Friday, June 13, 2008

MTA Claims Nassau Owes Them $100 Mil

The MTA to say the least is becoming more and more of a shoddy operation. Just yesterday me and a few hundred other people had to contend with "electrical problems" on the 4 train (5 and 6 as well between Brooklyn Bridge and 23rd Street. A normal 5-10 minute ride became thirty. That of course is a relatively small problem when you look at the size of the MTA. Losing more than one hundred million dollars to Nassau County is a whole other matter.

From The NY Daily News:

The Nassau funding flap came up briefly at an Assembly hearing Wednesday. Assemblyman Richard Brodsky (D-Westchester) told MTA CEO Elliot Sander: "Go to court! When people don't pay the MTA, what do you do?"

MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin said the MTA would consider court action but would prefer to have negotiations with Nassau.

When the MTA began running buses for Nassau in 1973, the county was supposed to fill gaps between MTA-collected revenues and expenses, Soffin said. Nassau stopped covering those shortfalls in 2000. Not wanting to cut service, the MTA has paid for Long Island Bus deficits totaling $88 million since 2000, Soffin said.

In the late 1990s, the MTA bailed out Nassau by loaning it more than $48 million. Nassau was supposed to pay the MTA $97.5 million for commuter-railroad construction projects but still owes $20 million, the MTA said.


How ridiculous is this? Nassau stopped paying its obligations beginning eight years ago and the MTA still wants to negotiate? Get your ass to court and sue them for that money. If they make an agreement and refuse to honor it, then take them to court. It isn't like Nassau is a poor county.

When the MTA is considering another round of fare hikes immediately after raising the fare a couple of months ago, perhaps they should consider getting their finances in order before coming at their commuters. Just when I think that the MTA can't be any more of a joke (especially after visiting London) they continue to amaze me.