Smith's latest gambit -- calling the MTA's March 25 deadline into question -- carries a lot of risk. "The deadline seems real to us," said Russianoff, noting that there may be some wiggle room, but not much. "The concern would be if the legislators say, 'We can wait a while.' That's a recipe for inaction."

There's been some speculation that the Ravitch proposals might get folded into the state budget, but that would face similar political hurdles to a stand-alone rescue package. All 30 Republican state senators are expected to vote against the budget, said Russianoff, meaning Democrats will have to vote as a single, 32-member bloc to gain passage.

If the Gang of Three and other Democratic obstructionists fail to realize that their constituents need a well-funded transit system much more than free bridges, there is a potential solution that might garner support from elements of both parties. "One thing with promise is to do the highway and bridge program at the same time as MTA financing," said Russianoff. "That gives Republican senators a reason to vote positively on the bill." The state's highway and bridge program faces its own funding shortfall, and like the MTA, it needs new revenue streams. Some of the bridge toll alternatives that pols are floating -- such as higher gas taxes and vehicle registration fees -- make more political sense as revenue for a road program, because, Russianoff says, "the highway people think it's theirs."

Streetsblog observed the afternoon session, which did not yield headline-grabbing ideas like the morning session (a media favorite: selling bridges to the MTA for a dollar and then tolling them) but did provide a good overview of which options the commission is likely to take seriously before making its recommendations in December.

It would be an exaggeration to say that a consensus emerged from the testimony. (The one thing everyone could agree on was that the collective well-being of the city and the region depends on the MTA.) However, several themes surfaced repeatedly over the course of the afternoon. Here's a brief rundown:

Responsibility for adequately funding the MTA should fall on those who benefit from its services. This encompasses a fairly broad swath of people, including straphangers, the real estate industry, and car commuters (who get less traffic on the street when more people use transit). Many of these "stakeholders" already contribute something to the MTA in the form of fares or dedicated taxes, and could be asked to pay higher rates going forward. Several people testified that some form of road pricing or bridge tolling would be an additional stream of revenue consistent with this philosophy.

The MTA needs more consistent and reliable revenue streams. Congestion pricing fits the bill in this regard, too. The need for predictable revenue also led speakers to suggest more broad-based taxes, unlike the targeted taxes mentioned above. (Taxes collected from the real estate industry have proven especially fickle recently.) Kevin Corbett of the Empire State Transportation Alliance recommended both road pricing and a payroll tax, saying that "if you have multiple parties sharing in the pain, it's easier to do a deal." He added, "Looking at the enormity of the task, we suspect it will be a combination of the various taxes [and] fees."

The city and state have been derelict in their contributions to the MTA, and debt financing has gone too far. These observations tended to go hand in hand. Pointing out that 13 percent of the MTA's expenses now go toward debt payments, rising to 16.5 percent in the next few years, Bill Henderson of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA slammed the city and state for not holding up their end of the bargain. "We should not always have to make a periodic visit to the brink of disaster," he told the panel. "The question is not whether debt should ever be used, but what is the level of debt that can reasonably be used without imperiling the agency’s financial well-being."

It is reasonable, even desirable, to institute regular and predictable fare increases, but straphangers are currently shouldering too much of the burden. Henderson noted that, through the farebox, MTA riders fund 55 percent of the agency's operating costs, the highest share in the nation. (The figure is 44 percent in Chicago and 37 percent in Philadelphia, he said.) While several other participants echoed that number, the Kheel Plan would not have found a welcome reception among them. Corbett appeared to encapsulate the general sentiment when he called for "modest and regularly scheduled [fare increases], not more than once every other year."

The MTA must become more efficient and financially transparent. Many speakers praised the progress Lee Sander has made in streamlining the MTA, and just as many wanted to see further opportunities for efficiency identified. Two speakers, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign and City Comptroller Bill Thompson, recommended creating an independent watchdog agency to monitor the MTA's finances. When Ravitch questioned whether another level of bureaucracy would prove effective, Russianoff implied that it may be a matter of political necessity. "The legislature will come to you and say, 'How will we know the money is well spent?'," he said. "You should have an answer."

Throughout the proceedings, Ravitch asked pointed questions but rarely betrayed his position on any single idea, giving the impression that he is genuinely open to all suggestions. The one question he posed again and again to those giving testimony was how to prioritize the potential solutions.

"How would you rank the various tax options available?" he asked Corbett. "Which would have the most deleterious effect on the economy, and which the least? No one likes any of them. The reason our task is difficult is that no one likes recommending charging anything to anybody. It's only when you compare it with the deterioration of the transportation system that you conclude you have to make nasty choices."

With the MTA staring at a $17 billion hole in its next capital plan, pricing or new tolls may well be on the table, but the crystal ball is very cloudy at this point. Many variables are still in play. It's not clear yet, for instance, when the Ravitch panel will make its final recommendations, what form the proposal will take, or even who else will serve with him.

Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign said a likely scenario would be for the Ravitch panel to release its recommendations after the elections this fall. In a brief phone interview yesterday, he speculated that a pricing variant, if proposed, would be one of multiple options the panel presents. "They’re going to have to come up with a menu," he said, "because if they put all their eggs in one basket it’s going to be difficult."

Another likely recommendation would involve raising all of the existing taxes that finance the MTA.

The panel may also release its recommendations in two parts. An early recommendation could propose stop-gap measures to fix holes in the current capital plan (which is coming unglued as a result of the economic slowdown and rising construction costs), and a later one would focus on the next plan.

Russianoff took it as a good sign that Paterson selected Ravitch, who initiated the MTA's first five-year capital plan in 1982, to lead the panel. "They’re not papering things over," he said. "It’s a serious attempt."

But all that is known for certain so far is what the governor said when he announced the creation of the panel: 

Basically, I want the commission to examine three basic issues. One is how to balance the subsidizing of the MTA Capital Plan, through the subscription of those who use the services and a broad balance of taxes for businesses and the rest of the public.

Secondly, what we want to look at are the elements of Mayor Bloomberg’s plan that all of us like, and that perhaps we can still weave them into the process.

And finally, we have to get the MTA out of its habit, which is 25 years old, of refinancing and basically covering debt with excessive borrowing.

Streetsblog: Without pricing, how will the MTA get funded?
Russianoff: They currently have a proposed $29.5B capital plan. The vast majority is for stuff that absolutely has to be done -- rehabbing 44 stations, buying buses, signal and track work, and so on. There is a $9B projected deficit plus $4.5B that will not be coming from pricing bonds, plus $4B that won't be coming in additional city and state money that was promised if pricing passed.

"Traditionally the MTA has raised funds from broad-based taxes -- corporate income tax, mortgage recording tax, real estate transaction tax, sales tax, gas tax -- and through fares and tolls. With tolls, excess from upkeep of bridges and tunnels is given to the MTA, and a large chunk of that is used for capital projects. Now [without pricing], we can do what [former MTA chief Peter] Kalikow said five years ago and increase all of them a little bit."

