Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about MTA

Upgrades to LaGuardia Bus Service Will Speed Local Trips Too

By Brad Aaron | Oct 11, 2012 | 7 Comments

Mayor Bloomberg, NYC DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota this morning announced a long-anticipated plan for Select Bus Service to LaGuardia Airport, which should speed travel times to and from neighborhoods in the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens while improving service for local transit users. On the table are three routes: a Select Bus […]

Straphangers Will Be Asked to Shoulder MTA’s Growing Debt and Labor Costs

By Stephen Miller | Oct 3, 2012 | No Comments

A new report [PDF] from New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says that the MTA budget picture is slowly improving as tax collections and ridership increase with a recovering economy, but that won’t protect straphangers from big fare hikes. Revenues from the Payroll Mobility Tax and the more volatile tax on real estate transactions are […]

Upper Manhattan Assembly Candidates Square Off on Transit Issues

By Stephen Miller | Sep 7, 2012 | 10 Comments

Three candidates vying for the 72nd State Assembly District seat, representing parts of Washington Heights and Inwood, discussed transit issues and the state of MTA service last night at a forum sponsored by WE ACT for Environmental Justice and Transport Workers Union Local 100. As the forum progressed, key differences emerged on congestion pricing and […]

MTA Wants to Take Payroll Tax Ruling Straight to State’s Top Court

By Stephen Miller | Aug 24, 2012 | No Comments

On Wednesday, a state Supreme Court judge ruled the Payroll Mobility Tax unconstitutional, saying that because the “budgetary crisis of the MTA is not a substantial state concern,” the law required a home rule message from the affected counties. Now, the MTA says it will appeal directly to New York’s top court. New York’s courts […]

The MTA Payroll Tax Ruling: What’s Next?

By Stephen Miller | Aug 23, 2012 | 14 Comments

Saying that the “budgetary crisis of the MTA is not a substantial state concern,” a state Supreme Court judge ruled yesterday that the MTA Payroll Mobility Tax is unconstitutional. Although taxes will continue to be collected as the MTA appeals the case to a higher court, yesterday’s decision puts $1.5 billion, or approximately 12 percent of the MTA’s annual […]

State Judge Rules MTA Payroll Tax Unconstitutional

By Ben Fried | Aug 22, 2012 | 10 Comments

Well, this is just crazy. A State Supreme Court judge has ruled that the MTA payroll mobility tax, which collects more than a billion dollars a year to keep the NYC region’s transit system running, was enacted in a way that violated the state constitution. The payroll tax was passed in 2009 to avert devastating […]

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