Mayor: Must Boost City Mass Transit;

Despite Financial Slump
Mayor: Must Boost City Mass Transit


Mayor Bloomberg Dec. 18 said that although the city faces difficult economic times, that must not prevent it from improving its transportation infrastructure.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James EYE ON HOLES IN THE GROUND: While Mayor Bloomberg said it was urgent to replace or repair vital subway equipment, he had good news at street level, saying that 99 percent of all city potholes are fixed within 30 days, compared to 45 percent when he took office. "In the middle of the 20th century, New York City was the world leader in such projects," he told a Citizens Budget Commission luncheon in midtown, referring to the array of highways, bridges and tunnels produced by Robert Moses, who for more than 30 years held sway as the city's transportation czar even while running its parks and housing agencies.

From Feast to Famine

" ... And then we stopped," Mr. Bloomberg continued, referring to the projects that were delayed and later shelved due to economic problems that culminated in the fiscal crisis of the mid-1970s. "Almost nothing got built."

His administration has tried to rekindle ambitious infrastructure projects, among them the Third Water Tunnel, which he predicted would be activated to provide water for all five boroughs by 2009, and the Second Ave. Subway and an extension to the IRT No. 7 line from Times Square down to 34th St. just east of the Hudson River.

The impetus for focusing on mass transit rather than the automobile transportation that was Mr. Moses's priority is the problems that have been caused by increased vehicle traffic that has accompanied the city's economic prosperity in recent years, the Mayor told the business-funded CBC. "Our growth is strangling us," he asserted.

The transportation improvements will include significant overhauls within the existing system as well as the new subway projects. "More than half of our subway system needs repairs," he remarked, one day before his appointees to the MTA board voted to approve fare hikes. "Half of our subway signals are obsolete."

Prods MTA Chief

Noting the presence in the audience of Elliot (Lee) Sander, who is completing his first year as the chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Mr. Bloomberg remarked, "None of this can we blame Lee for, but you will be blamed in another year if you don't fix it." He called on the state to join the city in providing more capital budget aid to the MTA.

Although he has been able to consistently turn large budget deficits into fiscal surpluses since taking office in 2002, the Mayor said that will become more difficult with an anticipated drop in city revenues, particularly due to a slump in Wall Street profits.

"Anybody that thinks the bad times aren't coming just isn't being realistic," he told the audience. "It's easy to say let's leave them for our successors to deal with, but I don't think that makes very much sense."

Limited Discretion

He continued, "In the months ahead, we're going to maintain the fiscal discipline that we've established at City Hall the last six years."

The projected deficit for the fiscal year that begins next July 1 is $2.7 billion, Mr. Bloomberg noted. The belt-tightening he has ordered at city agencies can only do so much to reduce that deficit, he said, because mandated costs for items like pensions and health costs for city workers mean, "We only control about 47 cents of every dollar in the city budget."