NYC Pols Will Take Subway Tour, Remain Divided On Solving Problems

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NEW YORK CITY, NY – A veritable train car’s worth of elected officials gathered outside City Hall on Monday to announce a 24-hour tour of the subways in which they’ll seek input from frustrated commuters.

The politicians at Monday’s press conference each said it was important to hear directly from straphangers, but voiced divided opinions on the controversy over funding the troubled subway system.

Brooklyn City Councilman Jumaane Williams slammed Gov. Andrew Cuomo and MTA Chairman Joe Lhota for recently asking the city for more funds. Controller Scott Stringer repeated his view that the city should assent to Cuomo and Lhota’s call for the city to split the $836 million cost of emergency repairs with the state. And Public Advocate Letitia James said she wouldn’t take a stance on the matter.

“Yes, the mayor and the city can always do more. But the primary responsibility lies with Gov. Cuomo,” Williams said. “Lhota should be ashamed of himself for what he’s doing.”

Stringer called for a memorandum of understanding between the city and state so city officials know exactly how funds are spent if they agree to pay more for the MTA.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has strongly opposed paying any more for the subways, saying the state previously took money the city meant for the MTA and redirected it to other causes.

“Individuals don’t really care about who’s responsible for the subway system. They just want it fixed,” James said, later adding, “I don’t believe in taking sides.”

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Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, the main organizers of the upcoming 24-hour subway tour, said the system's problems are the result of years of underinvestment. But they avoided going into detail about who’s to blame right now.

Dinowitz chairs the Assembly’s committee on state authorities, including the MTA. Rodriguez heads the Council’s Transportation Committee.

Their tour will unfold over two 12-hour stints on Thursday and Friday. The first journey will begin at the Van Cortlandt Park/242nd St. stop in the Bronx and end at Times Square. The second one will run from Queensboro Plaza to Union Square.

In spite of officials’ assertions that commuters don’t care about who’s responsible for the subway, a recent poll showed more New Yorkers blaming Cuomo than de Blasio for the transit problems.

Nevertheless, the dozen elected officials who spoke at Monday’s press conference seemed optimistic about spending some time in the trenches with the city’s suffering commuters.

“This is the first time in memory where legislators have actually walked down those staircases and actually are attempting to hear from the people,” Stringer said. “This is very important because this means when the state and the city work together, we can solve this problem.”

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Lead image of Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and City Controller Scott Stringer by Shant Shahrigian/Patch.