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106-975: The Metropolitan Transportation Authority ( MTA ) is a public benefit corporation in New York State responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area . The MTA is the largest public transit authority in North America, serving 12 counties in Downstate New York , along with two counties in southwestern Connecticut under contract to the Connecticut Department of Transportation , carrying over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 850,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday. In February 1965, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller suggested that

212-563: A "metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax" . On April 1, 2019, Patrick J. Foye was appointed chairman and CEO. The MTA's immediate past chairpersons were William J. Ronan (1965–1974), David Yunich (1974–1975), Harold L. Fisher (1975–1979), Richard Ravitch (1979–1983), Robert Kiley (1983–1991), Peter Stangl (1991–1995), Virgil Conway (1995–2001), Peter S. Kalikow (2001–2007), H. Dale Hemmerdinger (2007–2009), Jay Walder (2009–2011), Joseph Lhota (2012), Thomas F. Prendergast (2013–2017), and Joseph Lhota (2017–2018). Lhota

318-539: A contactless fare payment system, with fare payment being made using Apple Pay , Google Wallet , debit/credit cards with near-field communication enabled, or radio-frequency identification cards. As of December 31, 2020, the entire bus and subway system is OMNY-enabled. However, support of the MetroCard is slated to remain until at least 2025. MTA also plans to use OMNY in the LIRR and Metro-North. The MTA has reported

424-541: A 12.6 percent increase in toll evasion on New York City bridges and tunnels during the first four months of 2024. This equates to an average of 398,975 missed monthly toll transactions, primarily due to drivers obscuring their license plate . The MTA estimates that this evasion costs the agency approximately $ 50 million annually. Of the unbillable toll transactions, roughly 80,000 per month are attributed to fake or unreadable license plates, while 155,000 are due to obstructed plates. Unregistered or temporary plates primarily cause

530-585: A Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Mobility Tax, a payroll tax levied on employers in the 12-county area served by the MTA. Historically, some but not all chairmen of the MTA Board have also held the chief executive officer role, with the chairman providing an advisory and policy role and the Executive Director running day-to-day operations. The roles were combined in 2009 following the recommendation

636-629: A balanced community of commercial, residential, retail, and park space within its designated 92-acre site on the southern tip of Manhattan. The Long Island Power Authority or LIPA ["lie-pah"], a municipal subdivision of the State of New York, was created under the Long Island Power Act of 1985 to acquire the Long Island Lighting Company (LILCO)'s assets and securities. A second Long Island Power Authority (LIPA),

742-514: A bond issue that provided $ 44.4 million in funding to these lines. Penn Central's operations were folded into Conrail in 1976. The MTA took over full operations in 1983, and merged the lines into the Metro-North Commuter Railroad . In 1994, the MTA rebranded its five subsidiaries with simpler names to convey that the different agencies were part of one agency. The MTA has the responsibility for developing and implementing

848-437: A commission to study capital spending. The commission was appointed by then-Governor David Paterson and run by former chairman Richard Ravitch However, following Thomas Prendergast's retirement in 2017, they were split back again. The positions were merged back into one position in 2019 when Pat Foye was appointed Chairman & Chief Executive Officer. The current chairman, Janno Lieber, holds both positions. The following

954-672: A favorable lease on a building in Amsterdam, New York . This company closed down, but the Overcoat Development Corporation continues to exist to service the long-term lease it signed. The Roosevelt Island Operating Corporation 's responsibility is to develop Roosevelt Island , a small strip of land in the East River that is part of the borough of Manhattan . Some of the public benefit corporations outside of New York City's metropolitan area, or serving

1060-701: A long-term lease of Penn Central 's Hudson , Harlem , and New Haven Lines. Before 1968, the Hudson and Harlem Lines had been operated by the New York Central Railroad , while the New Haven Line had been part of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad . Penn Central continued to operate the lines under contract to the MTA. In April 1970, Rockefeller proposed that the state take over the Hudson and Harlem Lines. The next month, he signed

1166-452: A more complete list, see a list of New York State public-benefit corporations Below are some of the authorities operating in and around the New York City metropolitan area . Fully titled the Hugh L. Carey Battery Park City Authority , according to its official website, the authority is: a New York State public benefit corporation whose mission is to plan, create, co-ordinate and maintain

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1272-524: A new regional transit authority. The new authority would encompass the existing MCTA, as well as the NYCTA and TBTA. Lindsay disagreed, saying that the state and city should have operationally separate transit authorities that worked in tandem. In May 1967, Rockefeller signed a bill that allowed the MCTA to oversee the mass transit policies of New York City-area transit systems. The unification agreement took place

1378-448: A number of previously existing agencies which have come under the MTA umbrella. These previously existing agencies were, with the exception of MTA Bridges and Tunnels , MTA Construction and Development & MTA Grand Central Madison Concourse , successors to the property of private companies that provided substantially the same services. In 1994, the MTA spent $ 3 million rebranding its five subsidiaries with simpler names to convey that

