MTA Reorganization Plan: Andy Byford Stripped of Power due to Prince Andrew's Jealousy, Commuters in for more than a "Summer of Hell"

[EastFlatbushLarry]

this is absolutely abhorrent. next local 100 union meeting, I'm bringing this up, because in all honesty, i haven't read one piece of literature pertaining to any of this, regardless of the fact that this "restructuring" will affect employees directly in certain cases... I'm pretty sure of the reasoning why this hasn't been addressed as yet, being that certain entities within the union believe Cuomo to be our "friend" 

[Union Tpke]

@RR503

Screen Shot 2019-07-19 at 3.06.19 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

This is when the Board will approve the garbage reorganization plan. There are so many things I want to speak out against on Monday (unfortunately I have work on Wednesday).

• Stupid reorganization
• Stupid F express
• Stupid cuts in service
• Stupid slabbing over of entrances at Broad

Edited July 19, 2019 by Union Tpke

[RR503]

1 minute ago, Union Tpke said:

This is when the Board will approve the garbage reorganization plan. There are so many things I want to speak out against on Monday (unfortunately I have work on Wednesday).

Hold up, they're running the reorg through...CPOC???

A note to all: this is your chance! Sign up and speak!

[Union Tpke]

11 minutes ago, RR503 said:

Hold up, they're running the reorg through...CPOC???

A note to all: this is your chance! Sign up and speak!

I wasn't even paying attention, but apparently yes. 

Edited July 19, 2019 by Union Tpke

[Uncle Floyd Fan]

3 hours ago, RR503 said:

Hold up, they're running the reorg through...CPOC???

A note to all: this is your chance! Sign up and speak!

Wow - At such a convenient time, too! /s/

Hopefully they'll address stronger retaining walls at Court Sq. - https://nypost.com/2019/07/18/subway-stop-floods-after-downpour-knocks-out-wall-in-queens/

The station looks like it needs an improvement plan of its own before a fatality occurs.

[Around the Horn]

5 hours ago, Uncle Floyd Fan said:

Wow - At such a convenient time, too! /s/

My exact reaction too lol

[SubwayFan3000]

Cuomo is the Worst Governor ever, I Hope he loses in 2022 election to either Chris Gibson or Mark Molinaro, Molinaro should have won election 8 months ago. This is all Rigged.

[Union Tpke]

16 hours ago, subwayfan1998 said:

Cuomo is the Worst Governor ever, I Hope he loses in 2022 election to either Chris Gibson or Mark Molinaro, Molinaro should have won election 8 months ago. This is all Rigged.

He is going to run in 2022 and will win handily. A Republican would have no chance of defeating him. Name a credible Democrat that could run against him. I can't. We'll have to wait until January 2027 for him to leave office.

[SubwayFan3000]

11 hours ago, Union Tpke said:

He is going to run in 2022 and will win handily. A Republican would have no chance of defeating him. Name a credible Democrat that could run against him. I can't. We'll have to wait until January 2027 for him to leave office.

Why wouldn't they? His Approval Rating is Declining very fast. Chris Gibson, Elise Stefanik and Mark Molinaro seems to be best Candidates to defeat Cuomo.

[Union Tpke]

11 minutes ago, subwayfan1998 said:

Why wouldn't they? His Approval Rating is Declining very fast. Chris Gibson, Elise Stefanik and Mark Molinaro seems to be best Candidates to defeat Cuomo.

Are you kidding me. NY is a heavily heavily Democratic state. Gibson, Stefanik, Molinaro, are you kidding me. The only way to defeat Cuomo is in the primary.

[SubwayFan3000]

3 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

Are you kidding me. NY is a heavily heavily Democratic state. Gibson, Stefanik, Molinaro, are you kidding me. The only way to defeat Cuomo is in the primary.

Last Time NY was a republican was George Pataki.

[Union Tpke]

6 minutes ago, subwayfan1998 said:

Last Time NY was a republican was George Pataki.

No duh. Times have changed. Ticket-splitting is gone, NY has gone to the left, the Republicans have an ever weaker bench then Democrats, and in the age of Trump Democratic voters are agitated.

[SubwayFan3000]

28 minutes ago, Union Tpke said:

No duh. Times have changed. Ticket-splitting is gone, NY has gone to the left, the Republicans have an ever weaker bench then Democrats, and in the age of Trump Democratic voters are agitated.

States like MA, NH, VT and MD are all Heavily Democratic and Solid Left States and they voted for a Republican Politician, they all are Anti-Trump. even Molinaro and Gibson are Anti-Trump Republicans.

Also Most New Yorks don't want Cuomo to run for a Fourth Term, so he would either lose in Primary or General Election?

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/cuomo-poll-ratings-1.27164293

[BM5 via Woodhaven]

2 hours ago, subwayfan1998 said:

States like MA, NH, VT and MD are all Heavily Democratic and Solid Left States and they voted for a Republican Politician, they all are Anti-Trump. even Molinaro and Gibson are Anti-Trump Republicans.

