Only half the board members are now running this railroad

Just like its trains and buses, the MTA’s board is half-empty.

Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange and Rockland counties are without representatives on the agency’s board — and the state Senate has less than three weeks to confirm new people to the open seats.

Additionally, Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams each have one vacant seat on the board. Whoever they nominate for the seats will also require Senate approval.

Hochul’s empty seat is one of the six board members she nominates, and Adams’ empty seat is one of the four board members he nominates.

The upshot of the empty seats is that when the MTA board meets before the end of May, just 8.5 votes will be present — including MTA chairman Janno Lieber, a longtime real estate industry and MTA executive appointed by Hochul.

The number of votes on the board does not always work out to a whole number because board members from Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Putnam counties each get only one-fourth of a vote.

Rachael Fauss, an analyst at the good government group Reinvent Albany, said state officials have little time to waste.

“The state Senate will go home on June 2, and after that point, there won’t be another opportunity for six months to fill these positions,” said Fauss.

“That would deprive the counties and city of full representation on the MTA board,” Faus said. “While the board appointees don’t control the MTA — the governor does — they have an important role in overseeing MTA operations.”

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority board approves fare policies, service changes and the agency’s $18 billion annual operating budget. Its empty seats come as it prepares to vote on a slate of major transportation issues, including the cost of tolls for Manhattan’s upcoming congestion pricing program.

A change in state law pushed by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019 requires MTA board members nominated by county executives to vacate their board seats 60 days after their sponsors’ terms expire.

County executives from Orange, Rockland and Nassau have all submitted their nominees, while those in Westchester and Suffolk have not.

Hochul and Adams each have three representatives on the board who were nominated by their predecessors. Hochul has named two people on the MTA board — Lieber and Elizabeth Velez, a construction industry executive.

Hochul and Adams have not nominated appointees for their open seats. Adams earlier this year considered giving his open seat on the board to Transport Workers Union president John Samuelsen, according to sources with knowledge of the mayor’s deliberations.

The governor must approve each nominee — and Senate has just eight more scheduled working days to confirm the board members before this year’s legislative session ends on June 2.

“We continue to work with the legislature, the counties, and the city on these appointments,” said Hochul spokeswoman Hazel Crampton-Hays.