PERMANENT CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO THE MTA
MINUTES OF MARCH 3, 2016
A meeting of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC) to the MTA was convened at 12:00 noon on March 3, 2016, in the 20th floor Board room, at MTA Headquarters, 2 Broadway, New York City.
The following members were present:
Andrew Albert
William K. Guild
Sheila Carpenter
Marisol Halpern
Mark Epstein
Trudy Mason
Orrin Getz
Wilhelm Ronda
Stuart Goldstein
Michael Sinansky
Ira Greenberg
Burton M. Strauss, Jr.
The following members were on the phone:
Francena Amparo
Christopher Greif
The following members were absent:
Gerard Bringmann
Matthew Kessler
Richard Cataggio
Maureen Michaels
Francis T. Corcoran
Scott Nicholls
Owen Costello
Raymond Pagano
Randy Glucksman
Bryan Peranzo
Mike Godino
Edith Prentiss
Rhonda Herman
Larry Rubinstein
Sharon King Hoge
Neal Zuckerman
In addition, the following persons were present:
William Henderson -PCAC Executive Director
Ellyn Shannon -PCAC Associate Director
Angela Bellisio -PCAC Transportation Planner
Bradley Brashears -PCAC Transportation Planner
Karyl Cafiero -PCAC Research Assistant
Deborah Morrison -PCAC Administrative Assistant
James Brennan -NYS Assembly
George Haikalis -IRUM
Richard Schulman -Concerned citizen
Approval of Agenda and Minutes
The agenda for the March 3, 2016 meeting was approved. The minutes of the December 3, 2015 meeting were approved.
Chairs’ Reports
The written Chairs’ reports are attached to these minutes. William Guild presided and presented the PCAC Chair’s report. There were no questions.
LIRRCC
Orrin Getz noted that he had received a newsletter entitled “News and Notes from Long Island” and that it was an excellent source of information. William Henderson asked about the source of the newsletter. Mr. Getz stated that it was emailed to him by the individual who had previously produced the “The LIRR Now” blog.
MNRCC
Mr. Henderson provided comments on the MNRCC Chair’s Report and asked for any questions or comments on the written report.
Orrin Getz said that he is talking to Rockland County representatives about how to get more customers to travel on Metro-North via the Tarrytown Station in the event of a NJ Transit strike. He said that Transport of Rockland and Coach USA can expand service from West of the Hudson to Tarrytown. NJ Transit has an extensive bus system, so that they can leverage these resources. He said the MNRCC will have to see how this effort works.
NYCTRC
Andrew Albert gave the Chair’s report and stated that there will be an increase in the police presence in the subways.
Mr. Getz said that he would like to raise the issue of repair of Canarsie tubes. Mr. Albert stated that he has spoken out against a complete shutdown. He noted that one possibility is operating a Bedford Avenue-8th Avenue shuttle. He stated that this among other issues is holding up the approval of the MTA Capital Program. MTA Management do not want to put the proposed Program into the hands of the Capital Program Review Board until the issues are resolved.
Old Business
Bradley Brashears distributed the PCAC annual report. Mr. Henderson said that for many years the report was issued in a four-page format, but often people did not read the document. Staff hopes that the condensed format will be more accessible to readers and that people can get more information on the PCAC website. Ms. Mason suggested that the members’ names should be on the front page, and that the staff names should be there as well.
Mr. Getz highlighted the accomplishments of the MNRCC in the report and said that the Council was able to get Clarkstown Road grade crossing repaired in a joint effort between NJ Transit, Metro-North, and the Town.
Mark Epstein suggested that the PCAC do more with regard to social media for the next report and Mr. Henderson agreed that this is a good suggestion. Sheila Carpenter said that some organizations use Facebook as their primary means of communication and that she manages a Facebook page for one of her organizations. She stated that social media may be a better bridge to the public. Mr. Greif said that social media would be particularly useful to reach younger riders and noted that he is the youngest NYCTRC member.
New Business
Mr. Epstein stated that he is not advocating a change, but he said that the PCAC may want to consider whether 12:00 noon is the best time for meetings. He said maybe it may be more convenient for members to move to a later time such as 1:00 pm. Ms. Carpenter suggested that members can be polled. Mr. Henderson said the members may want to consider a change at Council meetings discuss options there.