Also Most New Yorks don't want Cuomo to run for a Fourth Term, so he would either lose in Primary or General Election?

https://www.newsday.com/news/region-state/cuomo-poll-ratings-1.27164293

That didn't work for Cynthia Nixon. There's still groups where his favorability is decent, and those are the ones which need to be targetted. 

You have to run an effective campaign to beat Cuomo. Last election, I did not see one TV ad from Nixon or Molinaro (during their respective election), but Cuomo was out attacking them (mostly Molinaro) for their policies/former stances on issues.

Anyways, I'll end here so the thread can get back on topic.

 

[Gong Gahou]

Results are in: the plan is moving forward. I stumbled upon this from picking up AM New York's newspaper this morning.

Quote

MTA board approves reorganization plan that could cost up to 2,700 jobs

Updated July 24, 2019 7:08 PM

 

The MTA's board on Wednesday approved a controversial and quickly prepared reorganization plan that could cut up to 2,700 jobs by consolidating back-office groups.

The “transformation plan,” as it's called, could save the authority up to $530 million annually over the next three years as it remains in the throes of a financial crisis. But it has also drawn an outpouring of opposition from experts and advocates who believe it could obscure accountability, level worker morale and undermine successful programs at the MTA — all while not doing much to actually curb bureaucracy.

“Much of this plan is rearranging for the sake of rearrangement, consolidating for the sake of consolidation,” said Ben Fried, spokesman for TransitCenter, one of several groups that had implored the board to vote it down.

“The haste to enact the reorganization plan actually risks delaying the critical work of modernizing the transit system that is now underway — including efforts to make the subway and bus service more reliable and to create a subway system that is accessible to all New Yorkers,” Fried continued.

The plan for the 70,000-person state authority was crafted in 12 weeks. It was passed in the state budget, as required by law, but without much public input — another point of contention. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature attached it to a host of new funding mechanisms for capital projects at the MTA, including congestion pricing.

MTA officials on Wednesday described the reorganization as critical to keeping afloat its operating budget — a ledger for day-to-day needs that faces large budget gaps. After a round of fare hikes, a hiring freeze and other cuts, the MTA managed to push back a billion-dollar budget gap that was anticipated for 2022 — but only by one year.

The reorganization plan would cut that deficit in about half, to $433 million by 2023. MTA CFO Robert Foran said there were few other options.

"It is increasingly difficult for us to find additional savings the way we are structured now,” Foran told the board. 

Yet the board and the public have been afforded few details of the plan as it came up for a vote.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced on Twitter Wednesday evening that the Council will hold an oversight hearing on the plan, saying that “massive changes” shouldn’t be made so quickly.

“This was rushed and is being pushed through the board without any real public review,” he tweeted.

Several board members also voiced concern over the lack of clarity as to how it would be carried out and what exactly would be impacted.

“For me this plan — a parallel example would be: I decide to remodel my home; I hire a contractor; I sign off on the design but I have not reviewed the specs nor the details of the work,” board member Veronica Vanterpool said. “And I feel like this is what we’re moving forward with today.”

The MTA had set up an online portal to receive public feedback and has logged just 18 comments so far, according to Vanterpool, the lone board member to vote against the plan. That amounts to about .0002% of the MTA’s daily ridership, she pointed out.

The MTA hired the firm Alix Partners to the tune of $4.1 million to craft the plan. Ultimately, it would consolidate 40 groups spread across various MTA agencies into six departments. It would also create three new executives — a chief operating officer, a chief transformation officer and an accessibility officer — to help implement the changes at the authority, which has an $18 billion budget.

“I think the blueprint they’ve created will help achieve three goals: one is improving customer service; secondly, making this a more effective and cost-effective organization; and, three, a significant reduction in operating costs,” said MTA chairman and CEO Pat Foye.

MTA officials said the plan would largely be implemented over the next six to nine months and take two years to complete. 

Much of the concern about the reorganization focused on the proposal to pull engineering staffs from each operating department and have them report to a new engineering chief, instead of their individual agency bosses. 

Some advocates and board members also worried that the move could undermine NYC Transit president Andy Byford, who is pushing forward with his own plans that have begun to stabilize subway service. Byford’s Save Safe Seconds plan, which has brought higher speed limits across the subways, is largely credited for the system’s improvement in reliability over recent months. 

It was not explicitly clear Wednesday if Byford would still have full control over Save Safe Seconds or his Fast Forward plan to modernize transit service.

Foster Finley, a managing director at AlixPartners, said such work would likely stay within Byford’s purview, but he wasn’t definitive.

“Anything that’s already underway or anything that is very unique and specific to an agency will probably stay there,” Finley said. He said he had spoken about re-signaling with Byford and that the details were "pretty unique and specific and shouldn’t be something that’s thrown into a common pool.”

Many other board members were uneasy with the lack of details but reasoned that the plan is a road map — a living document that could be changed over time. The plan will now go through a 90-day review process. 

“I see this as a blueprint, certainly not a plan,” said board member Susan Metzger. “I think it’s contingent on us to develop the plan….We’ve got 90 days to flesh this out and make it real; make it functional; make it work.”

