A long-awaited
The 18-page preliminary transformation proposal by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and restructuring firm AlixPartners LLP calls for rolling 40 functioning groups within MTA agencies into six uber-departments, including a dedicated capital construction unit that would essentially remove related projects from New York City Transit President Andy Byford's oversight.
"It seems as though it's almost a demotion for him," said Howard Cure, director of municipal bond research for Evercore Wealth Management.
Some transit observers and advocates immediately questioned whether the plan would work, citing politics, opaqueness and operational uncertainties.
"It makes one pause to say it's going to work on paper because the MTA could still screw up," said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.
Overall, the report is "not a bad initial effort," Gelinas said.
"AlixPartners did not show a deep understanding of the MTA, but it seemed to have absorbed some things by talking to people," she said.
Cuomo, which controls the state-run MTA and in 2017 declared a state of emergency for the crisis-addled authority, released the report Friday. The AlixPartners report, for which the MTA is paying $4 million, was part of the fiscal 2020 state budget that included congestion pricing for Manhattan.
Problems at the MTA, which has 9 million daily users, have ranged from delays and breakdowns to reports of egregious overtime and time-clock abuse.
The restructuring would be the first in the 51-year history of the MTA, which operates New York City’s subways and buses, two commuter rail lines and several interborough bridges and tunnels. It is one of the largest municipal issuers with nearly $43 billion in debt.
"There is a lack of details regarding where the savings would come from," Cure said. "It's hard to measure."
While the reorganization plan needs approval from the MTA board, which is scheduled to meet Monday and Wednesday of next week, some observers say the plan is a fait accompli, given Cuomo’s grip on the authority.
"I think they'll rush this through," Cure said. "It's complicated. I'm not sure they should just approve this on the nod."
Labor, according to Cure, is a major variable beyond expected layoffs.
"Right now you have four different unions for the bus companies. Does that mean you renegotiate labor contracts?" he said. "And are the layoffs on the non-union side or the back-office side?"
Longstanding jurisdictional battles could impede capital construction operations, Gelinas added. She cited problems related to the East Side Access project, designed to route Long Island Rail Road trains to Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.
"If they want to access the subway signals, can they tell New York City Transit to shut down the subway lines?" she said. "Take East Side Access, for instance. Long Island Rail Road has no incentive to work with MTA capital construction."
Transit advocates called for public input.
“A rushed, three-month process with no public input is a lesson in how not to do reform of the nation’s largest transit system,” said Nick Sifuentes, executive director of Tri-State Transportation Campaign. “This brief report would be laughable if it wasn’t so serious for the millions of New Yorkers who rely on subways, buses, and commuter rail every single day.”
According to Cuomo, the capital construction group could better deliver projects on time and within budget, and increase competition in a traditionally constrained supplier market.
"The MTA's recurring failure has been the lack of execution and performance. Either they get it done or they don't,” Cuomo said.
Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, said while the several recommendations merit "significant consideration," separating maintenance from capital projects could directly affect agency services.
“In addition, the report makes no mention of the new capital program makeup or provides any focus on the economic value of MTA projects or value capture opportunities, nor does it give timelines for the various changes being proposed.” Daglian said.
Byford, popular with transit advocacy groups since arriving from Toronto in early 2018, released his Fast Forward improvement plan in May of that year. The overhaul, if passed, would remove Byford from key pillars of his initiative, such as accessibility.
“It seemingly ignores improvements already under way from the Fast Forward plan, in the areas of accessibility and on-time performance thanks to signal recalibration and improved system maintenance,” Daglian said.
Cuomo also wants the MTA to curb homelessness on subway cars and debar bad contractors.
New positions would include a chief operating officer; a central engineering function reporting to a nascent chief engineering officer; and centralized communications, operating support, legal and human-relations functions to eliminate silos.
Other new high-level positions would include a chief transformation officer to oversee the transition over two to three years, and an accessibility officer.
