A meeting of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the MTA was convened at 12:00 noon on December 3, 2009, in the 5th floor Board Room, at MTA Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, New York City. The following members were present:
• Andrew Albert
• Ira Greenberg
• James F. Blair
• William K. Guild
• Gerry Bringmann
• Marisol Halpern
• Ronald Breuer
• Tom Jost
• David Buchwald
• Matthew Kessler
• Sheila Carpenter
• Sharon King Hoge
• Richard Cataggio
• Gerard Kopera
• Francis T. Corcoran
• Trudy Mason
• Mark Epstein
• Maureen Michaels
• Shirley Genn
• Edith Prentiss
• Stuart Goldstein
• Larry Rubinstein
• Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
• Michael Sinansky
• Burton Strauss, Jr
The following members were absent:
• Owen Costello
• Douglas McKean
• Rhonda Herman
• Sharon Santa Maria
• James McGovern
• Toya Williford
In addition, the following persons were present:
• William Henderson – PCAC Executive Director
• Jan Wells – PCAC Associate Director
• Ellyn Shannon – PCAC Transportation Planner
• Karyl Berger – PCAC Research Associate
• Marsha Desormeaux – MTA-IG
• Holli Dunayer – LIRR
• Randy Glucksman – Concerned citizen
• Clare Stuart – Concerned citizen
• Alan Flacks – Concerned citizen
• Jesse Moskowitz – Concerned citizen
• Reymon Knowles – Concerned citizen
• Randolph Hunt – Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the December 3, 2009 meeting was approved as amended. The minutes of the September 3, 2009 meeting were approved.
Chairs’ Reports
The PCAC, LIRRCC, MNRCC and NYCTRC Chairs’ Reports are attached to these minutes.
Ira Greenberg introduced Matthew Kessler, recommended by the Brooklyn Borough President, and Larry Rubenstein, recommended by the Nassau County Executive, who have been appointed to the LIRRCC.
Maureen Michaels enumerated the issues that the LIRRCC has been grappling with including security, especially the problems with people who are being pulled off trains by police, the LIRR email alert system, dirty conditions along the right-of-way, pigeon droppings at stations, the state of public restrooms in the system, the procedures for on-board ticket collection, and the proposed second track from Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale. She said that the Rail Road has moved forward by placing digital information signs in the system and thanked PCAC staff for their work over the past year.
Ms. Michaels discussed the issues related to the East Side Access project. Mike Sinansky said that he has heard that there must be major movements of track in the Sunnyside area to accommodate connections to the project. He said that there are indications that the costs of the project are likely to increase and asked whether the MTA has informed the public of this change. Mr. Greenberg noted that the costs of the project have changed based on a recent reevaluation and that the revised numbers are included in the proposed Capital Program.
Ms. Mason noted there are similar communication problems with New York City Transit. She spoke about the proposed Select Bus Service for the M15 route moving forward when Second Avenue is totally ripped up for the Second Avenue Subway project.
Ms. Michaels said that often all she wants from the LIRR is a yes or no answer and to know the realistic timetable and budget to finish a particular project. Mr. Greenberg said the issue is the credibility of the MTA.
Mr. Blair noted there was a similar situation in Bronxville and Metro-North was able to assign a staff person to the Harlem Third Track project who was able to navigate the politics of the project.
Ms. Michaels said a very bad message has been sent out with the appointment of Senator Craig Johnson to the Capital Program Review Board
Edith Prentiss noted that Metro-North has some major gaps on their platforms and said that the solution of a bridge plate or temporary ramp is not viable in some places because she can come off the ramp so fast that she could roll on to the track bed on the opposite side of the platform. Ms. Prentiss noted that the vertical and horizontal gaps in some spots are so high that the slope of the ramp is not ADA compliant and creates a hazardous condition.
Andrew Albert noted that NYC Transit is losing money through fare evasion at locations where Station Customer Assistants have been removed.
Trudy Mason noted that there are lots of problems with buildings being compromised as a result of the work being done for the Second Avenue Subway project. They are finding out that the sub soil conditions are different that what they originally believed them to be. She also reported that vents are being moved and she has heard that the Federal Government is taking a second look at the project and may hold back on giving additional money to finish the work.
Old Business
Ms. Prentiss announced that the disability community is very pleased that the elevators at Columbus Circle are up and running, but expressed concern that appropriate signage has not been put up. She said some of the signs should be in place when the elevator is officially turned on.
