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Issue: Accountable Public Authorities “Open MTA”

Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, Regional Plan Association, Reinvent Albany, Riders Alliance, Straphangers Campaign, StreetsPAC, TransitCenter, Transportation Alternatives, Tri-State Transportation CampaignAfter June 30th Deadline Passes, Groups Repeat Call for MTA Reorganization Plan to be Publicly Released Report should be posted online today, followed by public hearings. In light of reporting that the AlixPartners MTA plan recommends […]

Testimony of Rachael Fauss, Reinvent Albany Before MTA Board of DirectorsRe: Transparency Needed on Reorganization and Capital Plans June 26, 2019 Good morning. I am Rachael Fauss, Senior Research Analyst for Reinvent Albany. We advocate for more transparent and accountable state government, including for state authorities like the MTA. Reinvent Albany and five other groups, […]

New York City Transit Riders Council NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign Riders Alliance Reinvent Albany TransitCenter Tri-State Transportation CampaignStatement on Pressing MTA issues Our groups have watched the swirl of activity around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) with great interest. We remain extremely concerned about the financial health and general welfare of the MTA and would like […]

The “Big Ugly” is what Albany insiders call the hodge podge of items passed with little review in the wee hours of the last night of the legislative session. This year’s Big Ugly included two changes to MTA management and governance that decrease accountability and transparency. 1. The Legislature agreed to the Governor’s proposal to […]

MTA Board Members Cannot Serve Two Masters on MTA Issues Reinvent Albany strongly opposes the Governor’s last minute proposal to make major changes to the MTA’s governance structure by making the state budget director an ex officio appointee to the MTA board. We believe it is inherently impossible for the state’s budget director, who must […]

Statement on Nomination of Budget Director Rob Mujica to MTA BoardRob Mujica is a smart, capable budget director, but he’s not a reasonable candidate for the MTA Board. Mujica is not a resident of the MTA area, as a long-standing law requires. He already serves on 28 public authority boards other than MTA. Plus, under […]

New York League of Conservation Voters / Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA / Pratt Center for Community Development / Tri-State Transportation Campaign / TransitCenter / Regional Plan Association / Reinvent Albany / Riders Alliance / Straphangers Campaign / StreetsPAC Advocates call for an MTA reorganization plan that puts riders first With the deadline […]

Op-Ed as Originally Published in Gotham Gazette By Rachael Fauss, Senior Research Analyst with John Kaehny, Executive Director We call it the distraction circus. Donald Trump’s advisor, Steve Bannon, called it “flooding the zone with sh*t” to befuddle the news media and critics. Whatever you call it, the endless kerfuffle Governor Cuomo is stirring around […]

For Immediate Release Watchdog Asks Governor, Legislative Leaders to Keep MTA Board Residency Requirements Current Law Ensures Appointees Have Firsthand Experience of MTA Services and Dedicated Taxes Changes to Law Must be Considered through Regular Legislative Process Reinvent Albany today sent a letter to Governor Cuomo, Senate Temporary President Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl […]

Op-Ed as originally published in Gotham Gazette by Rachael Fauss, Senior Research Analyst In advance of the MTA Board meeting taking place today (Wednesday, May 22), Reinvent Albany and ten other groups including Riders Alliance, TransitCenter, Regional Plan Association, and others sent a letter asking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to make sure that the […]