N.Y. governor issues state of emergency for subways

Action follows derailment that injured 3 dozen

NEW YORK — Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency for the subway system Thursday and said he would sign an executive order to accelerate efforts to improve service, including undertaking badly needed repairs and obtaining new cars and equipment.

Cuomo said the dismal performance of the system was no longer acceptable and said he had ordered Joseph J. Lhota, the new chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the subway, to provide a reorganization plan for the agency within 30 days, to “design an organization that performs a function,” he said, denouncing the agency’s performance.

Lhota must also review the agency’s capital plan within 60 days, the governor added.

Cuomo pledged to direct an addition $1 billion for capital improvements.

Cuomo’s comments came two days after a subway train derailed in northern Manhattan, injuring about three dozen people.

The governor said the executive order would make it easier for the transit agency to focus on its most urgent needs.

“We need new ideas. Delivered faster,” the governor said at a meeting in Manhattan where entrepreneurs were gathered for a competition unveiled by the governor for ideas on how the fix the problems plaguing the subway.

Lhota said the executive order’s easing of procurement rules was “probably worth more than the billion dollars.” He said it would allow the agency to hire contractors to make repairs faster.

New York Times file New York’s subway system currently serves nearly 6 million riders a day. Commuters, like these using the L train at Union Square, are cramming onto a system that has been essentially the same size for decades.