Gerard Kopera said that he is working to close the case on Norman Werner, the former MNRCC member who has hopes of being reappointed to the Council.
Mr. Greenberg suggested that PCAC could write a letter to the Governor to ask for the reason Mr. Werner was removed as a member and suggest that he be considered in the future when there is a vacancy on the Council.
Ellyn Shannon reported on the hearing that Craig Johnson held earlier that morning on the MTA Capital Program. She noted that Senator Johnson asked how the MTA intends to funding the existing budget gap. She said that he brought up some ideas that had been floated during the congestion pricing debate. Gerry Bringmann noted that Senator Johnson kept bringing up the 10 billion shortfall. He said that Mr. Johnson made it clear that the State does not have the money to address this shortfall and yet the budget gap needs to be addressed.
Mr. Greenberg noted that going forward there will be fewer dollars available. He noted that the MTA suffers from a credibility problem. Mr. Greenberg said he has been involved in thinking of ways to improve conditions for passengers to improve the MTA’s image.
Mr. Bringmann said that basically all Senator Johnson is interested in is the essentials and does not wish to have any frills.
Mr. Blair noted that the Capital Program is anything but frill laden. He suggested that if the CPRB wants to reject the whole program, they then can deal with the individual issues within the program.
Mr. Albert said that the appointment of Senator Johnson to the CPRB is a problem for the MTA and that he has been railing against the payroll tax even with the relatively generous amount of service that his district receives.
New Business
Mr. Jost announced that the MTA is conducting a new study of Staten Island’s North Shore line, but there is nothing in the study that is considering a connection to Bayonne. He said it is unfortunate that there is no regional dimension to the study.
Mr. Goldstein said he brought this issue up at the last TRC meeting with Stanley Grill, NYCT Director of Procurement, and Gene Sansone, NYCT Chief Mechanical Officer for the Division of Car Equipment, and noted that the Staten Island Railway cars are built to FRA standards and can operate on the railroads.
Mr. Albert said they should look at extending the North Shore Railway from Staten Island to Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Ms. Prentiss said FEMA is looking to Transit organizations to develop emergency plans for people with disabilities.
Approval of 2010 PCAC Budget
The members approved the 2010 PCAC budget with Mr. Buchwald voting “no.”
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Karyl Berger
PCAC Research Associate
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report-Ira R. Greenberg
December 3, 2009
I would like to welcome our new Long Island Rail Road Commuter Council representative from the Borough of Brooklyn Matthew Kessler. In addition, the LIRRCC has added a new member from Nassau to their ranks, Larry Rubinstein. I’d like us to take a few minutes to introduce ourselves and allow Mr. Kessler and Mr. Rubinstein to say a few words about themselves.
The PCAC and MTA have completed a new memorandum of understanding governing the relationship between the two parties. A new agreement was necessary because of changes in the status of the PCAC in State law earlier this year and the transfer of PCAC staff to the MTA’s payroll and benefits system in 2007. The existing memorandum was seriously outdated, having been signed by MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch in 1981.
As you all know, MTA Chairman Jay Walder was supposed to be our guest speaker today, but he had to cancel so he could meet with Governor Patterson. It is our hope that we can secure him for our March meeting.
Mr. Walder has spent the first two months at the MTA meeting with legislators and agency staff and riding the system. Charles Monheim, who was with New York City Transit for 15 years and worked with Walder in London for the past fifteen years, has been named the MTA’s Chief Operating Officer. Staff and I had a get acquainted meeting with Mr. Monheim on October 6th. He was very interested to hear our thoughts about the Office of Community and Legislative
Input that was established as part of the MTA funding and reform legislation enacted on May 7th.
David Mack, MTA Board Vice Chair, resigned from the MTA Board September 11, following his refusal to answer questions in an investigation of political influence on the State Police. Mr. Mack’s seat on the Board is filled by a candidate recommended by the Nassau County Executive. No replacement for Mr. Mack has yet been announced.