1484-679: A project. Similar construction projects in New York City, such as the Second Avenue Subway and 7 Subway Extension , had been more expensive than comparable projects elsewhere for the same reasons, even though other cities' transit systems faced similar, or greater, problems compared to the MTA. In March 2018, the federal Government Accountability Office ordered an audit of the United States' transit costs, which were generally higher than in any other developed country in

1590-581: A projected price of $ 3.5 billion per mile of track. Over the years, the projected cost of East Side Access had risen by billions of dollars due to unnecessary expenses. In addition to overpaying workers and overspending, politicians and trade unions had forced the MTA to hire more workers than was needed. In 2010, an accountant found that the project was hiring 200 extra workers, at a cost of $ 1,000 per worker per day, for no apparent reason. The bidding process for MTA construction contracts also raised costs because, in some cases, only one or two contractors would bid on

1696-729: A staff of 76 people. Its staffing compensation exceeded its operating expenses in 2017 by almost $ 1.5 million in the 2018 New York State Authorities Budget Office report. The New York State Thruway Authority maintains the New York State Thruway , a system of limited-access highways within New York State. The New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation (EFC) provides low-cost capital, grants, and expert technical assistance for environmental projects in New York State. The EFC has issued more than $ 13 billion in both tax-exempt and taxable revenue bonds. In 2017,

1802-479: A unified mass transportation policy for the New York metropolitan area , including all five boroughs of New York City and the suburban counties of Dutchess , Nassau , Orange , Putnam , Rockland , Suffolk and Westchester . This twelve-county area make up the "Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District" (MCTD), within which the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance levies

1908-450: A way for riders to get information about any planned work, from late Friday night to early Monday morning, that is going on either on a service(s) or station(s) of the subway during the weekends. On June 11, 2012, the MTA duplicated "The Weekender" site as a free mobile app download for iOS . On November 29, 2012, an Android version of the app was released. The MTA announced plans to integrate all three apps in 2017. The combined app, which

2014-538: A wholly-owned subsidiary of the first, acquired LILCO's transmission and distribution system in June 1998. The Lower Manhattan Development Corporation (LMDC) was formed after the September 11 attacks to plan the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan. It was founded by Governor George Pataki and then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. The LMDC is a joint State-City corporation governed by a 16-member Board of Directors, half appointed by

2120-457: A year) and employ about 74,000 people. The MTA's systems carry over 11 million passengers on an average weekday systemwide, and over 850,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels per weekday. MTA carries out these planning and other responsibilities both directly and through its subsidiaries and affiliates, and provides oversight to these subordinate agencies, known collectively as "The Related Entities". The Related Entities represent

2226-527: Is a list of chairmen of the authority: Lhota did not serve as CEO in his second stint as chairman, as CEO responsibilities were carried out by Executive Director Ronnie Hakim. Lieber served as Chair and CEO in an acting capacity from July 30, 2021 to January 19, 2022. The following is a list of members of the MTA Board. The MTA has developed several official web and mobile apps for its subway and bus services, and also provides data to private app developers to create their own unofficial MTA apps. In 2012,

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2332-832: Is a subsidiary of the New York Power Authority (it was a subsidiary of the Thruway Authority before 2017). It is responsible for the oversight, administration and maintenance of the New York State Canal System , which consists of the Erie Canal , Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Oswego Canal and Champlain Canal . It is also involved with the development and maintenance of the New York State Canalway Trail and with

2438-487: Is afforded the highest level of protection under the First Amendment." The MTA had received $ 116.4 million in revenue in 2011 from advertising sold throughout its subway, commuter rail, and bus systems. In April 2015, another ad became the subject of controversy when the MTA refused to display it, the refusal was again challenged in court, and the MTA again lost in court and was ordered by a federal judge to display

2544-656: Is also attractive because their independent corporate structure theoretically makes them more flexible and efficient than state agencies. Many restrictions placed on state agencies do not apply to public authorities, including, for example, general public bidding requirements (some public bidding requirements do apply under the Public Authorities Law). See Plumbing, Heating, Piping & Air Conditioning Contr. Ass'n v. N.Y.S. Thruway Auth. , 5 N.Y.2d 420 (1959). Most public authorities may also make contracts , and because of public authorities' corporate status, there

2650-495: Is generally, no remedy against the state for the breach of such contracts. John Grace & Co. v. State University Constr. Fund , 44 N.Y.2d 84 (1978). Many public authorities, such as industrial development agencies and the Empire State Development Corporation, can also condemn property. The New York State Public Authorities Control Board was created in 1976 to provide oversight for some of