Mr. Guild suggested that the subject be discussed at the next PCAC meeting. Ms. Carpenter noted that some groups alternate between day and evening meeting times.
Burt Strauss said that it is important to have a fixed schedule for meetings.
Mr. Getz said that trans-Hudson transportation is issue that needs to be addressed. The City of New York developed a concept for extending the 7 line, and he suggested that this investigated to see how it could help people access New York City. Extending the 7 line would reduce the number of buses in the City and the New Jersey Association of Rail Passengers (NJARP) wants the MTA to get behind extending the line. Mr. Getz said that NJARP would appreciate PCAC also getting behind this plan.
Mr. Albert said that there are some problems with extending the 7 line to New Jersey. New Jersey would have to agree to pay for the extension, and demand is increasing in the Hudson Yards area. He said that MTA Chairman Prendergast has said he does not want to have full eastbound trains as they enter the Hudson Yards station. Ms. Mason stated that with all of the financial problems with efforts to build and repair infrastructure, she doubted whether anyone in State government would be interested in this new initiative. Mr. Getz said Rockland County local and State legislators are interested.
Introduction of Assembly Member James Brennan, Chair, NYS Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions to Discuss the MTA and Its Agencies, Funding for Operations and Capital Projects, and Concerns and Actions of the Legislature That May Affect the System and Its Riders
Mr. Brennan thanked the council for the invitation. He stated he brought several items, including copies of a letter on MTA finances he and colleagues had written to the Governor.
Mr. Brennan said that there are several issues in the works and that Assembly Member Robert Rodriguez is in the process of introducing the Move NY plan as a piece of legislation. The Assembly is also getting into the process of funding the MTA Capital Program. He said that in terms of messaging, it is a great struggle to separate the problems riders have with transit from the need for funds to keep the system safe and in good repair. State Government has to find the resources needed to keep the system moving. The Assemblyman said he does not want to go back to the conditions of the 1970s.
Mr. Brennan said that it is common knowledge that the Mayor and Governor cut a deal to fund the MTA Capital Program and that this agreement resulted in the size of the plan declining to $29 million from $32 million. Transit advocates saw the deal take place, with the State committing $8.3 billion, of which $1 billion is already appropriated. They anticipated that a plan for the remaining State funding would be included in the budget, but it did not provide for additional funding to be appropriated. What the budget says instead is that the MTA must exhaust its resources and certify as such to the State, and only then the State will commit the remaining $7.3 billion, less available MTA resources, from unknown sources.
Mr. Brennan said that he had representatives from Kawasaki in his office who are a part of a $3 billion procurement. They were concerned that the MTA will take about a year to complete this procurement, because the Capital Program has not yet been approved. He said that he is working to persuade the Assembly to put MTA Capital Program funding in its “one house” budget.
Last year Mr. Brennan introduced A8227, which provides funding for the MTA Capital Program but does not include a tax increase. It takes .3 percent of personal income tax receipts, rising to 1.2 percent over the years, to create an MTA assistance fund. This fund will allow the MTA to borrow, and based on $450 million in income it could issue $6 billion in bonds. The fund would also receive $1 billion from settlements negotiated by the State. Martin Golden agreed to co-sponsor the measure in the Senate and Senator DeFrancisco also signed on, as upstate bus systems are struggling because their funding is tied to declining gas tax revenues. As a result, the upstate is asking for general fund resources from the State, and Senator DeFrancisco piggybacked on this proposal additional provisions for roads and bridges and upstate mass transit.
The Assemblyman stated that what the backers of these pieces of legislation want to say is that the Assembly favors fully funding the MTA Capital Program now. As it stands, the Governor’s proposal delays full funding until 2025 or so.
Ms. Mason pointed out that the Mayor’s representative on the MTA Board put a hold on the approval of the lease of the MTA’s 347 Madison property. She said this seems to be holding up everything and asked whether the Assemblyman had any insight on this.