On November 3, Bill Henderson, Jan Wells and Ellyn Shannon joined seven PCAC members, including me, for a tour of the East Side Access tunnel work. They gathered at 2nd Avenue and 63rd Street in a small temporary facility to hear an informative presentation by Alan Paskoff, Deputy Program Executive for ESA, Capital Construction. Thereafter, the group donned rubber boots, protective glasses, hard hats and reflective vests to begin their descent through the adjacent ventilator building for the 63rd Street East River tunnel. Sixteen flights of stairs later, the group emerged into the surreal world of hard rock caverns filled with water, muck and equipment. The group rode a worker trolley and then walked through the tunnels until they reached a TBM (tunnel boring machine). A pictorial essay of the tour is posted on the PCAC website.
At the end of October, Jan and Ellyn attended the Rail~Volution Conference in Boston. This conference focuses on transit-oriented development and how to create livable communities with transit. More details about this meeting are on the PCAC website.
Today, Senator Bill Perkins is holding a hearing on the proposed 2010-2014 MTA Capital Program. Ellyn has been working with Senator Perkins’ staff to brief them on the issues surrounding the Capital Program and is testifying on behalf of the PCAC at today’s hearing.
On Thursday October 29, Bill Henderson testified on behalf of the PCAC at a hearing on the MTA’s proposed 2010-2014 Capital Program held by State Senator Craig Johnson, who is one of the four members of the MTA Capital Program Review Board (CPRB). The stated purpose of the hearing was to gather input on the Capital Program prior to its consideration by the CPRB, which must approve or veto the plan by December 30, 2009. State Senator Charles Fuschillo of Merrick, who is the non-voting Senate member of the CPRB, also took part in the hearing.
The hearing focused on the Long Island Rail Road’s capital program. LIRR president Williams testified at the hearing and made a special point to emphasize that no funding is proposed for the Main Line third track project in the next Capital Program. In addition, when pressed to name projects that could be cut from the Program, she stated that she could operate the Rail Road without building a second track from Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale. Representatives of villages along the Main Line went further, declaring the third track dead. Bill testified that the LIRRCC, backed by the PCAC, disagrees with the opponents of the third track and believes that it is necessary for the future of Long Island. He acknowledge the LIRR’s proposed improvement projects at several points on the Main Line, but stated that the shortcomings of the Main Line, which preclude meaningful reverse peak service and lead to massive delays resulting from incidents or accidents, need a comprehensive solution.
On Tuesday, October 20, Bill Henderson, Ellyn, Karyl, Jan, Andrew Albert, and I attended a forum sponsored by the Citizens Budget Commission entitled Working in the Dark: Implementation of the MTA’s Capital Program. MTA Chairman Jay Walder gave the opening remarks, and CBC Director or Research Charles Brecher summarized the report’s findings. A panel made up of State Senator Craig Johnson of Nassau County, Jeffrey Kay, Director of the Mayor’s Office of Operations and an MTA Board member appointed by Mayor Bloomberg, John Liu, Chair of the NYC Council Committee on Transportation and Democratic nominee for NYC Comptroller, and Denise Richardson, Managing Director of the General Contractor’s Association, responded to the report. Steve Polan, former MTA Chief Counsel, moderated the discussion. The report is on the Citizens Budget Commission’s website: www.cbcny.org.
On Tuesday, October 20, PCAC released the 2009 PCAC report: Going the Distance: Transportation Mobility in the NY Metropolitan Region. Because of the detail involved in the report, we discussed the report one-on-one with reporters rather than holding a press event. Jan and Bill spoke to the transit reporters and suggested ideas for stories they could write based on the information in the report. There was a story about the report in the NY Post. I hope you have all taken the time to read through the report.
An important result from the report was that Bill Wheeler of MTA Planning requested a meeting with staff to talk about what PCAC sees as priorities. Key topics were smart card, the website and LIRR’s capital program, including Main Line Corridor’s third track. Wheeler would like to be on the same page with us if cuts will be necessary as a result of the poor New York State financial condition. He has suggested that PCAC staff meet with Planning monthly to keep up with events.
Karyl Berger went to Washington, D.C to meet with members of the Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) Riders Advisory Council. MARC is a commuter rail service for the Baltimore/Washington area as well as a portion of West Virginia. The group, which has a dozen active members, was formed in 2006 as a response to the Maryland Transit Administration’s attempt to close four rural stations on two of the MARC lines. Since then, the Council has been trying to re-evaluate their mission and where they want to go as a group. Over the last few months, they have been meeting with various “sister” organizations throughout the country (Amtrak’s CAC, VRE’s rider’s council, etc) to get an idea of what organizational structure has worked for them. Currently they meet on a monthly basis and do all the work themselves. It was very informative and interesting to hear about the issues they are dealing with even with their lack of funding.
