But imperative for straphangers, he says
“And on the technology, I want to get the best technology minds in this country to look at the technology in the subways.”
Cuomo and MTA officials hope a wireless technology it has been testing, called ultra-wide- band radio, could accelerate the signal upgrade.
Mayor de Blasio praised Byford’s plan, but he was wary of the MTA’s spending habits. He pitched his plan to impose a socalled millionaires tax as a reve- nue stream the transit agency can bank on.
“We have to hold their feet to the fire that this plan is implemented a lot better than what we’ve seen in the past, and certainly my board members will do that,” de Blasio said. “But the real answer to the MTA situation is a long-term funding stream, and we as a city, as a state keep putting this off.”
MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein called the tax a “punt” that lawmakers in both parties oppose.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson, meanwhile, said he wants to know how it’ll benefit the city and how the money will be spent.
“Those are the principles that we need to talk about and then I think the city again has to have more say on how that money gets spent,” Johnson said. “I can’t predict the mayor and the governor.”
“The plan Andy Byford laid out is bold, it’s ambitious and it’s also realistic if we have the money in place to make it happen,” advocate John Raskin, director of the grassroots group Riders Alliance, said.
Lhota said he did not speak to Cuomo about how it’ll be financed, but said, “but we will work with the Legislature and all of the elected officials.”