A weekly roundup of good deeds, missteps, heroic feats and epic failures in the tri-state region and beyond.
Winners
MTA Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast — Chairman Prendergast, who has led the MTA since 2013 and recently brought the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway project across the finish line, announced that he will retire in 2017 after more than 25 years with the agency.
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown — Mayor Brown signed the city’s new Green Code into law this week, which, among other things, made Buffalo the first major U.S. city to eliminate parking minimums.
NYC Council Transportation Chair Ydanis Rodriguez — Councilmember Rodriguez has proposed legislation which would establish a hit-and-run reward fund, announced plans to pursue creating a hit-and-run alert system, and said he would advocate for more officers on the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad.
Upper East Side commuters — With the opening of three new subway stations on the Upper East Side, commuters now have an alternative to the notoriously crowded Lexington Avenue Line.
Losers
Long Island Rail Road riders — On Monday, three Port Jefferson Branch trains were cancelled because of a vehicle left on the tracks in Syosset. On Tuesday, service was suspended on the Port Jefferson and Ronkonkoma branches after a vehicle — whose driver took off on foot — was struck at a grade crossing near Hicksville. And then this morning, scores of riders were injured when an LIRR train derailed after failing to stop at Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn.
New York City drivers — Drivers killed seven pedestrians on New York City streets during the eight day period between December 27 and January 3.
New Haven bus riders — The Connecticut Department of Transportation said CT Transit buses that serve the New Haven area would be outfitted with real-time GPS arrival technology by the end of 2015. Then they said it would be done by the end of September. Then the end of 2016. Now riders are being told they’ll have to wait until February.
Tri-State Transportation Campaign — TSTC’s Director of New York & Federal Policy Nadine Lemmon is moving on after nearly seven years with the organization.