Jan Wells took several people from the MTA TOD (transit-oriented development) group to Rahway, New Jersey to see how the town has worked with NJ TRANSIT to foster development around the train station.
Long Island Rail Road Commuter’s Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report-Maureen Michaels
December 3, 2009
I’m pleased that since the PCAC last met we’ve added two new members to our ranks. As Ira noted, in September Matthew Kessler was appointed to the Council upon the recommendation of Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. This Monday we were informed that Larry Rubenstein of North Bellmore has been appointed to the Council, representing Nassau County. We have several other potential members from Nassau County in the works and hope to soon have a fully seated Council on board. We owe many thanks to Stacey Epifane, Assistant to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, who has been the moving force in getting recommendations for new members to the Governor for his consideration.
On Friday, September 9, LIRRCC members met with Helena Williams and members of her staff to discuss concerns about the LIRR portion of the proposed 2010-2014 MTA Capital Program that I raised in a letter to Ms. Williams. The meeting was also attended by MTA Deputy Executive Director Linda Kleinbaum, who is responsible for compiling the MTA’s overall Capital Program, as well as other LIRR staff. As a result of this meeting and subsequent discussions with the MTA, we were able to effect some substantive improvements to the LIRR portion of the Capital Program, but we regret that the LIRR’s commitment to and plans for the Main Line Corridor project are still inadequate.
In terms of the Capital Program, the MTA agreed to move away from the term “state of good repair” in some cases, since it does not accurately reflect system conditions. For example, we have spoken out about the state of the diesel fleet, which is said to be in a “state of good repair” despite the 46 LIRR locomotives performing at less than 50 percent of their reliability goal. It is clear the “rolling stock” asset is not truly in a “state of good repair.” It is also clear that the “stations” asset is not in a “state of good repair” when one visits the East New York station, which looks like a bombed out shelter. In view of these observations, we were concerned that other asset categories about which we are less familiar are also not truly in a state of good repair. Guided by information provided to us by PCAC staff we brought this to the attention of the MTA, who agreed with our concern and working with Ellyn Shannon removed much of the terminology regarding state of good repair from the plan. Instead the MTA chose to include the following explanation:
“The MTA is now re-evaluating the program’s characterization of State of Good Repair to more accurately describe the condition of the asset base.”
PCAC staff was also able to work with the MTA to add language to the Capital Program to more fully address LIRR parking issues. The MTA concurred with our concerns in this area and agreed to add a paragraph to the section indicating that the LIRR:
• will work in conjunction with MTA’s TOD team to identify the location for the new parking garage.
• will base the location for the new parking garage on the ability of its investment to best coordinate with local land use initiatives supporting transit oriented development and to provide the greatest leverage of other public and private investments.
• will devote a small portion of the parking funding to competitive planning grants for qualified municipalities wishing to undertake comprehensive station area/downtown planning and zoning studies, with the aim of improving and coordinating the local land use process with LIRR parking and intermodal investments.
• will apply a portion of these funds to station area planning aimed at improving access through improved intermodal connections, “kiss and ride” areas, and pedestrian/cycling facilities, in addition to the parking structure itself.
We believe that this is the start to a more comprehensive approach to parking and improving access to the LIRR stations.
We had extensive discussions with Helena Williams and her staff regarding our concern that the LIRR plans to suspend the Main Line Corridor Improvements Project’s environmental review process and not move forward on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) during the upcoming Capital Program. While we did not make much headway with the LIRR on this issue, we also discussed the matter extensively with MTA Board member Mitch Pally. At the behest of Mr. Pally the following sentence was added to the proposed Capital Program:
“The LIRR anticipates undertaking a revised Main Line Corridor environmental review process in the soonest possible timeframe, but no later than the 2015-2019 Capital Program.”
We are increasingly concerned about the status of the Ronkonkoma to Farmingdale second track project. While we know that LIRR management has been very focused on successfully implementing this project, recent statements by Helena Williams at a hearing held by Senator Craig Johnson sends a clear message to transit advocates on Long Island that this project is expendable in the face of budget cuts. We have not met with the Rail Road to clarify their current position on this matter.
On November 20th, Ellyn attended Vision Long Island’s Smart Growth Summit where Governor Paterson spoke about the importance of smart growth and the role of our public transportation.
