By Hank Russell
A local assemblyman is calling on Governor Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D,WF-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl E. Heastie (D-Bronx) to conduct a forensic audit of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
In a recent interview with City & State New York, Heastie stated that New York state may need to raise taxes to fund the MTA. According to the outlet, one possible source of revenue may be raising the payroll mobility tax to fill the $68.4 billion that the agency needs for its 2025–2029 Capital Plan.
“I didn’t have a President Biden micromanaging the MTA,” Heastie said. “No, we didn’t have pretty much Trump One micromanaging the MTA. We didn’t have a President Obama micromanaging the MTA. So all you want to do is talk about how you’re gonna cut funding. You don’t like congestion pricing. You can’t just stop things and then just stick us with a bill. And they always talk about (how) they don’t want us to raise taxes. Fine. You don’t want us to have to come up with revenue raisers to fund the MTA, then do better by us.”
In response, Keith Brown (R,C-Northport) said raising taxes will not make the MTA more efficient—a forensic audit must be conducted to find a better solution.
“The idea that raising taxes will miraculously dig the MTA out of the financial pit it has landed in is ridiculous,” said Brown. “Year after year, more funding from the state is directed to the MTA, yet year after year, we see little to no improvement from this state agency.”
Brown called the agency “mismanaged, riddled with overspending problems and consistently hemorrhages money due to fare evasion and abuse of overtime payment to employees.”
This is not the first time there have been calls for an MTA audit. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, Assemblyman Ed Ra (R-Franklin Square) introduced legislation that would require the MTA to contract with a certified independent accounting firm to perform a comprehensive, forensic audit of the agency, compile a report on redundancies and inefficiencies with analysis, suggestions and recommendations, and compile a report on at least six governance action-plan proposals for alternative governance structures.
Congestion pricing has been a boon for the city so far, but that may end soon as the extended deadline draws near. It was reported that, from January 5 — the date congestion pricing went into effect — to February 28, the program raised $52 million. Opponents of the program, including Brown, criticized it as a cash grab.
“It is time for the state to step in and conduct a thorough forensic audit of the MTA to hold it accountable, improve conditions for commuters and ensure the funding it receives from the state is properly utilized,” Brown said.
In response, Long Island Rail Road President Robert Free asked, “Where have these elected officials been the last five years?” Free pointed out that the MTA has made significant investments on every LIRR branch and “millions of dollars have been earmarked for improvement projects in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan – including a project to make the Bellerose LIRR station fully accessible. Stations are cleaned daily, and infrastructure is regularly inspected.’
“These investments speak for themselves – on time performance is at a record high and customers are overwhelmingly satisfied with LIRR service,” Free added.