MTA Board Member Suggests Staten Islanders Should Be Punished For Pushing Back Against Congestion Pricing By Withholding New Train Cars For SIRT: Asm. Pirozzolo, Other Local Politicians Respond

Asm. Pirozzolo, other Staten Island elected officials demand that Governor Hochul relieve MTA Board Member Norman Brown be relieved of his position on the board.  

Editor’s note: The NY Post reported that this board member made the following statements at the most recent board meeting, where they were discussing installation of new train cars on the SIRT (Staten Island’s only train): “Since the representatives from Staten Island on the state, local and federal level do not support the capital plan [the wildly unpopular congestion pricing plan], since they don’t really care, could we run them on the A line?” he asked.  The A-Line simply means the A-train in Manhattan, whose rail cars likely need an upgrade, but Staten Island was promised these cars before the lawsuits and pushback against the congestion plan started.  

MTA Construction and Development president Jamie Torres-Springer  said, in response:”The R44s on Staten Island are really very old,” Torres-Springer said, referring to the railway’s current rolling stock, which dates back to the Nixon administration. “The SIR is an important part of the mass transit system in the region and we’re working to protect safe and reliable service across the entire MTA system.”  Clearly, this board member’s plans for revenge on Staten Island residents to punish them for opposition to the MTA’s proposed plans, did not stand up when presented to the voting member of the board.  So, Staten Island will still get these new train cars, which were set to roll out in August (which has now started)

The text of the joint letter: 

Dear Governor Hochul,

At a recent MTA Capital Committee meeting, MTA representatives discussed plans to roll out the upcoming Kawasaki R211S train cars to the Staten Island Railway fleet. During this meeting, MTA Board Member Norman Brown inquired, “If there was anything specific mechanically about them [R211S] that could not be moved over to the four other boroughs, um, since the, um, representatives from Staten Island on the state, local, and federal level do not support the capital plan [Congestion Pricing].” He further stated, “Since they don’t really care, could we run them on the A-line?”

Today, we are asking you to remove Mr. Brown from his position on the MTA Board.

The complete contempt Mr. Brown exhibited for Staten Islanders was a masterclass in bureaucratic ignorance. It not only disqualifies Mr. Brown from serving the customers of the MTA but highlights the larger issue Staten Islanders have with the MTA and its board. They do not get it and seemingly do not care to.

We cannot speak to the motivation of Mr. Brown’s outwardly hostile bias and callousness towards the residents of Staten Island. Our elected officials are far from the only representatives opposed to Congestion Pricing. As governor, you put an indefinite pause on Congestion Pricing. Would Mr. Brown now suggest that we no longer consult with you because of your action?

Staten Islanders get the short end of the stick when it comes to public transit in every scenario. Our local and express bus routes and vehicles are limited, often delayed or canceled, and plagued with mechanical issues. Additionally, the MTA is planning to shutter the Meredith Avenue Bus Depot in 2025, regardless of the widespread chaos it would cause to our already overcrowded and under-resourced Express Bus depots, inevitably leading to more service disruptions.

We have one rail system that covers only a portion of Staten Island, while remnants of rail systems past lay abandoned, in disrepair, and disgust, for decades. The only other way around for Staten Islanders is via their personal vehicles, and of course, the MTA has a hand in increasing the cost of that as well.

Staten Islanders are subject to MTA taxes at the gas pump, at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), while placing online orders, and even when paying utilities such as their phone bills. Let’s not forget the Verrazano Bridge toll and business/payroll taxes. It never seems to end.

Staten Island has been fighting for our “fare” share for decades. To imply that our new rail fleet, which has not been updated since the 1970s, should be held hostage over our and your opposition to yet another tax (that the MTA’s own study says would have harmful health and environmental impacts in an Environmental Justice Zone) is an outrage.

Every time the MTA takes a financial blow or gets rejected in its constant pleas for more taxpayer money, it instinctively threatens service cuts instead of searching for why it never has the resources it needs to meet its basic responsibilities. This was proven yet again in a July 16th memo from MTA Chief of Operations Planning, Christopher Pangilinan, which suggested cutting recently added (and much-needed) weekday express bus trips on Staten Island, in the wake of your widely celebrated decision to axe congestion pricing. It’s as if the MTA were a thuggish syndicate that threatens pain and suffering unless they get their money.

If the MTA were a ship with a leak, instead of addressing the source of the breach and repairing it, the MTA threatens to let the vessel sink unless taxpayers fund more people to bail out an increasingly sinking vessel. It is an unconscionable mindset that has been deeply rooted within the culture of the MTA for decades, to our despair.

All of New York State, especially those in transit deserts such as Staten Island, deserve accessible, reliable, convenient, and affordable public transportation options. That cannot happen until there is change at the MTA, including a full audit, and a swift transition to leadership that empathizes with those who voice their concerns and can manage an agency capable of successfully addressing them.

That can begin today with the removal of Norman Brown from the MTA Board. Please use this moment as an opportunity to begin restoring trust with not only the people of Staten Island but every last New Yorker who desperately needs the MTA to do more than just raise fees.
We eagerly await your action and response.

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Sincerely

Sam Pirozzolo
NYS Assemblyman, 63rd District

Andrew Lanza
NYS Senator, 24th District Senate Deputy Minority Leader

Vito Fossella
Staten Island Borough President

David Carr
NYC Councilman, 50th District

Michael Reilly
NYS Assemblyman, 62nd District

Joseph Borelli
NYC Councilman, 51st District City Council Minority Leader

Banner Image: MTA Board Adopts Central Business District Toll Rates. Image Credit – MTA on Flickr