2756-440: Is governed by a 21-member board representing the 5 boroughs of New York City , each of the counties in its New York State service area, and worker and rider interest groups. Of these, there are 14 voting members, broken down into 13 board members who cast individual votes, 4 board members who cast a single collective vote, and 6 group representatives who do not vote. Five members as well as the chairman/CEO are directly nominated by

2862-414: Is used on the LIRR and Metro-North. Both railroads sell tickets based on geographical "zones" and time of day, charging peak and off-peak fares. Tickets may be bought from a ticket office at stations, ticket vending machines (TVMs), online through the "WebTicket" program, or through apps for iOS and Android devices. In 2017 it was announced that the MetroCard would be phased out and replaced by OMNY ,

2968-629: The Democratic and Republican parties, at the mayoral and gubernatorial levels, had gradually removed $ 1.5 billion of MTA funding. Other actions by city and state politicians, according to the Times , included overspending; overpaying unions and interest groups; advertising superficial improvement projects while ignoring more important infrastructure; and agreeing to high-interest loans that would have been unnecessary without their other interventions. The Times stressed that no single event directly caused

3074-650: The Governor of New York and half by the Mayor of New York City . The development corporation is a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corporation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority manages public transportation in the New York metropolitan area (this includes the New York City Subway and MTA Regional Bus Operations systems, as well as the Long Island Rail Road and

3180-469: The Governor of New York , while four are recommended by New York City's mayor . The county executives of Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester counties nominate one member each. Each of these members has one vote. The county executives of Dutchess , Orange , Rockland , and Putnam counties also nominate one member each, but these members cast one collective vote. The Board has six rotating nonvoting seats held by representatives of MTA employee organized labor and

3286-677: The L train were also given to developers. When Bluetooth -enabled countdown clocks were installed in the B Division (lettered services) in 2016 and 2017, they were also configured to feed data to the Subway Time app as well as in an open-data format. MTA's Bus Time app originated as a pilot program to install bus countdown clocks along the M16 and M34 routes in August 2009. At the same time, many new buses were retrofitted with GPS -enabled automatic vehicle location systems. In October 2010,

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3392-611: The Metro-North Railroad ). The MTA includes the following subsidiaries: The New York City Economic Development Corporation was founded in 1966 as the New York City Public Development Corporation. It is New York City's official economic development corporation . The Overcoat Development Corporation was founded in the 1980s in an attempt to convince a men's outerwear company to relocate to New York from Indiana by offering

3498-566: The New York State Legislature create an authority to purchase, operate, and modernize the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). The LIRR, then a subsidiary of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR), had been operating under bankruptcy protection since 1949. The proposed authority would also have the power to make contracts or arrangements with other commuter rail operators in the New York City area . On June 1, 1965,

3604-474: The New York State Legislature , Governor Kathy Hochul proposed raising the MTA payroll tax, a move projected to increase revenue by $ 800 million, and also giving the MTA some of the money from casinos expected at present to be licensed soon for business in Manhattan. On November 18, 2017, The New York Times published an investigation into the problems underlying the MTA. It found that politicians from both

3710-481: The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA), which operated toll bridges and tunnels within the city. Rockefeller offered his "complete support" for Lindsay's proposed unified transit agency, while longtime city planner and TBTA chair Robert Moses called the proposed merger "absurd" and "grotesque" for its unwieldiness. In June 1966, Rockefeller announced his plans to expand the MCTA's scope to create

3816-706: The United Nations with its real estate and development needs. There are public benefit corporations that oversee the operations of Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo (Erie County Medical Center Corporation), Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow (Nassau Health Care Corporation), and Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla (Westchester County Health Care Corporation). Staten Island Railway Too Many Requests If you report this error to

3922-808: The 1930s and 40s. Much of Moses' power base resulted from his tight control of the Triborough Bridge Authority , which allowed him to earmark revenues from tolls on the bridge for other projects in New York City and around the state. He also served as president of the Jones Beach Parkway Authority (1933–1963), president of the Bethpage State Park Authority (1933–1963), and chairman of the New York Power Authority (1954–1962). Moses, through his control of these authorities,

4028-423: The 1994 case Schulz v. State , 84 N.Y.2d 231. As the court explained, state debt limits were first enacted as a reaction to fiscal crises caused by the state's lending of its credit to "irresponsible" canal and railroad corporations in the early nineteenth century. The state was forced to assume these obligations, which amounted to more than three-fifths of the state's entire debt. In 1846, a referendum requirement

4134-570: The Authority Budget Office in order "to provide the governor and the legislator with conclusions and opinions concerning the performance of public authorities and to study, review and report on the operations, practices and finances of public authorities...." The ABO is intended to promote transparency and accountability and to improve authority governance. The New York State Constitution , Art. X, sec. 5, provides that public benefit corporations may only be created by special act of

