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.” more ›

THEATER: In September 2005, theater director Peter S. Petralia embarked on the Trans-Siberian Railway, connecting with artists from around the world for as long as the train stayed in the station. He would give them an art "package" and they, in return, would send something back to him. His collection of art objects and stories have culminated in Invisible Messages, currently running at P.S. 122 through Sunday. The multimedia work uses Petralia’s art-experiment as a springboard to examine the imaginary lives of three divergent people. Martin Denton at nytheatre.com calls the multimedia work a “compelling meditation on … the invisible messages that we constantly send out to the world about ourselves as we ‘perform’ our lives." - John Del Signore more ›

So many long-hyped shows are in the giddy last throes of previews on Broadway, we’re a bit afraid it might just pop and cover everything in its surrounds with tiny microphones and flakes of pancake makeup. Better stay far away – philosophically if not physically. 61 Dead Men looks like a great way to do so. It’s the first show we’ve ever seen billed as an “improv tragedy,” and that alone piques our interest. Janus Surratt developed and directs the production, which has as its center an artist named Haml who decides creation is the wrong way to go about changing the world, and that destruction is the way to go. That’s the anti-Broadway spirit we like! more ›

Since negotiations between the MTA and the TWU started way back in Ocotober the threat of a strike has loomed, and loomed, and loomed. And now the thinkable has happened. After a 25-minute address at the Javitz Center from TWU Local 100 President Roger Toussaint yesterday, more than 6,000 members of the union voted to illegally strike next week if an agreement with the MTA can not be reached in time. more ›

The Times had an article about the Corbin Building, at 11 John Street, being preserved and maybe even incorporated into the MTA's plans for a new Fulton Street Transit Center. MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow said, "Our new transit center and downtown's historic architecture are both important to the future success of Lower Manhattan." more ›