Transit blame game
Chief and DA duel over fare beating
The man responsible for keeping the Big Apple subways running slugged it out with Manhattan’s top lawman Wednesday in an ugly back and forth over turnstile jumpers.
New York City Transit chief Andy Byford fired the first salvo, blaming Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. for costing the agency much-needed revenues by no longer prosecuting most fare beaters.
Byford’s attack, launched during a morning radio interview, said Vance’s policy cost transit funds that are desperately needed to repair the ailing the subway and bus system.
“I think that has had an impact,” Byford said on WNYC.
The DA’s office was quick to hit back.
“The MTA is running out of people to blame for its monumental failures,” said Vance spokesman Danny Frost. “If Mr. Byford wishes to continue [former] Chairman [Joe] Lhota’s shameful legacy of scapegoating low-income New Yorkers and criminal-justice advocates for the disaster that has unfolded under their leadership, he should provide evidence.
“According to the most recent MTA data available, daily subway ridership has declined by 191,000. If Mr. Byford thinks New Yorkers are gullible enough to believe that 200,000 people per day are newly jumping turnstiles, then, well, we wish him the best for his tenure.”
Fare evasion is contributing to the need to raise fares and tolls in the next few months, MTA officials have said. Byford said he’s still crunching the numbers and should know the full cost of fare evasion by the next MTA board meeting in December.
Earlier this year, Vance told cops he would no longer criminally prosecute turnstile jumpers as long as they pay a fine and otherwise stay out of trouble.
Meanwhile, a slew of politicians, including Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, sent a letter this week to the MTA, of which NYC Transit is a division, asking it to rethink cutting several planned Select Bus Service lines, including the M96, to save money.
The politicians say the lines are badly needed and dropping them will save only a drop in the bucket of the billions needed to repair the subway system.
“It’s a relatively small amount of money, just pocket change under the couch cushion,” said Brewer spokesman Andrew Goldston. “It doesn’t make sense.”
The agency considered a variety of service cuts before settling on the planned SBS lines, said Byford.
“I vetoed cuts that I thought would be draconian,” he said.
The MTA board in December will vote on the service cuts as a part of the 2019 MTA operating budget.
The MTA is running out of people to blame for its monumental failures.