4240-648: The Capital District of New York State ( Albany , Schenectady , and Rensselaer counties plus part of Saratoga). The function of CDTA is to operate public transportation as well as to operate the Amtrak stations in the service area (Albany-Rennselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs). It includes the following subsidies: The Central New York Regional Transportation Authority manages most public transportation in four Central New York counties - Onondaga, Oneida, Oswego and Cayuga. This includes bus service serving

4346-536: The Court of Appeals held in Williamsburgh Savings Bank v. State , 243 N.Y. 231, that the state could disclaim any moral obligation for public authority debts. However, amendments to the 1938 Constitution overruled this case and completely disclaimed the state's responsibility for any public authority debt. The widespread use of public authorities in New York State was pioneered by Robert Moses in

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4452-587: The EFC had operating expenses of $ 442.35 million, an outstanding debt of $ 5.917 billion, and 115 employees. The EFC's 2009-2010 budget was in excess of $ 500 million. The statutory basis for substantially all EFC activity stems from Title 12 of Article 5 of the NYS Public Authorities Law (also called the "EFC Act") in 1970. The Capital District Transportation Authority (CDTA) is a public benefit organization which provides transportation services to

4558-550: The LIRR. The New Haven Railroad's trustees initially opposed New York Central's takeover of the New Haven Line, as they felt that the $ 140 million offer for the New Haven Line was too low. After some discussion, the trustees decided to continue operating the New Haven Line until June 1967. In January 1966, New York City Mayor John Lindsay proposed merging the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA), which operated buses and subways in New York City, and

4664-552: The MTA allowed the ads. Previous advertisement proposals from companies, such as female-hygiene retailer Thinx 's ad proposal in 2015, had been rejected and later approved due to "dissemination of indecent material to minors" and "public display[s] of offensive sexual material." New York state public benefit corporations The growing influence of public authorities over state and local financing, coupled with their ability to avoid regulations applicable to government agencies, has led to calls for reform. Some reforms were passed in

4770-447: The MTA officially released the Subway Time app, which uses subway countdown clock data to determine the next-train arrival times on seven services. Real-time station information for the "mainline" A Division (numbered routes) , comprising all numbered services except the 7 train, was made available to third-party developers via an API . This was achieved through both the Subway Time mobile app and as open data . In early 2014, data for

4876-446: The MTA passed the $ 29 billion 2015–2019 Capital Plan, the largest capital plan in MTA's history; it will be funded by federal, state and city government as well as riders' fares and tolls. Three months later, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and MTA chairman Thomas Prendergast unveiled their plan to spend $ 26 billion to modernize the subway network, which includes adding Wi-Fi and cellphone services throughout all 278 underground stations by

4982-423: The MTA states it needs. If this is not funded, the MTA will fund the repairs with debt and raise fares to cover repayments. The MTA has consistently run on a deficit, but increased spending in 2000–04 coupled with the economic downturn led to a severe increase in the financial burden that the MTA bore. The budget problems stem from multiple sources. The MTA cannot be supported solely by rider fares and road tolls. In

5088-582: The MTA's Trip Planner; whereas the existing Trip Planner can only plan trips along MTA-operated modes of transportation, MYmta's Trip Planner can also suggest routes via other operators such as the Staten Island Ferry , NYC Ferry , PATH , and NJ Transit . A beta version of MYmta was released to the general public in July of that year. In future versions of the MYmta app, the MTA planned to integrate

5194-474: The MTA's board in a 9–2 vote banned all political, religious, and opinion advertisements on subways and buses, limiting any ads to commercial ones. Specifically, it banned advertisements that "prominently or predominately advocate or express a political message" about "disputed economic, political, moral, religious or social issues," and any ad that "promotes or opposes" a political party, ballot referendum, and "the election of any candidate". The board estimated that

5300-525: The MTA's inception until 2003, the agency collected subway and bus fares via a series of small metal tokens. The MTA cycled through several series of tokens throughout the late 20th century. In 1993, MTA started testing the MetroCard , a magnetic stripe card that would replace the tokens used to pay fares. By 1997, the entire bus and subway system accepted MetroCard, and tokens were no longer accepted for fare payment in 2003. A different fare payment system

5406-464: The MTA's systems, the agency requested $ 4 billion in federal funds, since the decreased fare revenue left the already-struggling agency in a financially tenuous position. After the subway was temporarily shuttered at night starting in May 2020, trains and stations were cleaned more than usual. Over 132 employees died of COVID-19 as of June 2020. On February 1, 2023, as part of her Executive Budget proposal to

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5512-1000: The Office of the State Comptroller had identified at least 640 state and local authorities. The current count stands at 1,098. Some of the most well known major public benefit corporations in New York State include the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (actually a bi-state authority created by interstate compact ), the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , and the Empire State Development Corporation . New York has hundreds of lesser-known public benefit corporations, including industrial development agencies and local development corporations. The Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 created

