Andrea Bernstein

The New York subway is the only major city subway that runs through the night (and one of few in the world), complicating track and system repair. With some fanfare, the Metropolitan Transit Authority is rolling out FASTRACK, "a new way to work on the rails."

Beginning tonight, the 4, 5, and 6 lines which run down the East Side of Manhattan will be closed from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., from Grand Central station to Atlantic avenue, Brooklyn's largest train hub. A busy six-mile stretch with 15 stops will have no trains passing through at all. That's a good thing, the MTA says, meaning repairs can happen much more quickly than they could with repair workers darting between trains (metaphorically speaking.)

Even so, in New York, where the subways run round the clock, anytime is someone's time. Here's a sampling of night riders, and what they had to say.

Frances Ruiz, on her way back to Flatbush, Brooklyn from visiting relatives in Riverdale, the Bronx.  "I don't know what we would do. It would be a problem."  (Photo: Jim O'Grady)

 

Adam Martinez, heading home from a successful date. "I live and work in the Bronx but I take the 4,5,6 regularly to have a social life and if this line is shut down four times a year, four days in a row, it'll greatly hinder that." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)

Writer Andrea Mustain, commuting back to Crown Heights, Brooklyn. "10 o'clock, that's crazy. How dare they." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)

Comedian Eric Mangin:  "I believe I can take the N or the R to Atlantic and switch to the 2,3. I have four trains at my stop so I'm pretty lucky. I don't think it's going to be too much of an inconvenience but I know for a lot of people, it's a big headache." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)

Darlene Womack, who travels from Morrisiana in the Bronx to her security guard job in the West Village. "Get it together, fix the tracks, you know. Do it on they (their) time not on ours." (Photo: Jim O'Grady)

Severe weather events in 2011 — the worst in history according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — continue to cost the U.S. big bucks.

Renderings of new Queens convention center (Courtesy of Arquitectonica)

Transit advocates are expressing doubt over the capacity to run an express subway train from midtown Manhattan to a proposed new convention center in Queens.  Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a non-binding agreement last week to build the world's largest convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack, but details about how conventioneers would get to and from Manhattan are sketchy.

Even though Governor Cuomo just proposed the plan, he's already signed a non-binding agreement with a potential developer, Genting Americas. That's raising questions about just how the plan to develop the site would work, including transportation options.

(Read Ilya Marritz's terrific profile of Genting here. )

In a brief statement issued Thursday, Genting said it and the "state would work alongside the MTA to help fund and introduce uninterrupted subway service between Midtown Manhattan" and the convention site.

But the MTA is already struggling to provide service, and has a multi-billion dollar hole in its capital construction plan.

Governor Cuomo also recently cut the payroll mobility tax, which pays for MTA operations, though he said he will replace those funds.

One idea bandied about was that the MTA would run express trains along the A line. But that idea was tried once before — in the now-defunct "Plane to the Train."  That service was plagued by low ridership, and created hostility by setting up a service that whisked past waiting straphangers on the local platforms.

"If one of their ideas is to create a convention express modeled after the JFK airport express, that's going to be much harder to do than it was in the 1970's and '80's," the Straphangers' Campaign's Gene Russianoff said.

Russianoff noted that many neighborhoods along the A and C lines — including Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, and Bedford-Stuyvesant — have undergone rapid growth in recent years, and couldn't withstand reductions in service.

But Bob Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association, which is backing the convention plan, thought adding express trains might be possible.

Yaro also said the air train to JFK could be extended to Aqueduct, or the LIRR Rockaway Beach line could be brought back to life. Both plans would cost considerably more.

A spokesman for the MTA, Jeremy Soffin,  issued a statement saying:

"Though we haven’t seen any proposals, we look forward to working with all involved to discuss ways to improve transit access to the site within fiscal and operating constraints.”

Upstate New York roads, as viewed by helicopter (photo by Karen DeWitt/NYS Public Radio/WXXI)

Severe weather events in 2011 -- the worst in history according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -- continue to cost the U.S. big bucks.