But these are all subject to fluctuation, as we're seeing now with the dip in real estate tax revenues, which had previously allowed the MTA to run surpluses.

"So one solution is the traditional one, which is to raise one or more of those taxes." Richard Brodsky has said relying on a broad-based tax is what he prefers.

Streetsblog: What about this millionaire's tax proposal?
Russianoff: "Doesn't seem like it's going to pass this time around. Senate Republicans have rejected it. Bottom line is they'll have to come up with the money from somewhere."

Streetsblog: What about Fidler's payroll tax?
Russianoff: "In the 25 years I've followed transit, just about every kind of tax has been proposed."

In 1984, the Democrats proposed a version of the payroll tax to support the MTA. Republicans didn't want it, so they proposed the corporate income tax, which passed. They put in a sunset clause, so now it comes up for renewal every few years. Legislators use it to "extract their pound of flesh from the MTA" -- i.e. the threat of lowering the rate or not renewing the tax is used as leverage to get projects they want.

About 60 people came to Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights and weighed in on the five options presented in the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission's interim report. It quickly became clear that the evening was really a referendum on the two pricing proposals in the report; none of the other options were viewed as viable. By the time it was over, half the audience had testified before commission members Elizabeth Yeampierre, Andrea Batista Schlesinger, and Gene Russianoff. (Richard Brodsky, who came to the Brooklyn hearing instead of the one closest to his Westchester district, left before it ended and missed several pieces of testimony.)

Most encouraging for pricing advocates: Several residents without any group affiliation testified, expressing a unanimous desire for better transit, cleaner air, and safer streets. Congestion pricing, they said, was the surest means to achieve those objectives. (Noah Budnick of Transportation Alternatives emailed us to report that pro-pricing speakers out-numbered anti- in the Bronx and Queens as well.)

But first the elected officials spoke, leading off with Congressman Anthony Weiner. In his allotted four minutes, he repeated the canard that congestion pricing is a conservative ploy to enact a "radical change and reduction in the amount of [federal] transit funding we receive." Then Council Member Lew Fidler and Assemblymen Hakeem Jeffries, Vito Lopez, Alan Maisel, and Alec Brook-Krasny each took a turn to bash both pricing proposals (their most common refrain: "too Manhattan-centric").

The one semi-exception among electeds was Council Member Tish James...

who skipped the meeting but had an aide read a statement that in order to curb asthma rates, "residential parking permits are an absolute necessity" for any areas immediately outside the congestion zone. Many of the community board reps and neighborhood association members who followed echoed that argument, offering support if a permit plan was attached to pricing, because they feared a park-and-ride spillover effect.

The non-profits in attendance came out strongly in favor of the commission's alternative pricing plan (which would raise more money at a lower cost than the Mayor's plan), countering the assertions of previous speakers with hard numbers. Here's a snippet delivered by Wiley Norvell of TA:

Congestion pricing will benefit the entire city, not just Manhattan. Nearly three-quarters of the congestion reduction from pricing will take place outside Manhattan. 40% of traffic in the neighborhoods of Downtown Brooklyn is from Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridge-bound motorists avoiding the Battery Tunnel toll. Congestion pricing, by equalizing tolls, will cut congestion and finally give traffic relief to neighborhoods adjacent to the free bridges. It is estimated that pricing will reduce traffic by 29% in Downtown Brooklyn and by 24% in North Brooklyn. That is staggering.

Personal note: While the pricing advocates were testifying, I was in a politician sandwich, sitting between two pairs of electeds, and could overhear their snickering and backslapping.

When the "ordinary people" got their chance to speak, they also endorsed the alternative pricing plan by a wide margin. The politicians had already left at that point, a fact that wasn't lost on Sunset Park resident Kay Young. "I have to note the seeming disconnect between our elected officials and everyone else," he said.

They haven't done their homework. They cite no statistics, just general specters. The fact that they left is unbelievable. They didn't even stay to listen to their constituents.

The Daily News, which has pounded the transit agency with its "Halt the Hike" series ("Even as the MTA is poised to stick straphangers with a fat fare hike, Chief Executive Lee Sander went shopping for a new necktie yesterday"), called the fare increase "the great train robbery of 2007," and characterized Sander and new Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger as puppets of Mayor Bloomberg and Governor Spitzer.

There was a time when MTA bosses were independent, standup people who represented the riders, even if only in losing battles with governors, Legislatures and mayors. Men like Dick Ravitch and Peter Kalikow come to mind.

At this point in their relatively young tenures, Hemmerdinger and Sander pale in comparison.

They are order takers, dictated to by Spitzer and Bloomberg, who have assumed full personal ownership of this fare hike.

New MetroCards should come bearing photographs of the governor and the mayor, like on wanted posters, including their records.

Also in the News, Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, while critical of the hikes, says transit customers have reason for hope in the promises made by Spitzer and other pols, including Assembly Member Richard Brodsky, that more state aid is forthcoming. Russianoff also thinks further hikes will be politically infeasible for the next several years.

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign, for one, believes the hike will be used against the MTA come budget time, and sees it as a broader failure of the MTA and elected officials to advance a pro-transit agenda. Calling yesterday a "Sad Day for Transit Riders," TSTC's Kate Slevin writes:

Overall, by approving the hike and the proposed fare and toll plan today, Governor Spitzer and the MTA missed out on a number of key opportunities. First, they missed an opportunity to win support from transit riders who feel the pressure of crowded trains, slow buses, and an increasingly expensive region. Second, they missed out on a chance to let vocal state legislators put their money where their mouth is and produce more state transit aid. Third, they missed an opportunity to connect the transit funding debate with the Traffic Mitigation Commission's recommendations to be released in January. Fourth, the MTA failed, as it has in the past (see MTR #s 425, 401, 237, and others), to use the toll hike as an opportunity to bring its tolling structure and facilities into the 21st century with things like variable tolling and non-stop tolls.

Finally, the MTA and Governor Spitzer failed to connect the fare and toll proposal with their own efforts to promote sustainability. The MTA established a top-notch Sustainability Commission in September to help create an agency "master plan" to reduce the agency's ecological footprint. But the agency's toll proposal punishes most transit riders more than most drivers - under the plan EZ Pass users (which account for 75% of all crossings) will pay only 3.8% more while transit fares for most riders will increase more than that. Last time we checked, promoting transit use over driving is an vital part of "sustainability."

The governor must prevent next year's state budget from being a carbon copy of the budgets offered by his predecessor, which drove the Metropolitan Transportation Authority more deeply into debt than any transit system in U.S. history. But he can only do this if the MTA first commits to delaying all proposed fare hikes until after the 2008 state budget is put to bed in April.