5618-571: The Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, which represent customers of MTA transit and commuter facilities. Board members are confirmed by the New York State Senate . In 2017, the MTA had operating expenses of $ 16.85 billion, an outstanding debt of $ 38.083 billion, and a level of staffing of 79,832 people (staff compensation totaled $ 6.762 billion). It collects revenue from passenger fees and from

5724-846: The Program for Action, saying, "We're making up for 30 years of do-nothingism". Ronan proposed that the MTA take over the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway Company from the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad and start a $ 25 million modernization project on the railway. The city's Board of Estimate approved this purchase in December 1969. The MTA took ownership of the Staten Island Rapid Transit in January 1971. The agency entered into

5830-513: The Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005. The New York State Authorities Budget Office , in their 2018 annual report, noted that there were 47 state authorities and 531 local authorities, including 109 IDAs and 292 not-for-profit corporations created locally, that they provided oversight for in New York State. According to this same ABO report, the operating expenses in 2017 for the 47 state authorities

5936-503: The State". Because of this, the Court of Appeals has repeatedly affirmed that public authorities are distinct from the state and that the state carries no moral obligation to repay their debts. Although the Constitution prohibits the state from lending its credit to public authorities, it does allow the state to make gifts of money to authorities. As a practical result, this has resulted in some authorities receiving annual funding from

6042-662: The US District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan said the ad was protected speech under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and rejected the MTA's argument that the ad might endorse terrorism or violence. Pamela Geller , president of the group that sued the MTA in order to run the ads, lauded the decision, and a lawyer for the organization said the same decision had been made in Washington and Philadelphia. A week afterward,

6148-505: The ad. The ad, paid for by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, showed a man with a scarf covering his face, with the caption "Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah ", which was attributed to " Hamas MTV," and then stated: "That's His Jihad . What's yours?" The ad included a disclaimer that the display of the ad did not reflect the opinion of the MTA. U.S. District Judge John Koeltl of

6254-446: The administration of Mayor Lindsay. This included Lindsay's Linear City plan for housing and educational facilities, and the projected construction of several Interstate Highways , many of which had originally been proposed by Robert Moses. On March 1, 1968, the day after the release of the Program for Action, the MCTA dropped the word "Commuter" from its name and became the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The MTA took over

6360-408: The ads that the board was banning made up less than $ 1 million of the MTA's advertising revenue of $ 138 million in 2014. Nevertheless, lawyers for the American Freedom Defense Initiative called the MTA's action a "disingenuous attempt to circumvent" the judge's order. Another controversy regarding MTA ads arose in 2018. After initially rejecting proposed advertisements from Unbound, a sex-toy retailer,

6466-522: The advertising contracts expired. They were removed from subways, buses, and bus shelters by the start of 1993, from the commuter rail lines by the start of 1994, and from Long Island Bus vehicles by the start of 1997. The MTA refused to display an ad in the New York City Subway system in 2012, which read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel. Defeat Jihad ." The authority's decision

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6572-460: The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy , created and awarded contracts to his own engineering firm staffed with friends with few formal qualifications in engineering. After deleting thousands of company emails, Patel pleaded guilty to obstructing federal bid rigging and fraud investigations in March 2020. In 2022, construction manager Ramnarace Mahabir was found to have provided jobs for family members through

6678-634: The authority. Ciulla v. State , 77 N.Y.S.2d 545 (N.Y. Ct. Cl. 1948). However, public authority employees are covered by the ethics regulations included in section 74 of the Public Officers Law, and the Public Authorities Accountability Act of 2005 imposed additional ethics requirements on board members of some public authorities. Importantly, authority board members are now required to attend training sessions on ethics and governance issues. The New York State Comptroller's Office lists four types of public benefit corporations and authorities: For

6784-740: The cities of Syracuse , Utica , Rome , Oswego and Auburn . The CNYRTA includes the following subsidiaries: The New York State Bridge Authority owns and operates five bridges on the Hudson River . The Olympic Regional Development Authority was designed to administer and manage the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center and the other Winter Olympic venues used during the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympics . The New York Power Authority provides electricity throughout New York State. The New York State Canal Corporation

6890-415: The crisis; rather, it was an accumulation of small cutbacks and maintenance deferments. The MTA funds were described as a "piggy bank" for the state, with the issuance of MTA bonds benefiting the state at the MTA's expense. By 2017, a sixth of the MTA's budget was allocated to paying off debt, a threefold increase from the proportion in 1997. The city's $ 250 million annual contribution to the MTA budget in 2017

6996-406: The developers of the buses' GPS devices implemented the MTA system's first bus-tracking app, which monitored buses along the M16 and M34 routes. This evolved into the current web app, which originally tracked buses along the B63 route in Brooklyn when it started in February 2011. By January 2012, every local and express bus in Staten Island was equipped with the system. The M34 corridor began using