Tranportation Nation has reported on the costs of climate change, now the U.S. DOT is announcing it's releasing some $1.6 billion  to 30 states.  Vermont, devastated by Hurricane Irene will get $125.6 million, North Dakota $89.1 million for severe flooding, and both New York and New Jersey are getting close to $90  million each.

Full release and list of grantees follow:

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces Close to $1.6 Billion in Funding for Repairs to Damaged Roads and Bridges Supplemental Funding from Congress Makes Reimbursement Possible

WASHINGTON - U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced nearly $1.6 billion to states and territories across the nation to help cover the costs of repairing roads and bridges damaged by a variety of natural disasters.

“Communities from coast to coast are still recovering from disasters that have affected the roads they use, their homes and businesses,” said Secretary LaHood. “The Obama Administration stands ready to provide emergency relief and reimburse these communities for the work that has been done to restore their critical transportation needs.”

Funding from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Emergency Relief Program was provided by the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012.  FHWA will provide a total of $1.58 billion to 30 states, American Samoa, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and federal land management agencies to reimburse them for repairs to roads and bridges caused by storms, flooding, hurricanes and other natural and catastrophic disasters.

“States and communities can rely on the federal government during these critical times,” said FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez.  “When disaster strikes, the Department will do all it can to provide help to the affected areas.”

Vermont, hard hit by Hurricane Irene, will receive $125.6 million; North Dakota will receive $89.1 million for the Devils Lake Basin for damage caused by Spring 2011 runoff; and Iowa will receive $37.5 million to repair damage caused by the May 2011 Missouri River flooding.  A complete list of states and funding amounts is listed below.

This money will reimburse states for fixing or replacing highways, bridges and other roadway structures. Costs associated with detours, debris removal and other immediate measures necessary to restore traffic flow in impacted areas are also eligible for reimbursement.

For a state-by-state breakdown click here (http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2012/fhwa0212.html).

 

Transit advocates are expressing doubt over the capacity to run an express subway train from midtown Manhattan to a proposed new convention center in Queens.  Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a non-binding agreement last week to build the world's largest convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack, but details about how conventioneers would get to and from Manhattan are sketchy.

Congressional inaction is leading to a $561 hike in the taxes of transit riders, charges the American Public Transit Association.

When Brian O. Selznick wrote "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," a graphic novel about an orphan in 1930s Paris, he imagined the secret spaces of the Gare Montparnasse train station i...

Photo: Brian Selznick in Grand Central's Clock Tower (photo Maya Bernstein/WNYC)

When Brian O. Selznick wrote "The Invention of Hugo Cabret," a graphic novel about an orphan in 1930's Paris, he imagined the secret spaces of the Gare Montparnasse, in Paris.  For inspiration, he visited Grand Central Terminal, and drew his interiors in pictures that were three inches by five inches. But the scenes in the book -- hidden tunnels, secret rooms, the giant clock tower -- were all drawn from Selznick's imagination, and then turned into the movie "Hugo," by Martin Scorcese.

The tour -- not open to members of the public -- took them to Grand Central's deepest sub basement, its lost and found, along its catwalks, and up into the clock tower.  And at each step along the way the station gave up its secrets, secrets eerily similar to the story of Hugo Cabret, a small boy who keeps the clocks running, steals to eat, and struggles to repair a lost automaton, his last connection to his dead father.

That struggle leads him to Isabel, an orphan raised by the station's toy seller, who mysteriously owns the key that will unlock the automaton.

Illustrations from The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Copyright 2007 by Brian Selznick. Used with permission from Scholastic Press.

 

Click for the audio and slide show on the slide show here.

 

When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that he would set up a $15 billion fund to rebuild 100 bridges and 2,000 miles of road, there was delight in many quarters -- but in his long list of projects, the governor never said the word "transit.”

Andrea Bernstein, director of the public radio Transportation Nation project and senior correspondent for WNYC, discusses Governor Cuomo's proposed "Energy Highway" and the pages he chose not to read while at the podium for the State of State.

UPDATED WITH TRANSCRIPT: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to build, build, build.   In his state of the state address Wednesday, he put forth a $15 billion plan to repair roads, bridges,  parks, flood control, and municipal water systems. (Transcript of his actual remarks below)

Cuomo did not specifically refer to transit projects, (in fact, the word "transit" wasn't uttered during the speech) though he did discuss capital construction by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which he controls.

