Dear State Senators, Don’t Let MTA Rescue Come to This

This vid from Transportation Alternatives is a little loopy, perhaps a commentary on the State Senate’s deranged MTA rescue plan — the one riddled with faulty accounting that the Fare Hike Four were so pleased to unveil last week.

TA will be putting New Yorkers through to their state senators this Wednesday — the MTA’s doomsday budget deadline — with tables, phones and district maps stationed on the south side of Union Square. The phone-a-thon will be going on from 8 a.m. to noon. Look for the giant thermometer.

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Rally for Transit Rescue Today at Union Square

By Brad Aaron |
There will be a rally today from 5:30 to 7:30 at Union Square (Broadway and 14th St. in Manhattan) in protest of planned MTA fare hikes and service cuts. Event organizers include Transportation Alternatives, the Straphangers Campaign, the Working Families Party, Keep New York Moving and the Facebook group "1,000,000 People Against the NYC MTA […]

Gene Russianoff on What’s Next for MTA Rescue

By Ben Fried |
The headlines this morning were sobering for everyone who depends on New York City’s transit system. Half-baked alternatives to the Ravitch plan are popping up left and right as bridge toll opponents dig in their heels, despite the whopping service cuts and fare hikes that loom for their constituents. With Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith […]

Streetfilms: Signing On to Save Transit

By Brad Aaron |
Last week we saw citizens of Minneapolis explain the many ways they rely on transit service to conduct their daily business. Streetfilms’ Robin Urban Smith captured New Yorkers doing the same, as Transportation Alternatives collected letters to state lawmakers from Queens residents who oppose possible MTA fare hikes and service cuts. If you haven’t yet […]

Where Does the Working Families Party Stand on MTA Rescue?

By Ben Fried |
Millions of New York City bus riders are counting on an MTA rescue plan to maintain service and hold fares down. Last week, some of the biggest unions in New York came out in favor of the Ravitch Commission’s MTA rescue plan, including the bridge tolls that a handful of state senators refuse to support. […]

MTA Rescue Alert: Tell Electeds What You Oppose

By Brad Aaron |
In response to the possible sinking of the MTA rescue plan by three recalcitrant state senators, the Campaign for New York’s Future has set up an action alert enabling members of the public to contact their representatives directly via e-mail. The message, which may be tailored before sending, reads in part: I am very concerned […]

Jim Brennan: It’s Okay to Fund Transit With Fees on Driving

By Ben Fried |
A reader forwards this email from Assembly member Jim Brennan’s office, apparently sent in response to the "Keep New York Moving" petition in support of an MTA rescue plan: Thank you for your email regarding the MTA. the Ravitch Commission has identified that that the MTA faces a combined capital budget and operating deficit shortfall […]