7102-450: The different agencies were part of one agency. Surveys found that a majority of riders did not know that the MTA owned the Long Island Rail Road or the Metro-North Railroad. As part of the changes, the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority was renamed MTA Bridges and Tunnels; Staten Island Rapid Transit was renamed MTA Staten Island Railway; Metropolitan Suburban Bus Authority was renamed MTA Long Island Bus. The New York City Transit Authority

7208-463: The eTix functionality, as well as make it easier for Access-A-Ride customers to view when their vehicle will arrive at a certain point. In October 2020, the MTA unveiled a new digital map providing real-time arrival estimates and service updates. It was developed pro bono by technology and design company Work & Co . The subway, buses, and Staten Island Railway charge a single flat fare for each trip, regardless of time or distance traveled. From

7314-413: The end of 2016. Other plans call for making extensive renovations to 30 subway stations , allowing mobile ticketing by cellphone or bank cards, and adding security cameras on buses, charging stations for electronics, and more countdown clocks. Roughly $ 3 billion will be spent to improve bridges and tunnels. During the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City , following a 50% to 90% drop in ridership on all of

7420-408: The entire state, are listed below. The Agriculture and New York State Horse Breeding Development Fund serves equine interests in New York State and provides education concerning certain agricultural development. A 2004 audit of the fund found problems with its management. The Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY) provides construction, financing, and allied services that serve

7526-577: The establishment of each new authority, and to prevent the enactment of general laws pursuant to which a municipal corporation can itself create a corporation of the authority type ' ". While major public authorities can only be created by special legislation, many local development corporations have been created under the general Not-For-Profit Corporation Law. These LDCs function in much the same way as other public benefit corporations and public authorities, but do not need to be established by specific state legislation. Additionally, many public authorities have

7632-542: The following March, with the MCTA taking over the operations of the LIRR, NYCTA, TBTA, New Haven commuter services, New York Central commuter services, and the Staten Island Rapid Transit Railway . Initially, the TBTA was resistant to the MCTA's efforts to acquire it. Moses was afraid that the enlarged MCTA would "undermine, destroy or tarnish" the integrity of the TBTA, One source of contention

7738-486: The general development and promotion of the Erie Canal Corridor as both a tourist attraction and a working waterway. The Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority consists of numerous subsidiaries, including: The Roswell Park Cancer Institute Corporation operates Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. The United Nations Development Corporation was designed to assist

7844-445: The highest ridership since 1947. MTA employees also suffered due to the budget issues. By mid-July 2010, MTA layoffs had reached over 1,000, and many of those affected were low-level employees who made less than $ 55,000 annually. As of 2015, the MTA was running a $ 15 billion deficit in its $ 32 billion 2015–2019 Capital Plan. Without extra funding, many necessary construction and renovation projects would not be performed. In October 2015,

7950-584: The legislature chartered the Metropolitan Commuter Transportation Authority (MCTA) to take over the operations of the LIRR. Governor Rockefeller appointed his top aide, William J. Ronan , as chairman and chief executive officer of the MCTA. In June 1965, the state finalized an agreement to buy the LIRR from the PRR for $ 65 million. The MCTA made a down payment of $ 10 million for the LIRR in December 1965, and it completed

8056-469: The legislature. In City of Rye v. MTA , 24 N.Y.2d 627 (1969), the court of appeals explained that "The debates of the 1938 Convention indicate that the proliferation of public authorities after 1927 was the reason for the enactment of section 5 of article X.... Abbott Low Moffat, who supported this proposal, told the convention that its purpose was 'to require the Legislature to pass directly itself upon

8162-492: The mid-2000s, the popular name has also been used for legal documents related to contract procurements where the legal name was used heretofore. Both are listed below. The Office of the MTA Inspector General (OIG), founded in 1983, is the independent Office of Inspector General specific to the MTA that is responsible for conducting monitoring and oversight of MTA activities, programs, and employees. The MTA

8268-411: The monthly MetroCard fare from $ 116 to $ 132. Each fare raise was met with increasing resistance by MTA customers, and many are beginning to find the fare increases prohibitive. 2010 also saw heavy service cuts for many MTA subsidiaries. Fewer trains spaced farther between resulted in heavy overcrowding beyond normal rush hours, leading to frustration for many subway and bus riders. In 2013, the subway had

8374-529: The name " Metropolitan Transportation, a Program for Action " alternatively called the "Grand Design". The city had already intended to build subway extensions in all four boroughs, so that most riders would need at most one transfer to get to their destination. The Program for Action also called for upgrades to the Penn Central railroads and area airports. The Program for Action was put forward simultaneously with other development and transportation plans under

8480-407: The older "M" logos survive on existing cube-shaped lamps on station lampposts dating to the 1980s, though such lamps have been updated with more modern spherical lamps over time. Today, each of these Related Entities has a popular name and in some cases, a former legal name . Since 1994, the legal name has only been used for legal documents, such as contracts, and have not been used publicly. Since