Most straphangers will remember the chants of elected officials railing helplessly against the MTA every time the authority proposed to raise fares or cut service. What they may not remember is that, year after year, the Pataki administration submitted - and the Legislature passed - budgets that decimated the MTA's funding.

In 1982, the MTA started a series of five-year capital programs to restore our regional transit system to a state of good repair. We are now enjoying the fruits of these investments: a system that is in dramatically better shape than it was at the beginning of the 1980s, with ridership at a 35-year high. But the state did not maintain its commitment. It cut its share of the system's capital program from 19.6% in the MTA's 1982-86 plan, to 10.8% in the 1987-91 plan, to less than 1% during calendar years 1992 through 1999. The state provided zero direct funding for the 2000-04 capital plan.

That abandonment forced the authority to steadily increase its reliance on debt to finance repairs and improvements. Over 60% of the 2000-04 plan was financed with debt, up from about 40% for the previous plan.

As a result, the MTA is now "in hock" for $23 billion, Russianoff and Schneiderman write. They say freezing the base fare at $2 is "a first step" toward shifting reliance from MTA customers to the state for support.

Spitzer has a lot on his plate, but ending Albany's systemic abuse of our 7.5 million straphangers should be at or near the top of the pile. He must work with the Legislature and the MTA board, both to avoid a fare hike in 2008 and to set a new agenda for our state's mass transit program - an agenda that breaks with the unsustainable and inexcusable policies of the last 12 years.

Photo: peterkreder/Flickr

Remind me again why New York City hasn't eliminated private automobiles on its major crosstown streets and established dedicated rights-of-way for buses, special loading  zones and times for delivery trucks?

CityRoom has the details:

“Nearly one in three of its buses have big gaps in service or are off schedule, the worst record for the 42 key local routes for which M.T.A. New York City Transit calculates reliability measures,” the Straphangers and Transportation Alternatives announced in a news release.

In addition to ranking the M23 the slowest bus route in the city, the annual survey identified these routes as the slowest by borough: the B63 in Brooklyn (4.9 m.p.h.), the Bx19 in the Bronx (5.0 m.p.h.), the Q56 in Queens (6.1 m.p.h.) and the S61 on Staten Island (11.7 m.p.h.)

“Our awards highlight what bus riders know from bitter daily experience: New York City has the pokiest and schleppiest buses in the nation,” said Gene Russianoff, the staff lawyer for the Straphangers Campaign.

"This is going to be interesting," Straphangers Campaign Senior Staff Attorney Gene Russianoff said as he waited for the start of yesterday's inaugural Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission meeting. "Usually with these things, the fix is in before you start but I really don't know what's going to happen."

Commission chairman Marc Shaw, a former Bloomberg Administration deputy mayor, opened up the meeting saying, "I'd like the Commission to operate as informally as possible." It was a not-so-subtle suggestion that the presence of the press and public weren't necessarily going to help the 17-member group come to a deal any more quickly, and that the real discussion would be taking place offline. When someone in the crowd complained that Shaw's microphone wasn't working and no one could hear what he was saying, Shaw joked, "Good."

After a unanimous vote ratifying him as chairman, Shaw took a few minutes to describe the context in which they'd be working. "The most important thing is the economic backdrop," Shaw said. "We'll be talking about slower economic growth in the next 12 to 18 months. As we look for ways to provide resources for the MTA in its capital plan, we're not going to have any new state or city resources."

As for the city's gridlock, Shaw said, "At end of the day there are only two ways to deal with traffic congestion in this town. One way is to have less economic activity take place in midtown and downtown, a choice that no one wants. The only other way to deal with congestion is to find ways to improve mass transit."

Noting that the Commission would need "a fairly aggressive work plan" in order to come up with an agreed upon plan within the four month time frame laid out in the deal made with the US Department of Transportation, Shaw offered a set of criteria by which various traffic reduction proposals might be measured consistently. The criteria were:

• Reduction of vehicle miles traveled
• Peripheral parking and traffic impacts to neighborhoods
• Privacy issues
• Air quality and environmental concerns.
• Impact on various economic classes
• Revenues for mass transit
• Cost of implementation
• Best practices
• Overall economic impact of any proposal

Following Shaw's introduction, Rohit Aggarwala, City Hall's Long Term Planning and Sustainability Director presented Mayor Bloomberg's proposal for a three year congestion pricing pilot program and some of the thinking and data behind it (see Aggarwala's presentation here)

Aggarwala noted that about 30 percent of travelers into Manhattan's Central Business District go by car or truck and that despite significant improvements in subway and bus service, that "modal share" hasn't changed since 1975. That "leads us to believe that transit improvements and incentives alone would be insufficient" to reduce traffic congestion," Aggarwala said.

A slide from Rohit Aggarwala's presentation to the Commission.

Aggarwala also noted that "only a small percentage of New York City residents," 4.6 percent, "drive in every day as their main way to get to work." Even among Staten Island residents, the percentage of commuters regularly driving in to the CBD doesn't reach 10 percent. If you looked at what causes traffic, one of Aggarwala's slides showed that 59.5 percent of the vehicles in Manhattan's CBD are private autos. About 30 percent are taxis and for-hire cars.

At the end of Aggarwala's presentation, Shaw opened up the floor for questions, most of which came from two of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's three appointees, Northern Manhattan Assembly member Denny Farrell and Westchester Assembly member Richard Brodsky.

"Is it a tax or is it to lower the amount of vehicles coming in?" Farrell asked.

"The reason why congestion pricing is such a compelling tool," Aggarwala said, "is because it's the kind of solution that does all these things at once. It raises money, it gets people out of their cars, it cleans the air…"

Farrell, who was first elected to the Assembly in 1974, around the time that Aggarwala was likely starting nursery school, raised his voice, "You didn't answer the question."

Northern Manhattan Assembly member Herman "Denny" Farrell

They went back and forth a bit on traffic modeling and mode share numbers until Farrell zeroed in what on what seemed to be his issue. "Pricing will not effect anyone coming from New Jersey," Farrell said. "I live right next to the George Washington Bridge. Come visit us on a Friday afternoon. Starting about 100th Street traffic is jammed, stopped dead. Nothing you're doing here will effect that."

Brodksy was next.

"I don't think this is the time to argue," he said. "My problem is that I don't understand what you've proposed."

Unlike the Commission's other two Assembly members, who seemed most passionately concerned with issues immediate to their own districts, Brodsky posed broader questions about the Commission's mandate, how traffic reduction and air quality claims were being measured, and revenue.

In what may very well be the set up for a legal challenge to push for an Environmental Impact Study, Brodsky repeatedly pressed the point that the Commission didn't have enough information to approve the Mayor's congestion pricing pilot program.

"What are you asking us to consider?" he asked Aggarwala. "What are we statutorily bound to consider? How do you measure the health and air quality impacts in your plan? How do we know the air quality impacts of this plan on Jackson Heights, Queens?"

Aggarwala took a stab at answering some of his questions but Brodsky still felt he didn't have the information he needed.

