Res 0888-2025

Whereas, The current composition of the Metropolitan Transit Authority (the M.T.A.) was established in 1968 in an attempt to resolve New York City Transit's fiscal and political challenges; and Whereas, The M.T.A. is a public benefit corporation that oversees the integrated mass transit system within New York City's Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District (the M.C.T.D.), which includes New York City, as well as Dutchess, Nassau, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties; and Whereas, The M.T.A. is considered the largest transportation network in the United States, and is comprised of 6 agencies: M.T.A. New York City Transit, M.T.A. Bus Company, M.T.A. Long Island Rail Road, M.T.A. Metro-North Railroad, M.T.A. Bridges and Tunnels, and M.T.A. Construction, and Development, with a combined 8,700 subway and commuter rail cars, and a combined fleet of 5,800 buses; and Whereas, It is the mission of the M.T.A. to grow and maintain the vast public transit system within the M.T.C.D.; and Whereas, The M.T.A. plays a role in approving or overseeing many important programs, including the Central Business District Tolling Program, known colloquially as congestion pricing, which seeks to reduce traffic congestion in the central business district and fund mass transit improvement projects by tolling cars that enter local Manhattan streets south of sixtieth street; and Whereas, In January 2025, the M.T.A. approved the Queens Bus Network Redesign plan that would spend $30 million to create 17 new bus routes, with a goal of improving service on existing routes; and Whereas, In 2025, the M.T.A. is governed by a 23-member M.T.A. Board (the Board), which consists of the Board chair, 16 other voting members that collectively cast 14 votes, and 6 additional non-voting members; and Whereas, Six non-voting Board members are divided equally between 2 categories, transit rider representatives and labor representatives, where 1 non-voting member and 2 alternate non-voting members are required by state law to be regular users of MTA New York City Transit, MTA Long Island Rail Road, and MTA Metro-North Railroad respectively, and 1 non-voting member and 2 alternate non-voting members are required by state law to be recommended to the Governor by the labor organizations that represent the employees of the MTA New York City Transit, MTA Long Island Rail Road, and MTA Metro-North Railroad, respectively; and Whereas, Each non-voting member serves for an 18-month term and then cyclically rotates with their respective alternate non-voting members; and Whereas, Each rotating transit rider representative on the Board is recommended to the Governor by their respective commuter councils that are the New York City Transit Authority commuter council, the Long Island Rail Road commuter council, and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company commuter council; and Whereas, The commuter councils were created by state law to advocate to the M.T.A. on behalf of transit riders and serve in an advisory role to the M.T.A., the commuter councils accomplish this purpose by holding public meetings to listen to the needs of transit riders, and conducting research that informs transit policy; and Whereas, In 2023 the office of the New York City Public Advocate published a report that highlights how the M.T.A. has fell short in its responsibility to provide riders with equitable access to transportation, wherein only 29 percent of M.T.A. subways stations are accessible by elevator; and Whereas, Subway station platforms lack a visual alternative to real-time audio station announcement for riders with hearing disabilities; and Whereas, These service deficits for New York transit riders with disabilities indicate a need for a stronger rider influence on the M.T.A. governing process; and Whereas, A1162, sponsored by Assembly Member Jeffrey Dinowitz and pending in the New York State Assembly, and S.1148, sponsored by State Senator Andrew Gounardes and pending in the New York State Senate, promotes the non-voting transit rider representatives on the Board to voting members; and Whereas, This bill would also add an additional voting member to the Board that will represent the perspective of transit riders with disabilities, and this member would be recommended by the Commissioner of the Mayor's Office for People With Disabilities, in consultation with external disability advocacy groups; and Whereas, The breadth of New York City's transit riders' lived experience would provide a unique on the ground perspective that would positively steer M.T.A. policy if further empowered as voting members of the board; now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, A.1162/S.1148, in relation to enacting the rider representation act. DJS LS #19256 04/11/2025