At the rate we're going, if we ever want to see the new MTA capital plan, we're going to have to put its face on the side of a milk carton.
That was the upshot of yesterday's events, in which Governor Cuomo, MTA board members and transparency advocates went tit-for-tat over the capital plan — which no one has even seen a draft of, despite the fact that it's due for a vote in about two weeks.
Advocates rallied around a "Build Trust" campaign for vigorous oversight, cost control and public accountability. Board members wrung their hands over being left in the dark before a statute-mandated vote. The governor, for his part, tried — yet again! — to strong-arm the troubled agency into doing his will on a host of organizational issues, by issuing a letter that made even more demands. And everyone agrees that the process has been shrouded in secrecy.
Streetsblog asks: Can we stop this insane game and get a public accounting of the transit spending we need? That's on you, governor.
In other news:
- The MTA has a new communications director — which it needs to manage all the bad press! (NYDN)
- Astoria Council Member Costa Constantinides is calling on the MTA to fix the low railings on the RFK Bridge path, according to the Astoria Post. Streetsblog identified the issue and others some months ago.
- A rogue carter crashed into an e-biker in Gowanus, prompting more calls for regulation of the dangerous industry.
- Bicycling profiled Chelsea crash victim Robyn Hightman, a "miraculous and tragic story of a life transformed by cycling."
- The Post chronicled a few days in the life of the city's most-blocked bike lane,
- The City noted the explosion of complaints about stinking subway cars. As did The Post.
- Five were hurt when an NYPD cruiser jumped the curb in Brooklyn, crashing into a storefront. (Patch)
- The Sergeants Benevolent Association tweeted that "it looks like 1990's again" after a 21-year-old was stabbed by a group on the West 96th Street subway platform. (Gothamist)
- And, finally, Bike Twitter's favorite buzz story of the day is a post in The Outline arguing that cars are winning.