"I don't get it," he said.

"We have four months to use this Commission for this very purpose," Shaw replied.

Other Commissioners -- you can find their bios here -- laid some of their issues on the table as well.

Russianoff said he wanted more guidance from the city on residential parking permits and how the proposed MTA toll and fare hikes might impact the traffic reduction and mode shift projections made in the Mayor's plan.

Tom Egan wanted to know why there were no new bus routes proposed for Southeastern Queens.

Ed Ott wondered what would happen to the city's mass transit system if congestion pricing revenue didn't materialize.

Richard Bivone asked whether the MTA could handle the additional riders.

Elizabeth Yeampierre wanted more specific information about how the Mayor's plan would improve the environmental and health problems in Bronx and Brooklyn neighborhoods that "are host to the city's highway infrastructure and environmental burdens."

And with arms crossed, head cocked and a tone of skepticism in her voice, Assembly member Vivian Cook made it clear that "that Queens County and Long Island City aren't going to become a parking lot for the region."

The meeting closed with Brodsky peppering Sander and DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, also a Commissioner, with revenue-related questions. Brodsky wanted clarity on whether congestion pricing revenues would be used to pay for MTA capital projects or MTA operating expenses. He also asserted that New York City's agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation doesn't "contain any commitment of funds" and "gives the feds the right to give us nothing even if we pass congestion pricing."

Sander, hinting that the public forum might not be the ideal "context" for he and Brodsky to hash out some of these issues, said, "We do not anticipate use of any congestion pricing funds for operating assistance. Zero. Our position is that if we were to approve congestion pricing, that funds should be used for our capital program." Specifically, Sander said, if he had his "druthers," congestion pricing revenues would go towards building the Second Avenue subway, updating the Authority's 19th century signal system, improving transit service in the outer boroughs and a variety of other projects.

As for the $354.5 million commitment from the federal government, Sadik-Khan told Brodsky, "We do have a commitment from the US DOT and from DOT Secretary Mary Peters and I'd be happy to sit with you and clarify that."

Shaw said that the Commission will be meeting approximately once a month between now and February and will host a number of public hearings along the way as well.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg today joined Governor Eliot Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to announce appointments to the New York City Traffic Mitigation Congestion Commission established by the Governor and Legislature as part of the congestion pricing legislation.

Mayor Bloomberg appointed three people to the commission: Gene Russianoff from the New York Public Interest Research Group and the Straphangers Campaign, New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and civil rights attorney and Executive Director of UPROSE Elizabeth Yeampierre.

“Today we are continuing to move forward and work with our partners in State government and in the Council to relieve congestion in New York City,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Together, we’ll reduce traffic, improve New Yorkers’ health and strengthen the City’s economy.”

Governor Spitzer’s appointments include former First Deputy Mayor Marc Shaw, Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Director and CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander.  Mr. Shaw will be nominated to be the head of the commission. 

Governor Spitzer said, “Putting the congestion pricing commission in place is an important step towards creating a healthier, cleaner environment for our children and generations to come.   The Commission has a vital task to ensure the ability of New York City’s continued growth, and do so in an environmentally responsible manner.  My nominees all have extensive transportation and public policy experience that will ensure that the congestion pricing plan is well thought out in terms of the impact on the transportation system, the economy, and the environment of the City of New York.  My thanks go to the Mayor and his staff for their hard work on this crucial issue.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver appointed Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, Jr., Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, and Assemblywoman Vivian E. Cook. 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “The traffic congestion mitigation legislation signed into law by the Governor last month outlines a process for a thoughtful and in-depth discussion of the most effective means to address traffic congestion and related health and environmental issues. I am pleased with the nomination of Marc Shaw to head this effort. His demonstrated experience and ability to build consensus on difficult issues will be a great asset to this Commission.”

Senator Bruno appointed New York City Central Labor Council President Gary LaBarbera, SUNY Chairman Thomas F. Egan and Nassau County Council Chamber of Commerce President Richard Bivone to commission.

“We are pleased to join Mayor Bloomberg and others in announcing the Senate Majority’s appointments to the New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission.  By naming the members of this important commission, we have taken another step forward in our efforts to make New York a national leader in reducing traffic congestion, modernizing mass transit and improving the quality of the air we breathe,” Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said.

Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith appointed Counsel and Project Director of Arverne By the Sea, Gerard Romski, to the Commission.

“Mr. Romski will be a strong asset for members of the Senate Democratic Conference in working to address New York City's long-term transportation needs,” Senator Smith said. “His appreciation of public transit's role in that process as well as his open mind about the structure of any traffic congestion mitigation plan will serve our Conference well.”

Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco appointed Environmental Defense New York Regional Director Andy Darrell to the Commission.

“Andy Darrell’s track record on environmental and health-related issues is second to none,” said Assembly Republican Leader Jim Tedisco. “His input and ideas will be invaluable as we look for answers to New York City’s traffic congestion problems. I am honored to appoint him to this crucial commission.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has appointed Drum Major Institute Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Greater Allen Cathedral CFO Edwin Reed and Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn Wylde to the Commission.

“New York City anticipates adding nearly one million new residents over the next two decades, and we must have a forward-looking plan in place to handle such substantial growth,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “We are confident that the Commission will carefully consider the different proposals and find a responsible and impartial solution to reduce traffic congestion in our City. The Council’s appointees are extremely familiar with moving and shaping public policy in our diverse communities.  They bring a broad range of experience that will enable the Commission to come up with a plan to make New York a cleaner, greener, more livable city.”

 

Biographies of Commission Members:

Richard Bivone is the President of the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce and the President and Founder of RMB Drafting Services, the largest research/drafting/expediting firm on Long Island.  Richard played a key role in forming the Nassau Business and Community and Planning Coalition (NBCPC), a unique partnership between the Nassau Council of Chambers of Commerce, the Nassau Village Officials Association, Vision Long Island, and environmental and civic groups.  He is a retired member of the New York City Fire Department (FDNY).

Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky represents the 92nd Assembly District. Brodsky currently serves as Chairman of the Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, which oversees the state’s public and private corporations. In addition to his Committee Chairmanship, Assemblyman Brodsky has also introduced a number of proposals to reform state government through constitutional change.

Assemblywoman Vivian E. Cook began her civic role more than 30 years ago when the Kennedy Airport and airport expansion threatened her community. Cook, who represents the 32nd Assembly District, has been an activist for community improvement. Working tirelessly to secure funding for various building and reconstruction programs, Cook has helped develop community housing programs that provide residents with affordable homes. Assemblywoman Cook currently serves as Assistant Majority Leader.