Cuomo said all the investment would come under one umbrella "New York Works" fund.

"Right now, believe it or not, agencies and authorities do their own construction, their own development,  their own master plan – all  disconnected one from the other, without even any conversation."

In a speech that veered wildly from prepared remarks, Cuomo said:  "So the MTA has a capital plan that they are pursuing different that the Port Authority, which has a capital plan which it's pursuing , different from the Department of Transportation which has a capital plan which its pursuing , different from the Department Of Housing which has a capital plan that it’ pursuing.  It makes no sense.  It never did. This is not the time to be squandering resources. "

The idea of having one entity make funding decisions won praise from planners: "The state has really been substandard in capital construction," said the Citizens' Budget Commissions Elizabeth Lynam.  "It's a long time coming that they tried to orchestrate that."

"In the long run if you put together a board that looks to state infrastructure interests--  not just political interests -- that can be very strong," added City College of New York Professor Robert "Buz" Paaswell.  But Paaswell said setting up a fund would be very complex -- since authorities can legally borrow, while the state DOT cannot.

But transit advocates were dismayed by Cuomo's glancing over public transportation.

“While the Governor is right to call for greater investment in infrastructure, Albany cannot continue to give short shrift to funding transit across our state,” said Transportation Alternatives Executive Director Paul Steely White. “Public transit projects create a jobs dividend that stretches from the five-boroughs to Upstate New York. From manufacturing jobs in the North Country to construction jobs in the metropolitan area, fully funding public transit not only helps get millions of people to work every day, it creates good-paying jobs for New Yorkers.”

Cuomo first introduced the idea of an infrastructure bank during his tax proposal, which passed last month.  In his state of the state he offered more details, but the governor has yet to release a full-blown plan.

"We want to find a  20 to 1 leverage in these projects so we maximize the impact of the state money," Cuomo said.

Among the fund's uses:  "We are planning to improve more than 100 bridges which will include finally building a new Tappan Zee bridge, because 15 years of planning and talking and commiserating is too long. It is time to build and to act and to perform."

"We are going to repair 2000 miles of roads," he added.  "That’s from Buffalo to New York City 5 times. We are going finance upgrades to 90 municipal water systems,  improve 48 parks and historic sites that are visited by 37 million people per year.  And after hurricane Irene and storm Lee repair 114 flood control projects across this state."

Cuomo also proposed a $2 billion "energy highway" from Quebec to New York City.

"We have a tremendous need for power in downstate New York.  Let's connect the supply dots to the need what Eisenhower did in the 50s by building an interstate system is what this energy highway can be to the next generation."

TRANSCRIPT OF CUOMO'S REMARKS FOLLOWS:

I’m proposing setting up the New York works fund and task force.  This task force will be made up of leading public and private3 sector experts and members of the legislature.  It will coordinate for the first time all the states capital construction,

 

Right now, believe it or not, agencies and authorities do their own construction, their own development,  their own master plan – all  disconnected one from the other, without even any conversation.

 

So the MTA has a capital plan that they are pursuing different that the Port Authority which has a capital plan which its pursuing , different from the Department of Transportation which has a capital plan which its pursuing , different from the Department Of Housing which has a capital plan that it’ pursuing.

 

It makes no sense it never did.   This is not the time to be squandering resources.  You can’t have that many agencies and authorities coming up with their own vision for the state -- we need a comprehensive vision and we need the expertise frankly to help us get it done. It’s not the state’s forte.

 

There are people in the private sector who are expert at this who want to be helpful. We want to invite them in, put together a task force, and actually lead this effort.

 

We want a comprehensive master plan of all of the state’s construction over the next few years and how we can coordinate and maximize that work that work to have a positive synergy among the projects.   We also want to accelerate the construction.

 

We cant do this on government time -- this has to happen on real time. It can’t take 3 years to put a shovel in the ground, it just can’t work that way any more.  And it’s not going to.

 

(applause)

 

As I said in the beginning the task for us is to find leverage with private sector partners. We want to find a  20 to 1 leverage in these projects so we maximize the impact of the state money.

