Transportation Infrastructure: The Roundtable

JAMES BRENNAN - Chair, New York State Assembly Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions 

Q: The Port Authority has been under scrutiny since the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. What needs to change? 

JB: The New York State Legislature enacted a number of laws called the Public Authority Reform Act and the Public Authority Accountability Act several years ago to overhaul the ways in which the governance and accountability and transparency of public authorities conduct themselves. Those laws did not apply to the Port Authority because you have to pass identical pieces of legislation in New York and New Jersey and have both governors then sign them to change anything about the Port Authority. That’s a difficult task. My office sponsors a bill to apply the Public Authority Reform Act and additional reforms of that agency related to toll procedures, public hearings, more public accountability, reports on interstate cooperation, and duties to report fraud and corruption. That bill has passed the New York State Assembly twice already and is now in the Ways and Means Committee. A similar but less comprehensive bill about the Port Authority passed the New Jersey State Legislature in 2012, and was vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie. So in 2013 neither the New Jersey Legislature nor the New York State Senate, where the legislation had also been introduced, reintroduced those bills. My office is now working with the New Jersey Legislature and the New York State Senate to get an identical piece of legislation in all four legislative bodies so that it can be advanced. 

Q: Is Metro-North taking necessary steps to improve safety? 

JB: Obviously the president was replaced. Tom Prendergast, the president of the MTA, testified at a hearing we did that they are reviewing everything and the National Transportation Safety Board recommendations. A number of years ago the MTA board had a safety committee, which used to meet on a regular basis, where issues like accidents, injuries, deaths, safety and security issues would be regularly discussed. My office is sponsoring a bill to compel the agency to re-establish that safety committee and have it in law and a mandatory meeting at least once a year. 

YDANIS RODRIGUEZ - Chair, New York City Council Transportation Committee 

Q: Mayor Bill de Blasio’s “Vision Zero” plan takes steps to prevent traffic fatalities, but how much of the responsibility for reducing accidents falls to pedestrians and how can city lawmakers help change pedestrians’ mentality to make them think more safely? 

YR: We cannot let jaywalking become the new stop-and-frisk in our city. While I think these concerns may be premature, it is a concern when deaths are blamed on the victim rather than the driver. That being said, pedestrians and cyclists play a role as well in ensuring their own safety on our streets. As a city, rather than arresting or issuing summons to those who jaywalk, we should be using our resources to mount an informational ad campaign similar to those effectively utilized by the past administration on issues such as smoking and nutrition. Jaywalking can almost be considered a New York pastime, and the real goal is: How can we ensure drivers are not in a position to kill in the first place? A car going 20 mph can break with greater ease than one going 30 mph, and the chances of survival increase dramatically at lower speeds. 

Q: A recent Taxi & Limousine Commission report showed that a large majority of the city’s taxi drivers are immigrants. What do those numbers signal to you in terms of the future of New York’s transportation industry as to who will work in its jobs, and where the city is going in terms of being a haven for immigrants? 

YR: As an immigrant and someone who drove a livery car myself, I embrace the changes in the industry as I do any industry that sees higher levels of diversity. Our city is changing as a whole, but in many ways it is continuing the trends it has seen throughout its history, with perpetual influxes of immigrants from all over the world. When it comes to transportation, anyone who has obtained the necessary skills and has a firm grasp of the job at hand should have the opportunity to work in New York City. In many cases these are good-paying jobs, in the taxi/black car/livery industry as well as at the MTA. We should be helping all those interested apply for these jobs, regardless of background. This has been and always will be a city of opportunity for millions of immigrants, myself included. 

ROBERT ZERRILLO - Policy Director, New York Public Transit Association 

Q: MTA ridership increases are making headlines, but is public transportation ridership up elsewhere in the state? What does the state of upstate’s public transit systems mean for residents in those areas and the regional economies? 

RZ: There have been increases across upstate. Some of the examples I know of are: Capital District Transportation Authority is up 5 percent, the transit system in Ithaca is up 6 percent and [the] Rochester-area transit system is up about 7 percent in the past year. It’s showing that people want to ride transit, especially the younger generation. They’re not as interested in purchasing a car right away when they get out of high school or college. They’re interested in mobility; they’re looking for a more urban lifestyle. It’s a positive sign in that the economy upstate is not growing as well, in some areas, as we might like. So the fact that transit ridership is growing, even when an economy is not, and oftentimes not growing as fast, is a very positive sign for transit. 

Q: Feelers have been put out for a possible high-speed rail link along the Empire Corridor. How big of a boost to the state would that project—or a similar project between Buffalo and New York City—be? 

RZ: Having high-speed rail and connecting those cities would be a tremendous improvement in infrastructure. It would provide an alternative for folks who don’t want to drive. And the air service between those upstate communities is almost nonexistent. Improved rail service would certainly be a benefit. It would also help transit. Folks traveling by rail between cities when they get to their destination will need a way to get around within those cities. The big question is the competing interests in funding. Can you find the funding to make those kinds of costly infrastructure improvements? That’s going to be the difficult part. Would the high-speed rail service be helpful? Yes. What level we can afford is what’s got to be debated. If we find the funding, the infrastructure would be very helpful, very important.