Andy Darrell is Director of the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense, focused on practical, market-based solutions for climate change and health in major cities.  He also serves as New York Regional Director.  He is a member of Mayor Bloomberg’s Sustainability Advisory Board, convened in 2006 to help create a new sustainability plan.  Previously, he helped form two organizations instrumental in revitalizing abandoned New York City waterfronts.  After law school, he worked at Davis Polk and Wardwell, an international law firm, and as a consultant on financing clean energy projects.  He received a JD (Law Review) from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.  He is a trustee of the Van Alen Institute, the New York League of Voters Conservation Voters Education Fund, and New York City’s International House.

Thomas F. Egan was appointed Chairman of the State University of New York Board of Trustees on February 8, 1996, and a member and Vice Chairman on June 27, 1995.  A lawyer and banker, he has spent over 30 years in the securities industry, with extensive experience in capital market finance. Mr. Egan is a managing director at Citigroup Global Markets in New York City.  Previously, Mr. Egan was a principal in Langdon P. Cook & Company, Inc., for twelve years and a staff attorney with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for three years. Mr. Egan is the past chairman of the Foundation for the New York United Hospital Medical Center and active in civic affairs. He has also served as a member of the board of directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a trustee of Marymount College, and member of the Port Chester Village Planning Commission.

Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, Jr. was elected to the State Assembly in 1974 from a district that encompasses West Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood. Farrell serves as chair of the Committee on Ways and Means and is a member of the Committee on Rules. Prior to his appointment to Ways and Means, Farrell was Chair of the Committee on Banks, where he successfully secured passage of the Omnibus Consumer Protection and Banking Legislation Act.

Gary LaBarbera is the President of the New York City Central Labor Council and has nearly 25 years of progressive labor leadership with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, including currently serving as Joint Council 16 President, which represents over 100,000 members in the New York Metropolitan area. He also serves as a Vice President for the New York State AFL-CIO, the Long Island Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, and the New York State Building and Construction Trades Council.

Edwin C. Reed is the Chief Financial Officer at the Greater Allen Cathedral of New York and has been serving in this capacity since 1995. He has previously served on the Board of Directors of the New York Bank from 2001 to 2003. The Allen organization provides services such as rehabilitating and building affordable housing, developing and managing 14 commercial stores, operating a community service center, and providing quality education for up to 500 students.  Previously, Reverend Reed was the Executive Staff Director for Congressman Floyd Flake of New York. Reverend Reed has served as: Chairman, Jamaica Business Resource Center; Treasurer, Outreach Development Corporation; Vice Chairperson and Member of the Board of Directors, Hofstra University; Member of Wheelchair Charities; Co-Chairperson, New York Housing Conference; Member, Chase Community Advisory Board; Member, Federal Home Loan Bank of New York Affordable Housing Advisory Council; and Member, Allen Christian School, Allen Transportation, Allen Women's Resource Center and Allen Housing Development Corporations. Reverend Reed formerly served as Chairman of the Queens County Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission.

Gerard Romski is a former partner at the law firm Ross and Cohen, LLP, he currently serves as Counsel and Project Executive for one of New York City's largest mixed-use development projects, Arverne by the Sea, incorporating more than 2,300 new housing units in Queens.  A strong advocate for public transit investment, Mr. Romski has also served as the Assistant Division Chief in the Real Estate Litigation Division of the New York City Corporation Counsel's office where he represented the City in real estate matters.

Gene Russianoff has been mass transit and government reform advocate for the New York Public Interest Research Group, a student-directed social change organization, since 1978. Mr. Russianoff is a staff attorney for NYPIRG's Straphangers Campaign.  His efforts have helped to win unlimited-ride transit passes and free subway-to-bus transfers; increased transit service; creation of independent transit safety and management watchdog agencies; $53 billion in funds to rebuild the subway and bus system since 1982; and rider and labor representatives on the MTA Board of Directors.   New York 1 News named Russianoff a “New Yorker of the Year” in 1997 for coalition work to win unlimited-ride Metro-cards.  Russianoff is the author of more than 100 reports on transit service.
 
Janette Sadik-Khan was appointed Commissioner of the New York City Department of Transportation by the Mayor in April.  Prior to her appointment, she was a Senior Vice President of Parsons Brinckerhoff, a leading international engineering firm. Commissioner Sadik-Khan is nationally recognized for her expertise in innovative finance, public policy development and transportation issues - knowledge gained in over 15 years of experience at the federal, state and local level.  Before joining Parsons Brinckerhoff, she was Deputy Administrator at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

As Chief Financial Officer, she managed the agency's $4 billion annual capital construction budget and was responsible for developing an innovative finance program which provided localities with increased funding and regulatory flexibility. She also served as Director of the Office of Policy where she initiated the FTA’s Art in Transit program to expand federal funding for art and design in transit facilities and implemented new criteria to improve the ways in which the benefits of transit capital projects were quantified.

Elliot “Lee” Sander, Executive Director and CEO of the MTA, has served as a Corporate Senior Vice President at DMJM Harris, a leading transportation engineering firm, and as Director of the Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University. Sander is also the founder and co-chairman of the Empire State Transportation Alliance, and he is a Commissioner on the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission.  He graduated from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown.

Andrea Batista Schlesinger has led the effort to turn the Drum Major Institute, originally founded by an advisor to Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement, into a progressive policy institute with national impact.  Under her leadership as Executive Director, DMI has released several important policy papers to national audiences including: Middle Class 2004: How Congress Voted, People and Politics in America's Big Cities, and From Governance to Accountability: Building Relationships that Make Schools Work. She has worked in various capacities to promote educational equity and youth empowerment. She directed a national campaign to engage college students in the discussion on the future of Social Security for the Pew Charitable Trusts, and served as Director of Public Relations of Teach for America before working as the education advisor to Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer.

Marc V. Shaw is Executive Vice President for Strategic Planning at Extell Development Company and is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the company. From 2002 to 2006, Mr. Shaw was the First Deputy Mayor and Deputy Mayor for Operations under Mayor Bloomberg. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  He also served as City Budget Director, Commissioner for the New York City Department of Finance, and Director of Finance for the New York City Council. Mr. Shaw also held a position with the New York State Senate Finance Committee.  He has been an adjunct assistant professor of Public Services at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Services at New York University, and is currently an adjunct professor at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Anthony Ernest Shorris, Executive Director of the Port Authority, formerly served as the Director of Princeton University's Policy Research Institute at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and as Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education. He also has served as the First Deputy Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as New York City's Commissioner of Finance, and Deputy Budget Director.

Kathryn S. Wylde is President and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a nonprofit organization of the city's business leaders, established by David Rockefeller in 1979. The Partnership is dedicated to maintaining New York City as a center of world commerce, finance and innovation. Its public policy focus is on issues in the areas of education, infrastructure and the economy.