On November 10th, Associate Director Jan Wells went to Brentwood for a meeting of the Long Island Regional Planning Council. She was there to hear the presentation of the preliminary LI Vision 2035, a set of recommendations for the growth of Long Island based on an interactive planning exercise held earlier this year involving 150 representatives of business, environmental and advocacy groups, as well as elected officials. The results include whole-island growth concepts with common themes such as intensification of existing downtowns and concentrated growth in places like the Nassau Hub; protection of open space on the East End; and new and improved transportation infrastructure like the Third Track to accommodate sustainable growth.
In October, Rod Brooks, LIRR Chief Transportation Officer, Michael Gelormino, LIRR Chief Mechanical Officer, and Jim Coumatos, LIRR Assistant General Manager – Station Operations met with the Council to discuss maintenance issues.
Ira Greenberg, Gerry Bringmann, Ellyn Shannon and I also met with members of the LIRR Diesel Task Force in November to discuss the state of the diesel equipment which serves most of Suffolk County. We are convinced that the LIRR’s efforts are focused to minimize equipment failures on this troubled fleet. All indications suggest they understand the causes of failures and are working toward effective solutions.
However, we do not believe there is a full appreciation by management at the toll these frequent failures are having on the experience of commuters who must rely on these trains to get to and from their jobs. Indeed, while the railroad has numerous metrics to measure equipment performance, there is a notable lack of statistics to gauge passenger impact or measure the Rail Road’s response time to reach and repair stalled equipment. I am, therefore, requesting that statistics start to be collected that allow us to understand the full range of experiences including average length of delays and LIRR response time.
I also believe it is important to note that as of this date, there has been no outreach by LIRR management or public affairs to meet with our Council to provide information or explanation regarding two very serious recent incidents: the first involving a non-authorized passenger being given permission to command control of a train; and the second involving a near head on collision. We think the LIRR’s public response to these events has been inadequate on multiple levels.
And finally despite a strong effort on our part in 2008 to stress the importance of on-board communications to passengers during delays and disruptions, our Council members’ experiences and observations suggest communications are eroding and sliding back to previous conditions where ineffective to no information is provided when trains are delayed or cancelled.
Metro-North Railroad Commuter Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report–Gerard Kopera
December 3, 2009
On September 11, 2009 Associate Director Jan Wells and Council Member nominee Randy Glucksman took the Metro-North West of Hudson Inspection train trip. Jan and Randy gave a short presentation on this excursion at the November Council meeting.
I also want to mention we were notified this week that the Putnam County Executive has recommended Neal Zuckerman for membership on the MNRCC. We are continuing to work on filling our vacancy for a member from Dutchess County as well and have asked MTA Board Member James Sedore of Dutchess County for his assistance in identifying candidates.
Jan and Randy also attended the Rockland County Legislature’s summit on financing the Tappan Zee Bridge and I-287 Corridor improvements on September 29th in Suffern, New York.
Ellyn contacted Ron Yutko to find out about the delivery of the New Haven Line’s M8 cars. He said although they will be getting tested throughout the spring, customers will likely not see them until early summer 2010.
The Council has been spending a good deal of time discussing its plans for outreach to the community. At the November MNRCC meeting, Jan Wells presented the revised handout that she developed as part of the Council’s outreach efforts. A copy of the brochure is your packet today.
Jan and Ellyn attended transit-oriented development training sessions in November – Ellyn in Westchester County and Jan in Rockland County. These workshops were provided by the NYSDOT to residents and elected officials of communities as part of the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Corridor Project.
New York City Transit Riders Council
PCAC Meeting
Chair’s Report-Andrew Albert
December 3, 2009
A new era began at New York City Transit this week as Thomas Prendergast began his tenure as President. As you may recall Mr. Prendergast worked at NYCT for several years and also served as LIRR President in the 1990’s.
Since the last PCAC meeting the Council has been working on a project comparing the service promised during weekend service diversions to the service that is being provided. I’ve been interested in this issue for several years, as riders often experience gaps in service when weekend subway diversions are in effect. I and many of the members of the NYCTRC have spent 90 minute shifts on subway platforms tracking the trains that are providing modified service during scheduled service diversions. Now that our observations have been completed, we’ll compare the train service that was observed with the service plan in effect for the service diversion in question. The members have observed some service issues, including trains skipping stations and being held in stations by dispatchers to create better spacing. We’ll issue a report on our findings in the new year.