 

We are planning to improve more than 100 bridges which will include finally building a new Tappan Zee bridge, because 15 years of planning and talking and commiserating is too long.  I is time to build and to act and to perform.

 

We are going to repair 2000 miles of roads.  That’s from Buffalo to New York City 5 times. We are going finance upgrades to 90 municipal water systems,  improve 48 parks and historic sites that are visited by 37 million people per year.  And after hurricane Irene and storm Lee repair 114 flood control projects across this state.

 

Let’s build an energy highway system that doesn’t exist now…we have supply of power in northern New York, Quebec, we have power supply in western ny we have a tremendous need for power in downstate ny lets connect the supply dots to the need what Eisenhower did in the 50s by building an interstate system is what this energy highway can be to the next generation.

 

If we want the state to develop and we need the job and we need the businesses,  we’re going to need the power this is the way we’re going to do it.

 

The state can master plan a system, issue an ftp  allow private sector companies to come to in to bid it  build it we believe it can generate $2 billion in infrastructure. This is no doubt a comprehensive and ambitious jobs program, 15 billion in infrastructure,  4 billion for a convention center, 2 billion for Javits transformation, 2 billion for energy, 1 billion for gaming,  1 billion for buffalo that we believe will generate additional money for the private sector.  This program will make a major impact on the of this state’s economy if we get it done.

 

 

UPDATED In his second annual State of the State address, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo did not mention the word "transit," according to the prepared text of his speech.

Cuomo controls the MTA, the nation's largest transit system.

In the written speech, Cuomo did promise to rebuild "100 bridges and 2,000 miles of road" and vowed to move forward on his plan to build a new Tappan Zee Bridge between Westchester to Rockland Counties.  And he talks about the state's efforts to repair roads and bridges devastated by Tropical Storms Irene and Lee.

Cuomo also referred  to the MTA (or Metropolitan Transportation Authority) in two places -- by touting how he cut the payroll tax, which funds the MTA, and later by noting how "investments by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority help protect the reliability of the transportation network that supports the metropolitan New York regional economy and 8.5 million riders a day."

He also points out that the MTA's "Built in NY" program "has an impact on the economic development throughout new York State, from Oriskany to Jameston, Yonkers to Plattsburgh."'

Cuomo's delivered speech differed from his prepared remarks. Nevertheless,  Cuomo also did not say the word "transit" in his actual speech.  In his oral remarks, he did (briefly) refer to cutting the MTA payroll tax, and to MTA capital construction projects, though only in the context of his proposed infrastructure bank.

Want an early peak at the Presidential campaign 2016?  Okay, now that we have your attention, join us at 1:30 EST here as join a team live-chatting New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's State of the State address, with a particular eye towards what he has to say on transit and transportation.

A NYC plow working after the post-Christmas blizzard. Azi Paybarah/WNYC

Mayors of both Chicago and New York said Tuesday they'd be making the locations of snow plows public during winter storms via public websites that will show GPS tracking information.

While the idea of a snowplow tracker isn't new -- it exists in Montgomery County and Howard County, Maryland, just to name a couple -- New York and Chicago would be the first major cities to deploy this technology.

Mayor Bloomberg hit once of the lowest moments of his mayoralty last winter when New York ground to a halt during the blizzard of 2010. It was particularly frustrating for outer-borough residents when streets outside of Manhattan went unplowed for days (while the Mayor recommended they take in a Broadway show.)

Also galling: city officials were increasingly unable to tell members of the public (or even elected officials) when streets would be cleared.

In an information vacuum, WNYC developed a plowed street tracker, based on crowd-sourced information. Later, Mayor Bloomberg promised to add GPS to all snow plows. But that information wasn't made available to the public. Yet.

Enter Chicago, where Mayor Rahm Emanuel (who wasn't even in office last winter),  a notorious type-A techno-geek, announced with some fanfare Tuesday that city would set up a Plow Tracker. "During major snow cleanup efforts," according to a press release, " the City will activate the real-time 'Plow Tracker' map, allowing the public to track the progress of City snow plows and make snow removal efforts more transparent."