The Partnership’s economic development arm is the New York City Investment Fund. Wylde served as founding President and CEO of this $110 million civic fund, which was established in 1996 under the leadership of Henry R. Kravis. Wylde was also founding President and CEO of the Housing Partnership Development Corporation, serving from 1982 to 1996.   In that capacity, she was instrumental in creation of a number of pioneering initiatives in affordable housing at the local, state and national levels.   An internationally known expert in housing, economic development and urban policy, Wylde serves on a number of boards and advisory groups, including the New York State Commission to Modernize the Regulation of Financial Services, the Mayor's Sustainability Advisory Board, the Special Commission on the Future of NYS Courts, Independent Judicial Election Qualification Commission for the First Judicial District, NYC Economic Development Corporation, Research Partnership for New York City Schools, NYC Leadership Academy, Governors Island Advisory Council, the Manhattan Institute and the Biomedical Research Alliance of New York.
 
Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, a Puerto Rican civil rights attorney born and raised in New York City is Executive Director of UPROSE, Brooklyn’s oldest Latino community based organization.  In 1996, Elizabeth helped shift UPROSE’s mission to organizing, advocacy and developing intergenerational indigenous leadership through activism.  In reaching these goals, UPROSE focuses on environmental, economic and social justice.  Ms. Yeampierre is a co-founder of CURE (Communities United for Responsible Energy) and OWN (Organization of Waterfront Neighborhoods).  Ms Yeampierre serves on Mayor Bloomberg’s Sustainability and Long Term Planning Advisory Board and the US EPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.

Karni writes that MTA executive director Lee Sander would prefer to see the $3.75 billion earmarked for a direct rail link from Lower Manhattan to JFK Airport allocated to the Second Avenue subway instead.

Critics of the JFK Rail Link, which have included the Regional Plan Association, say the project would benefit fewer riders than a new subway line. Because it would cut down on the commute between Long Island's North Shore and Lower Manhattan, some say it would mostly benefit downtown developers by narrowing the large gap between Midtown and Downtown rents.

Sander also doesn't like PlaNYC's proposal to direct congestion pricing revenue to a new transit funding authority known as the SMART fund.

Mr. Sander on Friday expressed grave misgivings about the creation of a new funding authority at an oversight hearing run by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, a Democrat of Westchester.

State Senate leader Joe Bruno is reported to be enthusiastic about Mayor Bloomberg's plans.

"He called the mayor's presentation last week to Senate Republicans 'outstanding,'" and sources say he is likely to support the mayor's plan.

And Karni's sources speculate that State Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver may be willing to swap his beloved one-seat ride to JFK for the completion of the Second Avenue subway.

"The city needs a full length Second Avenue Subway, as opposed to the money being spread out in smaller pieces of big projects," the chief attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, Gene Russianoff, said. "The problem over the last 10 years has been that if you're for all of the projects, you're really for none of them. That's why they've inched along."

Leading members of the Campaign for New York's Future, a broad coalition of 80 environmental, public health, civic, labor, community and business organizations, will today join Mayor Bloomberg in separate meetings with Governor Eliot Spitzer and State legislators to help call attention to the urgent need for action on the Mayor's PlaNYC initiative during the current legislative session.

The Campaign for New York's Future, which was formed in response to Mayor Bloomberg's visionary PlaNYC initiative, has grown to become an unprecedented coalition of organizations, from corporate to environmental justice advocates, and from century-old citywide institutions to recently-formed neighborhood grassroots groups. On Monday, the Campaign will stand with the Mayor in voicing its full support of his efforts to provide New Yorkers with the greenest, healthiest and most livable city in the United States.

The following comments come from leaders of the Campaign for New York's Future:

Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign:

The Straphangers Campaign strongly supports the bold vision of Mayor Bloomberg's plans to tackle New York's environmental woes. We are especially excited about his proposals to provide billions of dollars to fund fixing and expanding the metropolitan-area's transit network. The first to benefit would rightly be those in neighborhoods that now have limited options, like Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, where I grew up.

Peggy Shepard, WE ACT:

The Mayor has demonstrated that he understands the depth of the challenge and has created a plan that resonates throughout our neighborhoods. It is important for all of us to stand with him in demanding improved air quality, reduced asthma prevalence, more access to open space and clean, reliable energy.

Andy Darrell, the Living Cities program at Environmental Defense:

Now is the time for New York City and State to unite in the fight against global warming. The proposed plan would deliver clean air, energy efficiency and technology innovation for millions of New Yorkers. It provides a model for how all of New York State's cities can lead the world in creating a healthy, low-carbon future. It deserves support now.

Richard Schrader, National Resources Defense Council:

More energy efficient homes and workspaces, along with highly efficient, cleaner power plants, and more fuel efficient cars are critical to meeting our growing energy needs, lowering energy bills, and reducing global warming pollution. We cannot start soon enough on implementing the Mayor's PlaNYC initiatives.

Gene Russianoff, Senior Attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, has been New York City's leading transit advocate for decades. Streetsblog recently spoke with Gene about the MTA's impending fiscal crises and other transit issues.

SB: How real is this predicted fiscal crises? How does it compare to past crises?

GR: Start with the numbers. They have huge problems with their operating and capital budgets (download pdf). The MTA has an operating budget of roughly $9 billion. Three years in a row they have huge projected operating deficits: $800 million in 2008, $1.4 billion in 2009 and $1.8 billion in 2010. This is the deficit after state and city subsidies. The reason that the deficit is so big is because the interest is coming due on the $32 billion the MTA has borrowed over the last 25 years. By 2010 about 20% of the MTA budget will be debt service, which most experts believe is the upper limit of what public authorities can manage. It's not possible to raise the fare enough for three years in a row, even if they callously wanted to put all of the burden on the riding public. Former MTA director Katie Lapp used to joke that they couldn't use the credit card anymore.

SB: Is this the day of reckoning?

GR: The problem is how to pay the current bills and still do capital plans for the future. The thing that's gotten them through the past couple years is this unprecedented windfall from the sky-high real estate market and the MTA's mortgage recording tax. In 2006 they had a $1 billion surplus. This has masked deep problems and made it hard to raise fares. The public doesn't understand the deficit. They think the MTA is raking in the dough through the fare box. But the surplus is coming from these taxes, not the fare box. What's not understood by the public is that it's a roller coaster. If the economy is doing poorly then the subsidies from taxes go down.

SB: Is the MTA's top leadership more worried than it typically is before a fiscal crisis?

GR: The new leadership wants to deliver a good product and they are ambitious. They resent being saddled with the bill for someone else's expenditure. It makes it hard for them to balance their budget and meet new needs. They are concerned about their ability to do that.

SB: The city is perceived as being very flush right now. How does the mayor escape a bigger responsibility for the MTA budget problems?

GR: The average person thinks when it comes to subways, the mayor is the Sun King who decides what MetroCards cost. But mayors don't feel responsible. The mayor has only 4 of 21 votes on the MTA board. On the capital side, Koch contributed $200 million a year to the MTA, Dinkins and Giuliani reduced it to $100 million a year, and Bloomberg cut it to $70 million. The city contributes only about 3% of the capital budget and 3% to the operating budget.

SB: Can congestion pricing help?

