M.T.A.

The M.T.A. board voted this morning to amend its policy of handing out free E-ZPasses and transit passes to current and former board members. Now, only current board members will get the perks and only for use on official M.T.A. business.

Andrew Cuomo, who came out strongly against the M.T.A.’s previous policy, was glad:

"I am pleased the MTA board today adopted a new policy recognizing that under the law board members are not entitled to compensation of any kind. In taking this step, the MTA board now recognizes that no one, including government agencies and officials, is above the law.  read more »

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For more than three decades, Richard Ravitch has been typecast.

Governor after governor has unexpectedly—at least from Mr. Ravitch’s perspective—called on the wealthy developer, lawyer and investor to play the role of the public servant tasked with saving government organizations gone broke.

He chaired the Urban Development Corporation starting in 1975; was called to help resolve New York City’s fiscal crisis later that year; and became chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1979—all were sinking ships that Mr. Ravitch rescued, fixed or patched. Those who have worked with him say he is blunt, bright and well versed in methods of finance, and he has earned a reputation for being highly effective in pushing through reforms.  read more »

Eliot Spitzer put out a statement commending the M.T.A. for its proposed budget, saying it is keeping the cost of transit affordable.

“By holding the $2 fare as I had requested, reducing the amount needed to purchase a bonus Metrocard, and introducing the 14-day pass, the MTA has put forward a range of options to ensure the system remains affordable.”

Which makes things sound slightly simpler than they actually are. “[H]olding the line on the base fare," William Neuman writes in the Times, "meant that the necessary increase in revenue would have to be derived from other slices of the fare pie.”

Spitzer's full statement is after the jump.  read more »

State and city officials said Tuesday night that they would try to save the three northernmost blocks of the High Line when they choose private developers for the western rail yards, but they made no promises.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which owns the six blocks worth of rail yards in the West 30s, will be asking bidders to submit two plans: one in which the sections of elevated track along 30th Street and 12th Avenue would be preserved and the other in which they would be removed, according to city officials. The M.T.A. would determine whether the lost profit from maintaining the train track would be worth it.  read more »

Peter Kalikow’s Monday morning announcement that he would step down after six years as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority surprised no one, not least of whom Mr. Kalikow himself.  read more »

Today is the day Governor Spitzer has been waiting for: Peter Kalikow plans to announce that he is resigning as chairman of the board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to a state official.

It was back in June when Mr. Spitzer, at the time simply the presumptive governor, vowed to replace Mr. Kalikow, a real-estate developer and former owner of the New York Post, even though he really would not have the power to do so. Mr. Kalikow, just reappointed to a six-year term, promised to stay on—at first he said for one or two years or more, then he said until projects he wanted had gotten off the ground, and then he said sometime in the spring.  read more »