Looks like Emanuel may have upstaged Bloomberg (himself something of a type A techno-geek)

Asked at a press conference (on an unrelated subject) Tuesday whether New York would be making snow plow location information available on a public website, Mayor Bloomberg said:

"Yeah, we have a whole plan we'll get you very quickly.  We've been enhancing what we do.  I don't know that it necessarily improves our ability to plow. We have the routes and we're gonna do it, but it does let you see where plows went and when they went there, and that's all. Our best thing so far is my strategy so far. Look outside - streets are clean, no snow."

While Chicago's website is now live (www.cityshovels.org), New York City officials cautioned that it's not yet clear what the New York website will look like, or when it will be up and running.

 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg says the city will be setting up a website so residents can track the locations of snow plows during snow storms. The city began installing GPS devices in snow plows after last winter's disastrous "Blizzard of 2010."  Word of the plan came after the city of Chicago announced a similar "plow tracker" site.

Mitt Romney Addressing Iowa Voters (photo: Romney campaign)

In his final rally before caucus day, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney took time to say he'd cut Amtrak.

"Amtrak ought to stand on its own feet or its own wheels or whatever you'd say," Romney told a raucous crowd of several hundred at the Competitive Edge warehouse in Clive, Iowa, on Monday night.

This final speech is part of what's called a candidate's "closing arguments" to voters.

"I've got to balance the budget.  I gotta cut spending," said Romney, sounding about as folksy and riled up as he's ever been, as he heads to the caucuses in what looks like a no-lose situation:  he either wins, or Rick Santorum or Ron Paul wins, which mean Romney wins, because neither Paul or Santorum is expected to do well beyond Iowa.

Amtrak has had its highest ridership ever, but at the same time, it's been a favorite political punching bag for Republicans. (Though House Transportation and Infrastructure Chair John Mica recently had a change of heart, sort of.)  The federal government's annual subsidy is about $1.4 billion. The federal budget is about $3.5 trillion.

"I like the fact that my grand kids can watch Big Bird on TV," Romney added. "I think that’s wonderful, but because they don’t have advertising the government has to put in a check and I don’t think that’s right. So we’re going to have Big Bird with advertising probably because I don’t want to borrow money from China!"

(Special thanks to Anna Sale of Itsafreecountry.org for sending us the tape)

Listen to the relevant portion of his speech below.

Here's a transcript:

Now I’ve also got the balance the budget, I gotta cut spending, I gotta cap federal spending and then I’ve got to balance the budget now how do you go about doing that? let me tell you how I do that (unintelligible interjection)…My view is this: what you do to get our budget in line is you say this: you take all of the programs the federal government has and you say which of these programs is so critical that we gotta have it? And those things we keep but those programs that don’t pass the following test we got to get rid of.

And this is my test: is this program so critical it’s worth borrowing money from china to pay for it?

Yells NO

And on that basis we’re going to get rid of some programs, even some we like.

Now the easy ones we can get rid of, like  this one, this one I’ll get rid of on day one

Let’s get rid of Obama care, I’ll get rid of that right away.

(applause)

And there are some other things, look Amtrak ought to stand on its own feet or its own wheels or whatever you’d say. And I like the National Endowment for the Arts. And the National Endowment for the Humanities,  but I’m not willing to borrow money from China to pay for it.

I like the fact that my grandkids can watch Big Bird on TV.  I think that’s wonderful, but because they don’t have advertising the government has to put in a check and I don’t think that’s right. So we’re going to have Big Bird with advertising probably because I don’t want to borrow money from China!

(applause)

 

You guys, I just don’t think it’s moral for us as a nation to borrow money knowing that my generation will never pay it pack, and the next generation will have to pay those burdens.  It’s wrong.  We have to live within our means, and finally get America on track to a balanced budget and I will do it!

 

(applause)

 

After a nasty crash in the Bronx that killed 15, long-distance buses came under scrutiny this year. There was much hand-wringing, a few crackdowns, and many stories about the shape-shifting nature of bus companies that are closed down, then pop up again with the same staff, buses, and drivers.

Even so, ridership on curbside carriers like Bolt and Megabus spiked 30 percent, according to a new study by DePaul University in Chicago. The study found that air and rail travel also grew, but more slowly than intercity bus travel.