Mr. Brennan explained that the issue has to do with payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs), and the City and MTA are discussing how much the City would get in PILOTs in relation to the amount that the MTA will use to issue bonds for the Capital Program. In addition, philosophical issues about one government body determining how much money another government body receives are involved in the discussion. Ira Greenberg said the property is owned by the MTA and that part of the rent paid is PILOTs that are paid to the MTA. There is a disconnect between the MTA and City regarding how the PILOTs were calculated.
Ms. Mason stated that Congresswoman Maloney obtained federal funds for Phase II of Second Avenue Subway. There seems to be an issue of whether this project will be funded in the next Capital Program. She said that she heard that the Capital Program will be vetoed if the Second Avenue Subway is not included. Mr. Brennan noted that the Capital Program can be amended at any time and there is currently $500 million in planning and design for the Second Avenue Subway in the 2015-2019 Capital Program. The MTA has said that if everything goes well construction could begin in 2019. If this happens an amendment and additional State resources would be required.
Mr. Getz stated that he is from Rockland County and that the Capital Program gives Rockland County very little. It is hard to accept the MTA payroll tax given the limited amount of resources provided. He wanted to know what could be done to increase investment across the MTA system, as the County can’t even get the MTA to make the Suffern station accessible. Mr. Brennan stated that he understands this frustration, but the value of the MTA comes back to the system’s overall value to the region, rather than investment within a particular jurisdiction.
Mr. Albert said there is a Middletown yard contained in the proposal. Mr. Getz replied that this does not affect Rockland County.
Mr. Albert said that Mr. Brennan mentioned that legislation implementing the Move NY plan will be introduced and asked if this will be in both houses. Mr. Brennan said he was not sure about the Senate.
Mr. Albert asked Mr. Brennan if he has taken a position on returning of the F express service. Mr. Brennan said he supports it with caution, related to the impact of the service in a tunnel in Kensington, which is too shallow and beneath homes. The solution must deal with issues of noise and vibration affecting these homes.
Angela Bellisio, speaking for Mr. Greif on the telephone, asked Mr. Brennan to talk about improving accessibility and how advocates can work with State officials to support transit statewide. Mr. Brennan said he would answer second question first, noting that advocates could work with the New York Public Transportation Association and groups addressing a larger geographic area, such as the Tri State Transportation Campaign.
Mr. Brennan agreed that accessibility is an underfunded component of the Capital Program, but the Capital Program does not meet all of the MTA’s needs generally. It is dependent on resources and three out of four dollars in the Capital Program are spent on just maintaining the system and replacing rolling stock. The one hundred key stations in the MTA accessibility plans are not enough. Some additional federal money may become available, but this is likely to be a very small increase.
Mr. Epstein commented that in a prior legislative session the PCAC had hoped to secure a vote for riders’ representatives on the MTA Board. Mr. Brennan said that he is the sponsor of that bill, which would authorize a rotating single vote. Mr. Epstein stated that he would love to share the proposal that the PCAC had developed with him.
George Haikalis stated that he has several issues. He stated that he is very concerned that the MTA Capital Program includes a separate platform at Jamaica for LIRR Brooklyn service. He believes that there are overtones of race and class here. Mr. Brennan asked whether this had anything to do with changes at Jamaica station. Mr. Haikalis replied that it was not necessarily the case. Mr. Brennan asked Mr. Haikalis to share the information that he has with his office.
Mr. Haikalis stated that the NYCTRC proposal for a Freedom Ticket is good, but that his group advocated with Councilmember Ydanis Rodriguez for a plan to reduce the cost of commuter rail in the city to the NYC Transit fare.
Stuart Goldstein suggested the PCAC’s letter on opposing LIRR Brooklyn scoot service be forwarded to Mr. Brennan. Mr. Albert said the scoot will put people into Penn Station and Grand Central Terminal, rather than guiding them to take a subway from Brooklyn to Lower Manhattan.
Mr. Goldstein also noted that the Rockaway Beach line is owned by the City and recalled that issues of noise were raised when the Port Authority considered this as an option for JFK Airport access.
Mr. Goldstein stated that when the L repairs are completed, the J train is connected to the L line, so there could be some diversion of riders there. Mr. Albert responded that the people who would benefit here have a lot of transportation options during the L repair work.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 pm
Respectfully submitted,
William Henderson
Executive Director