Yang tries again on how to run transit

Mayor wannabe Andrew Yang on Wednesday watered down his proposal for the city to take full control of subway and bus service, saying an easier option would be to restructure the MTA board.

The candidate was asked in an interview with Orthodox Jewish magazine Mishpacha how he’d replace billions in subsidies the MTA receives from the state that Gov. Cuomo’s threatened to revoke if the city took control of its own transit system.

“The simplest way to get city control of the MTA is to simply have the city recommend 11 MTA board members rather than four,” Yang responded. “If you change that board composition, there’s no reason why you need to change the funding.”

Under state law, New York City’s mayor recommends four of the MTA board’s 14 voting members. The governor nominates six, and other voting members are nominated from surrounding counties. There are also several nonvoting members on the board, and four members from upstate counties share a single vote.

Yang appeared to misunderstand how the MTA board functions in announcing his target of 11 city reps, which would give the city a majority if all 21 board members could vote.

What’s more, the MTA board has little control over daily transit operations. The group approves MTA policies and finances, such as contracts and fare increases, but has little oversight of its daily operations.

All MTA board nominees must be approved by the governor and state Senate. The governor also nominates the MTA chairman and CEO, who runs the agency.

Yang last month said the city should take control of NYC Transit, a pitch that came two years after City Council Speaker Corey Johnson pitched a new city-run transit agency called Big Apple Transit, or BAT.

Johnson (D-Manhattan) was expected to make the proposal central to his mayoral campaign before he dropped out of the race last year. He’s since launched a campaign for city comptroller instead.

Yang campaign spokesman Jake Sporn said the candidate still supports full mayoral control of the city’s subways and buses, but added, “We can’t wait on Albany to deliver on New Yorkers’ transit needs.”

“Andrew believes we need full control of NYC Transit, our subway and bus system, and part of that means giving the city a much larger say on the board.”