A split-squad of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board travelled to Flushing recently to get an earful about their proposed “doomsday” budget.
Hundreds crowded the conference room of the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in downtown Flushing on Tuesday, March 2 to give it to them – including a score of elected officials or their representatives.
Early speakers included City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and Borough President Helen Marshall, who set the tone by outlining the devastating effects of the proposed elimination of MetroCards for students, cuts in bus and train routes and charging full tolls for Rockaway residents on the Cross Bay Bridge.
When she was informed that her time was expiring and she should wrap up, Marshall replied pointedly, “I need time – it’s a big borough.”
It did not go unnoticed by several speakers that there was a simultaneous MTA hearing in Staten Island and half the board was there. “It’s like you’re only half listening,” observed City Councilmember Peter Vallone, Jr., who objected to cutting the W-line.
“How dare you take our trains, take our buses, take our student MetroCards while at the same time giving raises and giving friends and family free rides?” he demanded to know.
Every proposed cut – to Access-a-Ride, bus and train routes and the subsidy for schoolchildren – raised objections. But none caused the outcry of the proposal to eliminate the toll rebate for Rockaway residents.
Speaker after speaker reminded the board that this was the only county – or even zip code – in the country where residents had to pay a toll to travel within it.
Assemblymember Audrey Pfeffer called for an elimination of the toll entirely and spoke directly to MTA chair Jay Wadler, who grew up in Rockaway. “We knew your father and we loved him,” Pheffer said in an attempt to motivate him.
Former City Council candidate and Democratic District Leader from Rockaway Lew Simon distinguished himself by being both a speaker – and a demonstrator – simultaneously. In the middle of his remarks, he grabbed a sign from a demonstrator behind him, waved it and spoke at the same time.
Both Simon and Pheffer said that they will consider suing the agency if it rescinds the rebate program.
The MTA Board is set to vote on the proposed cuts on March 24.
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