8586-483: The operations of the other New York City-area transit systems. Moses was let go from his job as chairman of the TBTA, although he was retained as a consultant. The construction of two proposed bridges over the Long Island Sound was put under the jurisdiction of the MTA. Moses stated that TBTA construction projects would reduce the MTA's budget surplus through to 1970. Chairman Ronan pushed for the MTA to pursue

8692-399: The power to create subsidiary authorities without additional legislative authorization. An example is the Empire State Development Corporation, which decided in 2007 to dissolve 13 subsidiaries and merge 25 others into a single holding company. ESDC still encompasses many subsidiary organizations. The 1938 Constitution "expressly empowered public authorities to contract debt independently of

8798-487: The preliminary 2011 budget, MTA forecasted operating revenue totaled at $ 6.5 billion, amount to only 50% of the $ 13 billion operating expenses. Therefore, the MTA must rely on other sources of funding to remain operational. Revenue collected from real estate taxes for transportation purposes helped to contain the deficit. However, due to the weak economy and unstable real estate market, money from these taxes severely decreased; in 2010, tax revenue fell at least 20% short of

8904-475: The projected value. Beyond this, steadily reducing support from city and state governments led to borrowing money by issuing bonds, which contributed heavily to the debt. This budget deficit has resulted in various problems, mainly concentrated in New York City . New York City Subway fares have been increased four times since 2008, with the most recent occurring August 20, 2023, raising single-ride fares from $ 2.75 to $ 2.90, express service from $ 6.75 to $ 7.00 and

9010-511: The proliferation of public authorities by specifying that they could be created only by special act of the state legislature. By 1956, 53 public authorities had been created. In 1990, the Commission on Government Integrity concluded that "At present, so far as Commission staff has been able to determine, no one has even an approximate count of how many of these organizations exist, where they are, much less an accounting of what they do." By 2004,

9116-471: The proposed MCTA and the existing Connecticut Transportation Authority would contract with New York Central to operate the New Haven Line to Grand Central Terminal . A September 1965 joint report from both agencies, recommended that the line be leased to New York Central for 99 years, with the MCTA and CTA acting as agents for both states. In October 1965, the MCTA found that the New Haven Line's stations and infrastructure were even more decrepit than those of

9222-488: The public good, to benefit specifically universities, health care facilities, and court facilities. The Empire State Development , also known as the Urban Development Corporation, maintains various programs and subsidiaries to encourage economic development in New York State. The Natural Heritage Trust supports natural resource conservation and historic preservation within New York State through

9328-510: The reception and administration of donations and grants. It partners with several state agencies, including the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation , New York State Department of Environmental Conservation , and the New York State Department of State ; partners also include other public and private entities. The trust was established in 1968. In 2017, it had operating expenses of $ 1.54 million and

9434-414: The remaining balance. The budget deficit of the MTA is a growing crisis for the organization as well as for New York City and State residents and governments. The MTA held $ 31 billion in debt in 2010 and it also suffered from a $ 900 million gap in its operating budget for 2011. The capital budget, which covers repairs, technological upgrades, new trains, and expansions, is currently $ 15 billion short of what

9540-599: The rest of the payment the next month. In February 1965, Rockefeller and Connecticut Governor John N. Dempsey jointly suggested that operations of the New Haven Line , the New Haven Railroad 's struggling commuter rail operation, be transferred to the New York Central Railroad as part of a plan to prevent the New Haven Railroad from going bankrupt. If the operational merger occurred,

9646-498: The routing of $ 18 million in bus depot contracts. At one 2018 board meeting, an MTA executive explicitly noted the sentiment that the authority is willing to assign jobs to contractors with prior histories of corruption. The MTA collected $ 707 million from advertising on its trains and buses in 2018. In June 1992, the MTA banned tobacco advertising on subways, buses and commuter rail, costing the agency $ 4.5 million in annual advertising revenue. The tobacco advertisements were removed once

9752-459: The state had a moral obligation to repay the debts if canal revenues proved insufficient, and thus the certificates were deemed "an evasion if not a direct violation of the constitution". In 1921, the legislature chartered the first state public authority, the Port of New York Authority , as a new vehicle for financing public projects while insulating the state from long term debt obligations. In 1926,

9858-537: The state on a consistent basis. The Court of Appeals stated in Schulz v. State , 84 N.Y.2d 231 (1994) that, if "modern ingenuity, even gimmickry, have in fact stretched the words of the Constitution beyond the point of prudence, that plea for reform in State borrowing practices and policy is appropriately directed to the public arena". See also Wein v. State , 39 N.Y.2d 136 (1976); Wein v. Levitt , 42 N.Y.2d 300 (1977). Financing public projects through public authorities

