has published a book about the art in the subways, Along The Way: MTA Arts For Transit. From the description:

Initiated in 1985, this collection of site-specific public art now encompasses more than 150 pieces in mosaic, terra-cotta, bronze, faceted glass, and mixed media. The program takes its cue from the original mandate that the subways be "designed, constructed, and maintained with a view to the beauty of their appearance, as well as to their efficiency." Arts for Transit is committed to the preservation and restoration of the original ornament of the system and to commissioning new works that will exemplify the principles of public art, relating directly to the places in which they are installed and the community around them.

Continue reading "Subway Art, as Coffee Table Book"

Sweet fancy Moses, MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow might leave the MTA to take a job as the head of the Real Estate Board of New York, the big real estate lobbying group! Sources tell the Daily News that Kalikow, a real estate developer in his own right (his MTA salary si $1), would only leave after securing Second Avenue Subway funding. Someone in the federal government - fund that project!

Well, looks who is Mr. Helpful all of a sudden: MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow is opposed to service cuts the MTA was planning to consider in its budget. The service cuts, which were reported yesterday in the NY Times, would have been extensive, piling on many minutes of waiting time for subways and buses as service. Critics - including our readers - freaked out, and especially considering plans to increase the subway and bus fare by 5%. Yesterday Kalikow said:

“What I’m doing, officially, is letting New York City Transit know that the M.T.A. board, which runs New York City Transit, does not want a fare increase or service cuts and they need to find other things to do, if necessary. Those two things are not things we’re going to be interested in....

Continue reading "Kalikow to Put Kibosh on Proposed MTA Service Cuts"

What is a Presidential trip to New York without protest? During President Bush's United Nations General Assembly address (in which he tried to emphasize that the U.S. wanted a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program), protesters rallied outside to speak out against the war in Iraq. After initially being prohibited from marching by the NYPD - which then allowed the march to take place if only on the sidewalk and on a different route - 3,000 people joined in. am New York reported that one marcher was disappointed in the turnout: Paul Rosa said, "I understand people have to work, but there are four or five million people in this city who are against the war. For protests to be effective, they have to be massive and sustained." Which makes us wonder how many people would have liked to marched but couldn't because of work. The police reported 15 arrests.