 

Keys of the MTA Transformation Plan

—Cut between 1,900 to 2,700 jobs, largely from white-collar workforce;

—Merge 40 back-office groups into six departments;

—Centralize support groups so operating agencies—like Transit, LIRR—focus on safety, maintenance and delivery of reliable service;

—Create three new executives: chief operating officer, chief transformation officer and accessibility officer. The transformation officer will oversee the reorganization and report to the MTA board;

—Create a new central Customer Communication function to better communicate service delays and changes.

 

Edited July 25, 2019 by Gong Gahou
minor formatting

[checkmatechamp13]

On 7/19/2019 at 3:07 PM, Union Tpke said:

@RR503

Screen Shot 2019-07-19 at 3.06.19 PM by Union Turnpike, on Flickr

This is when the Board will approve the garbage reorganization plan. There are so many things I want to speak out against on Monday (unfortunately I have work on Wednesday).

• Stupid reorganization
• Stupid F express
• Stupid cuts in service
• Stupid slabbing over of entrances at Broad

What's wrong with the F express (besides not having enough of them)?

[S78 via Hylan]

4 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

What's wrong with the F express (besides not having enough of them)?

The stops it skips have high ridership and because the  is maxed out in terms of frequency, there cannot be any more added express trips without making cuts somewhere.

Edited July 26, 2019 by S78 via Hylan

[Via Garibaldi 8]

7 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

What's wrong with the F express (besides not having enough of them)?

The  is bad enough with the waits. Until they can provide more service, express service is useless.

[checkmatechamp13]

4 hours ago, S78 via Hylan said:

The stops it skips have high ridership and because the  is maxed out in terms of frequency, there cannot be any more added express trips without making cuts somewhere.

The previous study showed that it would be beneficial overall in terms of passenger-minutes saved (and that wasn't even counting that some passengers can also use the which especially helps south of 7th Avenue). Not to mention that some people who live between an express stop and local stop may decide to walk to the express station to take advantage of the service so that has to be accounted for.

 

[T to Dyre Avenue]

On 7/25/2019 at 6:52 AM, Gong Gahou said:

Results are in: the plan is moving forward. I stumbled upon this from picking up AM New York's newspaper this morning.

 

I’m glad Speaker Corey Johnson is planning for Council to do an oversight hearing. That’s a step in the right direction. I’m glad Alix’s Foster Finley recommended Save Safe Seconds stay under Andy Byford’s purview. But I really don’t see the need for three new chief officers. Isn’t  upper level management top-heavy enough as it is?

10 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The previous study showed that it would be beneficial overall in terms of passenger-minutes saved (and that wasn't even counting that some passengers can also use the which especially helps south of 7th Avenue). Not to mention that some people who live between an express stop and local stop may decide to walk to the express station to take advantage of the service so that has to be accounted for.

 

But that was with a proper local/express split. With only two northbound s in the morning and only two southbounds in the evening, this will be more along the lines of the limited Hillside  service or the Rockaway Park  service. And in the case of the , they only do it because they can’t turn those s at Parsons/Archer.

[RR503]

11 hours ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

The previous study showed that it would be beneficial overall in terms of passenger-minutes saved (and that wasn't even counting that some passengers can also use the which especially helps south of 7th Avenue). Not to mention that some people who live between an express stop and local stop may decide to walk to the express station to take advantage of the service so that has to be accounted for.

 

The study did a piss poor job taking into account operational inputs to such a plan, which, if accounted for, would likely tip the balance towards keeping the current pattern.

[R68OnBroadway]

How many people use the  to  vs  to ? Did the MTA consider increasing  service to relieve crowds on the  with fewer local trains?

[checkmatechamp13]

3 hours ago, T to Dyre Avenue said:

But that was with a proper local/express split. With only two northbound s in the morning and only two southbounds in the evening, this will be more along the lines of the limited Hillside  service or the Rockaway Park  service. And in the case of the , they only do it because they can’t turn those s at Parsons/Archer.

Still better than nothing. I agree I don't think it will work with only 2 trains but hopefully they will expand it.

2 hours ago, RR503 said:

The study did a piss poor job taking into account operational inputs to such a plan, which, if accounted for, would likely tip the balance towards keeping the current pattern.

You mean the merge at Jay Street?

[RR503]

2 hours ago, R68OnBroadway said:

How many people use the  to  vs  to ? Did the MTA consider increasing  service to relieve crowds on the  with fewer local trains?

Outside of times with big service gaps, few people on Culver will choose the up-and-over at HS over the cross platform at Jay. 

1 minute ago, checkmatechamp13 said:

You mean the merge at Jay Street?

That, as well as the merge at Church and dwell time issues on 6th Avenue and upper Culver. 

[Wallyhorse]

6 hours ago, RR503 said:

Outside of times with big service gaps, few people on Culver will choose the up-and-over at HS over the cross platform at Jay. 

That, as well as the merge at Church and dwell time issues on 6th Avenue and upper Culver. 

Which can be remedied by adding a new OOS transfer between the at Fulton and the at Atlantic-Barclays.