DePaul credits the spike to higher gas prices and more expensive airline tickets, as well as a faltering economy. But researches also found that the availability of consistent wireless internet service was also a big boost.

Even Greyhound, that old saw, is drawing more affluent business travelers, the study said.

Amtrak also had a record year in 2011.

Mitt Romney with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (photo: Romney campaign)

Four years ago, before the bi-partisan consensus on infrastructure spending had frayed, it might not have been remarkable to hear a Republican candidate for President say he -- or she -- believed in infrastructure spending, even if that meant borrowing. But in a year where Republican governors from Florida to New Jersey pulled the plug on big, already-in-the works projects, maybe it is.

"We're going to have to make an investment in our infrastructure and that's a place where if we make that investment, it will pay a return," Romney told a town hall meeting in Charleston, South Carolina December 17, expanding on remarks he made in New Hampshire last week.

And by infrastructure Romney took a broad view -- including roads, bridges, rail, ports, and air travel.

He also gave a little window into his economic theory.

"For instance, with regards to ports, as ports are dredged and made deep water ports and made more competitive they are then able to have more produce come in to them, more products come in to them and can charge therefore on the product coming in and can pay back the cost of the dredging or improvement," he said.

Here's a video posted by Building America's Future, a group that supports more spending on infrastructure. Full transcript of the exchange below.

Here's the transcript:

Question: What is your vision for improving our infrastructure system?

Romney: We got infrastructure issues in our ports, on our rail yards, on our aircraft systems, in our highways in particular.

I came in as governor of my state and my transportation people said that we had 550 structurally deficient bridges in my state. Five hundred and fifty. And we were spending $100 million a year on bridge repairs -- I doubled that to $200 million a year.

Now, that means I had to cut some other things to make sure we were able to put priority behind getting our bridges up to speed. We're going to have to make an investment in our infrastructure and that's a place where if we make that investment, it will pay a return. I don't mind borrowing if something has a revenue stream that will pay back the borrowing.

What I don't like is what we see in Washington where we borrow for just everyday expenses with no new revenue stream to pay it back.

But for instance with regards to ports, as ports are dredged and made deep water ports and made more competitive they are then able to have more produce come in to them, more products come in to them and can charge therefore on the product coming in and can pay back the cost of the dredging or improvement.

That's what's going to have to happen on our ports, on our highways, in our aircraft system.

We're going to have to make the investment to upgrade our infrastructure to make it competitive globally but also so our enterprises can be successful in moving products around. Then we can be competitive sending products around the world.

I recognize that America has to compete and for us to compete to have good jobs we have need to have good infrastructure and I'll stand behind --

By the way, the decision as to which ports to dredge and which rail lines to improve and which highways to get upgraded that's a decision to be made on analysis of need, a potential for return and opportunity not based upon politics.

A credit agency stopped short of downgrading the MTA’s debt but cast doubt on Governor Andrew Cuomo’s assurances that the state budget will compensate the MTA for a loss of revenue caused by a cut to the authority’s tax.

Moody's Investors Service isn't quite buying New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's assurances that the state budget will compensate the New York MTA for a loss of revenue caused by a cut to the MTA tax.

Cuomo has promised the MTA will be reimbursed "dollar for dollar" by general funds from the state budget. But Moody's says that the $212 million in 2012 and $310 million in years after won't be so easy to find.

"The compensatory revenues would be subject to appropriation and are uncertain as the state still has to close a $1.7 billion fiscal 2013 budget gap," Moody's wrote in a just-released report.

The agency did not downgrade MTA debt, but it did warn that "failure to restore the lost revenue may put negative pressure on the MTA's transportation revenue bonds."

The MTA wants to borrow $7 billion for capital projects like the Second Avenue Subway and the East Side Access project, which will connect the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central Terminal.

Any debt downgrade would make buying an MTA bond somewhat riskier -- and the authority would have to pay a higher interest rate to borrow the money. Earlier this year, the smallest of the three major bond ratings agency downgraded the authority's debt, but at the time the authority said its credit remained "fundamentally secure." (See TN's coverage here.)

No response from the MTA to the Moody's report.