Building Congress Urges Albany to Act on MTA

By New York Construction Staff
March 24, 2009

With the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority set to vote today on increases for subway and bus fares, lawmakers in Albany continue to work on a plan to secure funding to pump more money into the cash-strapped agency.

But while the State Senate continues to negotiate in an effort to come up with an alternative to the proposed fare hikes, the New York Building Congress is calling on legislators to step up and close the MTA’s funding gap and spare riders the massive increases.

“In this time of economic crisis, New Yorkers are looking to their elected officials to rise above partisan politics and demonstrate real leadership,” said Building Congress President Richard Anderson. “We can’t ignore the financial peril faced by the MTA, nor can we afford to prolong debate at the risk of losing the opportunity to implement viable solutions.”

Anderson praised the findings of the Ravitch Commission – hand-picked by Gov. David Paterson and led by former MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch – which last year produced a report that proposed a Regional Mobility tax forcing employers to pay 33 cents for every $100 of payroll and cashless tolling on all East River and Harlem River Bridges. The commission’s proposals were endorsed by the governor but have so far fallen flat with the State Senate. Anderson called on Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith and Minority Leader Dean Skelos to “quickly conclude” negotiations and “solve this crisis with cooperative, prompt and decisive action. ”

The offices of Smith and Skelos did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver issued a statement saying:  “I continue to believe that we must act now and that any viable solution must address both the immediate threat of a fare hike and service cuts and the long term needs of our mass transit system.”

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