I’ve also been looking at some of the subway service changes that Transit has been implementing in the system, particularly the new 4 line express service in the Bronx. I have a number of comments and recommendations on these changes for NYC Transit, which I believe will improve these services for the rider. I’m looking forward to sharing these views with President Prendergast.
In September, Bill Henderson attended a meeting of the Bus and BRT Working Group, which is a collection of transportation and environmental advocates that is providing feedback to NYC DOT and NYC Transit on their effort to implement Bus Rapid Transit in the City. The group heard a presentation from Joseph Barr of NYC DOT, who met with the NYCTRC several years ago to discuss plans for Bus Rapid Transit. The next route to be implemented will be on First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, to be followed with a route running between Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The Manhattan route is to begin operating at the end of next summer. These routes will feature a bus lane that is offset from the curb, with parking and loading areas in the curbside lane. This design is expected to avoid some of the issues raised by business owners in the Bronx, where the curbside lane used for Select Bus Service displaced parking and loading space.
Bill Henderson also attended a meeting of the Citin looking at some of the subway service changes that Transit has been implementing in the system, particularly the new 4 line express service in the Bronx. I have a number of comments and recommendations on these changes for NYC Transit, which I believe will improve these services for the rider. I’m looking forward to sharing these views with President Prendergast.
In September, Bill Henderson attended a meeting of the Bus and BRT Working Group, which is a collection of transportation and environmental advocates that is providing feedback to NYC DOT and NYC Transit on their effort to implement Bus Rapid Transit in the City. The group heard a presentation from Joseph Barr of NYC DOT, who met with the NYCTRC several years ago to discuss plans for Bus Rapid Transit. The next route to be implemented will be on First and Second Avenues in Manhattan, to be followed with a route running between Sheepshead Bay and Williamsburg in Brooklyn. The Manhattan route is to begin operating at the end of next summer. These routes will feature a bus lane that is offset from the curb, with parking and loading areas in the curbside lane. This design is expected to avoid some of the issues raised by business owners in the Bronx, where the curbside lane used for Select Bus Service displaced parking and loading space.
Bill Henderson also attended a meeting of the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Manhattan Select Bus Service, which will replace limited stop buses over the M15 bus route. The meeting included an update on the City’s efforts to get state authorization for the use of bus lane enforcement cameras, but mainly focused on reviewing stop locations for the service.
In addition, on November 19 Bill attended a meeting to present transit alternatives for the 34th Street corridor. NYCDOT and NYC Transit are engaged in a study to evaluate alternatives to improve mobility on 34th Street. The improvement alternatives that are being considered are improving current local bus services, implementing bus rapid transit, a streetcar system, light rail, an elevated automated guideway or “people mover” system, and heavy rail. The bus alternatives are by far the lowest cost option for this corridor.
Karyl Berger attended a hearing held by the New York City Council Transportation Committee regarding NYCT’s Line General Managers program. After making some opening remarks, President Roberts answered questions from a number of Council members. Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign spoke in favor of the program and the positive impact it has had on the delivery of service. A woman from the TWU also spoke in favor of the program; however she voiced strong opposition to the removal of Station Customer Assistants from subway stations. Her remarks were praised by the committee members. Elevator and escalator issues also received some attention during the questioning period.
In October, Karyl Berger and Ken Stewart met with Sam Forde and Helen Hartmann from NYCT’s Office of ADA Compliance, and Vicky Fisher and Herb Shonhaut from the NYCT Stations Department to discuss station signage issues and specifically issues at the new South Ferry 1 line station. Ken and Karyl emphasized the importance of consistent wording and placement of signage in subway stations. Also, Ken made clear the importance of visual contrast in signs.
In response to an email that Jan Wells sent to Joe Smith, President of the NYCT Bus, that described her uncomfortable ride from LaGuardia Airport on the M60 bus because riders had no place to put their luggage. NYC Transit took 10 buses that serve LaGuardia and JFK Airports and fitted them with luggage racks as part of a pilot program. Mr. Smith had a sample M60 bus sent to 347 Madison so that Jan, Ellyn and Bill could take a look at the new rack installed opposite the back door before it was put into service. Ellyn has since ridden on one of the pilot M60 buses and noted that the luggage rack was definitely being used. Bus drivers also agreed that this was a needed ame