GR: We wouldn't support congestion pricing if its only function was to reduce congestion. That's an important goal. But it really needs to be a source of revenue for better transit. You can't relieve congestion without providing a decent transportation alternative -- a safe, reliable transit system. There should be more express buses and BRT. The city should have been building subways decades ago like our global competitors were. In trying to win popular support for congestion pricing you have to tell people the money is going to improve transit, especially bus service. London improved bus service with congestion pricing. The fee paid for new buses and the reduced congestion resulted in faster, better bus service. They made travel easier for the vast majority of people traveling in the central business district.

SB: You've put a lot of work into improving bus service. Are you worried about cuts to the bus system since it is more flexible and has a higher operating cost per passenger?

GR: I'm not especially worried about cuts to buses. Bus service has grown 50% since free transfers between bus and subway. There are 2.5 million bus riders, about half of subway ridership. It's hard to cut a growing service. The new president of the Transit Authority, Howard Roberts, used to head the bus division, and the head of the whole MTA, Lee Sander, was head of the Bronx and Manhattan buses. There is real interest in the top managers there in improving bus service. I'm hopeful there will be dramatic improvements.

SB: Does big business have a big role to play in the upcoming fiscal crises?

GR: I give good marks to the business community. When the transit system was at death's door, they were there. There is a reason we spent $53 billion in 25 years. There is a long history of business support for transit. I've worked closely with the Partnership for New York City over the years. They have been willing to sustain major taxes, because they know they need to be part of the solution.

SB: So what can be done to solve the fiscal crisis?

GR: There is a limited repertoire of things they can do. In 2005, MTA chair Peter Kalikow recommended across-the-board increases in the taxes that support the MTA to the Republican tax-cutting governor who was his boss. It's logical that the current crew at the MTA would do the same.

SB: You actually sound pretty optimistic that this can be worked out.

GR: There is every reason to despair. But I've been in this exact situation several times before, and by some miracle -- not always the prettiest miracle -- like borrowing all of this money, we came through. I've come to believe that people really care. Transit is what makes the city move. The net result is that the political system just can't ignore the subways. We've had five or six capital programs since 1982 and things have gotten better. It would be a total bummer if it was still completely graffiti-covered and those 35 watt dim light bulbs were still down there. But crime is down 75%, the fleet is all new or rehabilitated, and 40% of stations fixed. I'm not supposed to say that the MTA is doing well [laughs] but if you were around in the 50s, 60s and 70s, you would have seen a continual downhill slide. So there's reason for hope.

The Staten Island Advance reports on Monday's press conference outlining the qualities that leading City Council members would like to see in the next DOT Commissioner. The Bloomberg Administration responded to the Council with the following statement:

The Mayor will appoint a commissioner who will carry out policies to meet the sustainability challenges he outlined in his '2030' speech and will continue [outgoing DOT] Commissioner Weinshall's work reducing pedestrian fatalities and increasing safety for all New Yorkers through the implementation of innovative programs like Thru Streets.

The Advance also notes: 

Bloomberg, who with Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden pushed through the unprecedented bans on smoking and trans fats, should take that same intrepid approach with the next transportation commissioner, said Gene Russianoff, attorney with the Straphangers Campaign.

Meanwhile, a source inside DOT Commissioner Weinshall's office says that Deputy Commissioner for Traffic Operations Michael Primeggia, who is often credited by Weinshall as the architect of DOT's Thru Streets program, is "being considered" for the commissioner's job.

You've already weighed in on what you'd like to see in the next DOT commissioner. Now members of the City Council and Transportation Alternatives have weighed in too, with a press conference yesterday highlighting qualities they would like to see in the city's next Transportation Commissioner. Here is Council Member Yassky's press release.

Council Member David Yassky (D-Brooklyn) and transportation advocates today urged the Bloomberg Administration to appoint a new Department of Transportation commissioner with the credentials and experience to tackle the traffic congestion and pollution problems that are plaguing New Yorkers.

"This City has been fortunate to have such a hard-working DOT commissioner in Iris Weinshall for the past five years," Council Member Yassky said. "But now that she is moving on, we must look toward the next five years and beyond and choose a commissioner who will tackle our quickly increasing environmental and transportation challenges. Our next transportation commissioner will be making decisions that will effect the health, business and general quality of life of all New Yorkers, make sure she or he makes the right ones."

Council Members and advocates called on the Mayor to meet his 2030 PLANYC sustainability goals by appointing a DOT commissioner with a mandate to reduce automobile traffic while improving surface transit, walking and bicycling options.

"There is so much a transportation commissioner could do to improve the quality of life of New Yorkers by reducing traffic and encouraging transit use," said Gene Russianoff, senior attorney for the NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. "We need a dynamic leader - like Commissioner Thomas Frieden has been in the area of health - to improve air quality and neighborhood life by taming city traffic."

"Commissioner Weinshall has steered the Department for many years and her shoes will be hard to fill," said Council Member John C. Liu, Chairperson of the Transportation Committee. "New Yorkers need a Transportation Commissioner who can get up to speed quickly and also change the internal inertia that sometimes dampens innovation, especially if we are to truly create a system for the free flow of people and goods in the City."

"It is crucial the Administration selects a new Department of Transportation commissioner who will make pollution, traffic congestion and parking issues a priority," said Council Member Bill de Blasio. "The next commissioner will play a vital role in making sure the City reaches its future goals of increasing and improving our transportation alternatives."

Co-chairs

• Elliot Sander, director of NYU Rudin Center for Transportation, VP at MTA contractor DMJM Harris and former city Dept. of Transporation commisioner. (Rumored to an MTA chairman candidate)
• Mary Ann Crotty, former transportation advisor for Mario Cuomo.

Members

• Janette Sadik-Kahn, VP at Parsons Brinckerhoff (Big MTA contractor leading the Partnership for NYC's congestion pricing study)
• Gene Russianoff, Straphangers Campaign (the MTA's best critic)
• Jon Orcutt, president of the Tri State Transportation Campaign (another tough MTA critic and big thinker on regional transport issues)
• Ernest Tollerson, VP at Partnership for NYC (Working on the Partnership's congestion pricing study)
• Mitch Palley, MTA board member from Suffolk (often the lone dissenting voice with votig power on the board and big supporter of the third rail project for the LIRR)
• Susan Kupferman, president MTA Bridges and Tunnels (Rumored candidate for MTA executive director)
• Robert Yaro, president of Regional Plan Association

Other Members

• James Conigliaro, Machinists
• Sam Williams, UAW 9A
• Garry Labarbera, president Teamsters Local 282
• Jack Aherne, International Union of Operating Engineers
• Chris Ward, managing director of the General Contractors Association (Ports, shipping and environment expert)
• Sonia Toledo, managing director Merrill Lynch
• Jamie Mercado, partner at Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett
• Edward Malloy, president of Buildings and Construction Trades Council
• Eva Lerner Lamb, presidents of Palisades Consulting
• Doreen Frasca, president of Frasca & Associates
• John Egan, president of Renaissance Corp.
• Binta Brown, Associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore
• Samara Barend, director of STV Inc. (Engineering firm that did the Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel study)

Russianoff generated one of the nicer soundbites to come out of yesterday's Citywide Coalition for Traffic Relief rally in this interview with Stan Brooks of 1010 WINS. You can listen to it online but here's the gist of it:

Traffic is really an urban health issue. It's about our lungs, our ears, our sensibilities walking down the street and this is a mayor who has really done a lot to make the city healthier. There's a long way to go and a key way [to make the city healthier] is to tame traffic. This is a walking city, a beautiful city and a city that gives far too much priority to cars driven by individuals and not enough to people on bikes, in buses or pedestrians.

