Is the MTA chair NYC's steadiest leader right now?

Plus: What's with people bringing large items on buses? [View this email in a browser.]( [On The Way - from WNYC and Gothamist]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( Inside today's newsletter: - What’s with people bringing giant things onto the bus? - Staten Island Railway finally got new train cars - An app that predicts your track at Penn Station With Hochul’s historic unpopularity and City Hall in crisis, MTA suddenly looks pretty good By [Clayton Guse]( For the last 56 years, the MTA has served as New Yorkers’ punching bag. Every indignity of the daily commute – from packed cars with no air conditioning to trains that make New Yorkers late to work – was blamed on the sprawling agency, which has a $19 billion annual budget and a dreadful reputation for financial mismanagement. But a notable shift has occurred since Gov. Kathy Hochul paused congestion pricing in June. Now, transit woes are her fault, and the MTA is enjoying a sudden outpouring of public support. In the months since Hochul paused congestion pricing, the angry commuters who usually dominate MTA board meetings are [now testifying about their support for the agency]( – and their scorn for the governor. The shift in opinion comes as crises have engulfed much of New York’s political class. Mayor Eric Adams [is facing federal bribery charges]( and Hochul is wading through [historically dismal polling numbers](. MTA Chair Janno Lieber is at the center of the agency’s rising popularity. He opted to stay in his position after Hochul’s congestion pricing pause blew [a $15 billion hole in the MTA’s current five-year construction plan]( and has since positioned himself as an executive trying to prevent the collapse of the city’s subways, buses and commuter railroads. “Janno is a genius,” said Mitchell Moss, an urban policy professor at NYU who has informally advised high-ranking city government leaders for decades. “He’s more resilient than any leader we have in the state of New York.” In his first public remarks after Hochul’s pause, Lieber noted the public’s shift in attitude toward the MTA. “I want to say to the folks who are frustrated that this reversal took place, I can relate,” he said. “I am incredibly moved by how New Yorkers, transit advocates, but regular New Yorkers as well have turned out in full force and raised their voices to show support for transit and for the MTA. “Loving the MTA is not a 365 [days per year] job for New Yorkers, but in the last week we have felt it,” he said. This is not the MTA’s first crisis during Lieber’s tenure. [When transit ridership plummeted]( and stripped away billions in fares during the height of the pandemic in 2020, Lieber, who was head of the MTA’s construction projects at the time, was central to an effort that led Congress to sign off on $14 billion in federal relief for the MTA. His ascendancy to the top job would come during another period of political turmoil in New York. In July 2021, just two weeks before he would resign amid sexual harassment allegations, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo appointed Lieber as the agency’s acting chair. [Janno Lieber at an event rolling out new train cars] Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images When Hochul took over for Cuomo, there was no guarantee she would retain Lieber and nominate him as permanent MTA chair. But just five months into her tenure, she did just that. “When it comes to New York City, Janno is the one place where the governor can go to for good news,” Moss said. Lieber still faces his share of criticism, most notably from Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen, whose labor group represents roughly half of the MTA’s workforce. After Hochul paused congestion pricing in June, Samuelsen criticized Lieber for not pairing the launch of the tolls with an increase in transit service. He said at the time that Hochul “let Janno Lieber lead her around like a stooge” before she halted the program. Now, Lieber faces another challenge: persuading state legislators – and the public – to find a way to finance [at least $33 billion in funding]( for the MTA’s next capital plan. Transit officials say the money is necessary to keep the subways running. That doesn’t include the cash the MTA will need to fill the hole left by congestion pricing if Hochul makes her pause of the program permanent. Lawmakers in Albany will almost certainly have to pass dedicated new revenues for the MTA — in other words, new taxes — when the Legislature returns to session in January. Lieber has publicly stated he remains “agnostic” to how the MTA’s programs are funded. But behind the scenes, much like every person who’s held the job before him, he’s driving the bus on the political push to fund the system. Curious commuter Have a question for us? [Use this form]( to submit yours and we may answer it in a future newsletter! “Why and when have passengers been allowed to board buses with open and full shopping carts? And open baby carriages, dogs without carriers, etc...” - Felicia in the Bronx Although the stroller issue is a fraught one, the MTA [started a pilot program to allow them on buses]( in 2022. And while many people think strollers should be folded and that children should ride on their parents’ laps, anyone with a sleeping baby will tell you otherwise. The MTA found that the pilot was successful enough and expanded it to 1,000 buses. Meanwhile, shopping carts are prohibited and considered a safety hazard, but are allowed at the bus operator’s discretion if they’re folded. And when it comes to dogs, the same rules that [apply on the subways]( also apply on buses. Curious Commuter questions are exclusive for On The Way newsletter subscribers. Did a friend forward this to you? [Sign up for free here]( to start asking your questions. What New York is reading this week - The Staten Island Railway got new train cars this week for the first time in 50 years. [Read more](. - The city’s transportation department yesterday released plans for turning blighted areas beneath and around the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway into public spaces New Yorkers might actually enjoy. [Read more](. - Speed limits on select New York City streets dropped to 20 mph this week as Sammy’s Law, a statewide law meant to protect pedestrians, goes into effect. [Read more](. - Surprise: The G train’s summer-long closure is over but the line is still shutting down on nights and weekends for continued work updating signals. [Read more]( — and [check here for all up-to-date MTA service info](. - Joby, an electric helicopter company that says its choppers could get you from the Downtown Manhattan Heliport to JFK Airport in seven minutes, is currently trying to get commercial FAA certification. [Read more](. - Police have charged a 4 train passenger with attempted murder after he allegedly stabbed a subway train operator multiple times while refusing to get off a train in Crown Heights early Tuesday. [Read more](. - One consequence of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s congestion pricing pause: Paramedics trying to save heart attack victims south of 60th Street remain stuck in traffic. ([The New York Times]( - Clever Commute, an independent transit info app created by longtime NJ Transit rider Joshua Crandall, now has a feature that predicts which Penn Station platform your NJ Transit or Long Island Rail Road train is going to board on before the number flashes on the big board and everyone starts scrambling. ([The New York Post]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [YouTube]( [YouTube]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.