A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
WINNERS
Tri-State area elected officials who “Stood Up 4 Transportation” — New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Senator Chuck Schumer, Congressman Paul Tonko, State Assemblywoman Patricia Fahy, Albany County Executive Dan McCoy, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks (New York); Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr., Chief of Staff for State Assemblyman Benjie Wimberly and Passaic County Freeholder John Bartlett, Jr (New Jersey); Governor Dannel Malloy, Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Senator Chris Murphy and Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (Connecticut) joined local officials, advocates, and transit and construction workers as part of a nationwide effort to call on Congress to pass a long-term surface transportation bill.
Connecticut Department of Transportation – CTfastrak averaged over 10,000 riders each day in April, which ConnDOT Commissioner James Redeker found “rather impressive and maybe beyond expectations.”
U.S. Representative Peter DeFazio — With just 44 days until MAP-21 expires, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Transportation Committee argued that rather than repealing the federal estate tax, lawmakers should divert that revenue toward infrastructure projects.
New York City Councilmember Brad Lander — The Council Committee on Transportation passed Lander’s proposal for a citywide, comprehensive bus rapid transit plan almost unanimously.
Empire State Development Corp President and CEO Howard Zemsky — When asked what Syracuse should do with I-81 in the city, the state’s top economic development official said simply, “Take it away.”
Babylon, NY Town Board — The Board unanimously approved the rezoning of 31 acres around the Copiague Long Island Rail Road station to promote mixed-use, transit-oriented development with incentives for affordable housing and green space.
Woodbridge, NJ residents — There’s a plan in the works to transform five acres across from an NJ Transit station from a car dealership to multifamily housing.
LOSERS
Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance — A $580 fine and no jail time for Koffi Komlani, the driver who killed Cooper Stock, has many wondering, “Is a life worth nothing more than a traffic ticket?”
Manhattan Community Board 10 – Despite CB 9 welcoming the extension of bus lanes west along 125th Street, CB 10 is plagued by the same group of opponents as always, claiming the dedicated bus lanes are “a lack of respect” for the cars, trucks and buses along the roadway.
Metro-North Railroad – The MTA Inspector General released a scathing report of Metro-North Railroad practices, detailing a lack of supervision and record keeping. According to an MTA spokeswoman, the railroad is only just now creating a computer-based record-keeping system (50 years after the creation of computerized databases).
The National Motorists Association — Unsurprisingly, the advocacy organization which seeks to help drivers who “want to drive what we want to drive, go where we want to go” has declared Vision Zero to be “completely unrealistic” because “people are people, and people make mistakes.”
NJ Transit riders — Governor Chris Christie’s failed five-year transportation funding scheme is going to cost NJ Transit riders 9 percent more.
Lets see. The target inflation rate is 2 percent. That is 10 percent over 5 years ignoring compounding. The NJT fares have not gone up in 5 years. Labor costs have increased. 9 percent isn’t even keeping up with inflation. Have the wages? If so don’t blame Christie even though his gas tax policy stinks. Blame the federal reserve. Remember bus riders get even more road subsidy than motorists because NJT doesn’t pay state fuel excise tax.