What to Know
- The MTA has been in the red for months and that led to some heated words at a Friday meeting and some bad news: a reduction in service
- You might have to wait a few extra minutes for that bus or train as soon as September, according to the MTA
- The MTA now says overtime costs are the latest reason it not only is planning to eliminate nearly 3,000 jobs, but also plans to cut service
The MTA has been in the red for months -- with a deficit of half a billion dollars –- and that led to some heated words at a Friday meeting and some bad news: a reduction in service.
You might have to wait a few extra minutes for that bus or train as soon as September, according to the MTA.
“No, that will make things difficult. It will make problems so much worse," commuter Danny Lewis said.
The MTA now says overtime costs are the latest reason it not only is planning to eliminate nearly 3,000 jobs, but also plans to cut back service.
While MTA Chairman Pat Foye didn’t get specific, he did say he was not “going to speculate, obviously we are going to do everything we can to minimize the impact on subway and bus customers period.”
The MTA’s major money problems boiled over Friday as John Samuelson - the head of the Transport Workers Union – argued with MTA board member Larry Schwartz, a close ally of Gov. Cuomo who’s alleged overtime fraud is a key factor in the money crisis.
“I want to get to the bottom of it. I want to find out what’s broken,” Schwartz said.
“The appearance there are problems with overtime were triggered by you! It’s at your feet and, you know what, there’s blood on your hands because transit workers were assaulted in the aftermath of your accusations,” Samuelson said.
Local
The argument followed a recently released report from a newly hired consultant blasting the MTA for shoddy accounting of who works what hours.
All this as recent service improvements may be threatened by the MTA’s alarming fiscal reality.