Brooks summarizes: "He says the Mayor has tackled cigarettes and transfats and cigarettes, why not go after traffic?"

While former Bogota Mayor Enrique Peñalosa and DOT Commissioner Iris Weinshall got most of the attention for their keynote speeches at last week's transportation policy conference, much of the day's real intellectual ferment took place in the five separate breakout sessions that convened before lunch. The groups were organized as follows:

• Subways and Commuter Rail moderated by Gene Russianoff
• Cars and Buses with Bruce Schaller
• Underutilized Modes with Paul Steely White
• Pedestrians and Sidewalks with Ethel Sheffer
• Comprehensive Planning and Policy with Ernest Tollerson and Bob Yaro

The goal of each workshop, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer said, was to generate lists of specific short-term and long-term priorities. After lunch, the moderators returned to the stage to present each workshop's findings.

Interestingly, a few key issues bubbled up in all five groups, regardless of the specific topic:

• The five groups all expressed a deep and strongly-felt desire for a better quality of life on Manhattan's sidewalks, streets and non-park public spaces.
• All called for a greater ability for people on the neighborhood-level to test new ideas on their own streets and share urban design best practices with other civic groups.
• Each group called for better collaboration within city government and said that there needs to be improvement in the way that city officials work together across agency lines.

That last point emerged as the day's elephant-in-the-room. Tollerson and Yaro put the question this way: Can city agencies each working "in their own separate silos" nurture the flexible, collaborative processes necessary to create the needed change in New York City's transportation and public space policy? There were some serious heavy-hitters in the Planning and Policy workshop including Buz Paaswell, Director of CUNY's Transportation Research Center, and the general feeling in that breakout group was, "No." It is time for the post-Word War II structure of agencies and authorities responsible for New York City's vast transportation and public space infrastructure to be re-thought and reformed.

After her session on Pedestrians and Sidewalks Sheffer reported, "Many said it was important that communities have more of a role in trying to determine furniture, signage, and width of sidewalks." She also said, "a real concern is that there is not enough coordination on pedestrian and street issues" between city agencies. During the session neighborhood leaders said City Hall downplayed aesthetic priorities that weren't part of big development projects or well-funded retail districts. Wellington Chan of the Chinatown Partnership summed up the mood when he explained how hard it is to procure resources for something like new street furniture:

"Anything that's not dull gray concrete is not acceptable to the Department of Transportation. They'll say, "You have to design in accordance with DOT standards or you're liable for the cost. So, to put up a nice planter, you need to be a business improvement district or a local development corporation."

Sheffer said that many of the participants in her workshop are ready to take it upon themselves to foster a new proactive culture. They want to design their own principles for managing street vendors, for instance, and to build coalitions among different civic groups. Sheffer's Pedestrians and Sidewalks group wanted to:

• Ease the conflict between pedestrians and turning cars.
• Increase the number of pedestrian ramps throughout Manhattan.
• Promote exclusive crossing periods for pedestrians at crazy intersections.
• Seek "better access to the waterfront," with money and staff to promote innovative design and public amenities.

In general, Sheffer said, the group wants to help the city cater to pedestrians' shifting needs and "enable them to traverse the borough with some degree of pleasantness."

Bruce Schaller's session on Cars and Buses spent a lot of its time focused on parking. He reported that there was a "division in the group about whether adding parking spaces eases the parking problem or adds more cars." Like Sheffer's session, Schaller's yielded a call for smarter government. He said the city should "coordinate agencies" on teams to manage big new developments or zoning changes. If the city does that, he said, experts in transportation and health and planning could evaluate a project's total impact on neighborhoods.

Schaller's group called for strong measures to solve Manhattan's congestion problem:

• "Selective congestion pricing" via a phasing-in of charges on drivers where traffic "is most acute."
• This pricing should come with and, perhaps, help to fund more and more frequent bus service.
• The city should "rationalize" its parking policy to balance the needs of all street users.

Paul Steely White of Transportation Alternatives, whose group discussed underutilized transportation modes, also called for balance. "There's just not room enough to walk and bike in Manhattan," he said. His workshop proposed these steps:

• Extend crosswalk time on busy streets
• Improve connections between subway stations and bike lanes
• Improve cyclists' access to ferries
• More bike parking outside and in private buildings as well.
• Tighten enforcement of existing bike lanes and cyclist-protection laws.

White's group also discussed parking, noting that 15 bikes can fit in the same street space used to store one motor vehicle. The group consensus was that bike parking clogged neighborhoods with big numbers of cyclists like the East Village and Williamsburg would do well to set aside some street space for bike parking, particularly around subway stops.

Those who discussed subway service produced the day's most tailored suggestions. Activist Gene Russianoff, who heads the Straphangers Campaign for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said he had urged his group to "focus on things that could happen or are on the drawing boards." He reported support for the MTA's plan to install electronic real-time information on the 1, 6 and L lines in the next year. Looking farther ahead, Russianoff's group also pushed for cross-agency policies to make the subway better serve the streets above it. These would include:

• Completion of the 2nd Ave subway, ideally with a link to Brooklyn.
• A "green component across the system," building on the success of the solar panels at the Coney Island-Stilwell Avenue station.
• Expanding elevator access and other services to people who use wheelchairs.

Participants acknowledged the gap between what New Yorkers really want and what is currently politically popular. Russianoff rated outgoing Governor George Pataki's pet project, a link from Penn Station to Grand Central, "middle priority" and gave Mayor Bloomberg's plan to extend the 7 line to 11th Avenue and 34th Street "very low priority." Yet, "at the moment seems most likely to go ahead in the real world," Russianoff said.

How to narrow the gap between the real world and the ideal? That was the focus of Tollerson and Yaro's panel.  Tollerson's group called for sensible (i.e., radical) changes to guide future laws and rules. They want to see the City:

• Prioritize projects through inter-agency collaboration
• Create 24/7 live-work neighborhoods around transit hubs (without closing streets or building new towers that warp neighborhood scale)
• Use the zoning code to promote mass-transit oriented strategies.

Sounds like a tall order? For one day, at least, it all felt entirely possible.