9964-539: The state's debt and 80% of the state's infrastructure, leading some to refer to them as the "shadow government". Public benefit corporations and public authorities are controlled by boards of directors made up of political appointees. Board members have fixed terms and are, at least in theory, considered to be more independent of political influence than elected politicians and appointed agency heads. Board members and employees of public authorities usually are not considered to be state employees, but are rather employees of

10070-525: The state's most powerful authorities. Sections 50 and 51 of the Public Authorities Law currently require 11 authorities to receive approval from the PACB prior to entering into contracts for project-related financing. There are five members on the PACB board, all of whom are appointed by the governor and serve year-long terms. Public authorities are currently responsible for more than 90% of

10176-467: The system on April 6, 2012 with nearly every Bronx bus route using the system by the end of 2012. All five boroughs of the city used the system by March 2014, and a mobile app was released in 2015. In 2011, the MTA began to look at ways of displaying service disruptions due to weekend engineering works in a visual format. On September 16, 2011, the MTA introduced a Vignelli -style interactive subway map , "The Weekender", to its website. The web app provided

10282-403: The world. The GAO planned to devote special attention to the MTA's transit costs. The MTA has long struggled to control costs due to contracting fraud and corruption. In 2012, MTA executive Mario Guerra attempted to secure a job with train manufacturer Bombardier while evaluating their bid for a $ 600 million project. Paresh Patel, an MTA manager responsible for the oversight of repair contracts in

10388-400: Was $ 34.82 billion. Additionally, the 47 state authorities carried a total of $ 160.4 billion in outstanding debt. Public benefit corporations in New York State have origins in mercantile capitalism . A shared tradition of English common law and Dutch law may explain their origins. The New York Court of Appeals provided a thorough history of state laws regarding public authorities in

10494-625: Was Rockefeller's proposal to use TBTA tolls in order to subsidize the cheap fares of the NYCTA, since Moses strongly opposed any use of TBTA tolls by outside agencies. In February 1968, Moses acquiesced to the MCTA's merger proposal. New York Central and the PRR merged in February 1968, forming the Penn Central Transportation Company . In February 1968, the MCTA published a 56-page report for Governor Rockefeller, proposing several subway and railroad improvements under

10600-410: Was a quarter of the contribution in 1990. David L. Gunn , who helped end a transit crisis when he led the NYCTA in the mid-1980s, described the 2017 crisis as "heartbreaking". In December of the same year, the Times reported that the $ 12 billion East Side Access project, which would extend the LIRR to Grand Central Terminal upon its completion, was the most expensive of its kind in the world, with

10706-781: Was able to build some of New York's most important public works projects, including the Cross Bronx Expressway , the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway , and various bridges and parkways. The public authority model allowed Moses to bypass many of the legal restrictions placed on state agencies, allowing him to expedite development but also allowing him to hide project financing, contracting and operational information from public scrutiny. Because of this, he has been criticized for wasteful spending, patronage, and refusing to consider public opposition to his projects. The 1938 constitutional amendments attempted to limit

10812-543: Was added to the state constitution, prohibiting the state from contracting long term debt without approval by the voters. As early as 1851, the legislature began to search for ways to evade the constitutional debt limit in order to finance public works projects. Canal certificates, which would be repaid through canal revenues, and which by their terms were not state obligations, were nevertheless held to be unconstitutional in Newell v. People , 7 N.Y. 9 (1852). The court held that

10918-678: Was overturned in July 2012 when Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York ruled that the ad of the American Freedom Defense Initiative is protected speech under the First Amendment , and that the MTA's actions were unconstitutional . The judge held in a 35-page opinion that the rejected ad was "not only protected speech — it is core political speech ... [which as such]

11024-641: Was re-appointed in 2017 and resigned on November 9, 2018. The MTA considers itself to be the largest regional public transportation provider in the Western Hemisphere. As of 2018, its agencies serve a region of approximately 15.3 million people spread over 5,000 square miles (13,000 km) in 12 counties in New York and two in Connecticut. MTA agencies now move about 8.6 million customers per day (translating to 2.65 billion rail and bus customers

11130-545: Was renamed MTA New York City Transit to seem less authoritarian, Metro–North Commuter Railroad was renamed MTA Metro-North Railroad to recognize the increase in non-commuter ridership. The MTA logo was changed from a two-toned "M" logo, to a blue circle with the MTA initials written in perspective, as if they were rushing by like a train. The large "M" logos on trains and buses were replaced with decals that state MTA New York City Bus, MTA New York City Subway or MTA Staten Island Railway, eliminating inconsistencies in signage. Today,

11236-409: Was scheduled for release in 2018, would include real-time arrival information for all subway and bus routes, as well as weekend service changes and travel planners. In April 2018, the MTA started testing MYmta , which provides arrival information for MTA railroad, subway, and bus routes; escalator and elevator outage information; and real-time service changes. The app also includes an improved version of

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