With talk of the MTA raising fares again after recently raising them (well, not the bus and subway base fare, but still), there are some suggestions about what the MTA can do instead.
For instance, City Councilman Eric Gioia proposed that the MTA sell its midtown building at 44th Street and Madison Avenue to raise money. He said, "There's no justification for the MTA to be on Madison Avenue. This is a glaring example of an asset being underutilized." Per the Sun, the MTA noted it has sold off expensive properties and is working on other cost cutting measures, but selling office buildings is not in the plans for now.
On a smaller scale, since appearances matter, it's questionable whether MTA management should get raises. MTA Executive Director and CEO Elliot Sander received a 3% pay increase, retroactive to January, which now brings his salary and benefits package to $350,000 annually. Sure, $10,000 isn't anything when phrases like "$29 billion budget gap" are being bandied about, but the Straphangers Campaign's Gene Russianoff told the Daily News, "You're kidding...I think he's a great head of the MTA, but you don't raise salaries in the middle of talk about a fare hike. ... The message it sends is not a good one amid tough times for the riding public."
Maybe the MTA thinks these raises will attract people to take high-level management jobs, since vacancies in those positions are stalling plans like the Second Avenue Subway and LIRR East Side Access! And Governor Paterson appointed a commission to study MTA funding--our suggestion is that the commission study how the state can chip in more.
