Matthew Schuerman

New York, NY —

By the year 2017 New Jersey residents are supposed to get a brand new rail tunnel that will double the number of commuter trains coming into Manhattan each morning. But a new report out today sticks up for the humble bus rider. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman ...

New York, NY —

Governor Paterson is calling for the resignation of all 13 members of the state's Public Integrity Commission, following a blistering report from the state Inspector General that says the commission's executive director broke state law during the investigation into the Spitzer Administration's Troopergate scandal. The ...

New York, NY —

The Obama administration is abandoning a controversial plan to auction take-off and landing slots at New York's airports. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

The slots are normally distributed on a case-by-case basis and then kept indefinitely by the airline. But the Bush administration had proposed auctioning off ...

New York, NY —

MTA CEO Lee Sander is stepping down from his post, just a day after the state legislature approved a major bailout of the authority. WNYC's Mathew Schuerman has more.

REPORTER: It's unclear just how much Sander is being pushed out and how much he's graciously stepping ...

As mentioned in today's 411, people paid a lot of attention to the ill-fated East River bridge tolls over the course of the MTA bailout debate, but very little to the payroll tax (a.k.a. 'mobility tax').

Music to soothe the nerves of exasperated commuters. Musicians discuss their performances May 5 after auditioning for the Music Under New York arts program which funds NYC subway artists. (Getty)

Maybe that was Richard Ravitch's intention all along: to create a maddening diversion with tolls (which would only have net $600 million a year in their most expensive form) while the payroll tax came in under the radar and did all the work ($1.5 billion and counting). It's a steadily increasing tax that should do wonders to shore up MTA's portfolio. That's because the taxes that currently subsidize fares tend to be transactional and therefore extremely volatile. The MTA's $1.8 billion operating deficit this year wasn't created just because real estate values dropped--because they did, though not very much. But what really plummeted were the number of real estate sales. And the MTA only makes money off of real estate when it is bought, sold or mortgaged. (The city of New York, by contrast, makes money based on property values.)

Just look below at the slow, steady growth in the region's total payroll over the past 20 years, as provided by the state Department of Labor. By comparison, according to the MTA, the Urban Tax (imposed on sales and mortgages of commercial property in the five boroughs), went on a five year slide in 1987, dropping a total of 85 percent before recovering. Last year, the Urban Tax began another decline, which the MTA expects (hopes?) will bottom out next year, down 46 percent from its 2007 peak.

New York, NY —

The New York legislature is expected to approve an MTA bailout bill today. And they’ll do it without bridge tolls, service cuts and drastic fare increases. WNYC’s Matthew Schuerman explains.

REPORTER: The agreement pushes the hard part into the future. The fare hikes this summer will ...

New York, NY —

The CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Lee Sander is defending his agency against the attacks state senators have made against the MTA during the debate over a bailout package. Speaking on WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show, he said State Senators failed to understand just how ...

New York, NY —

Don't expect many New York Republicans to cross party lines and vote for the MTA rescue package. The Senate Minority Leader, Dean Skelos, says it doesn't look like much of a rescue for commuters in his Long Island district.

SKELOS: All I see is a lot ...

New York, NY —

New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says the MTA bailout deal that Senate Democrats tentatively agreed to last night does not have enough money for capital projects.

SILVER: I am mindful of the 70s when the system was allowed to deteriorate and I think what ...

New York, NY —

The State Senate is expected to take up Governor Paterson’s revised rescue plan for the MTA today, and could pass it as soon as tomorrow. But as WNYC’s Matthew Schuerman reports, the move won’t end the transit authority’s troubles.

REPORTER: The Governor’s latest plan will allow ...

New York, NY —

Even before it gets potential new money from the state, the MTA is moving forward with projects it has already bid out. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports on one that's underway in lower Manhattan.

REPORTER: For years, straphangers have faced an awkward subway transfer in Greenwich Village. ...

There's a street closure in lower Manhattan as emergency personnel clears the site of this morning's three-alarm building collapse.

A five-story building at 69 Reade Street has suffered a partial collapse of the front of the building. A car was ...

New York, NY —

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has fallen into such dire financial straits that it's changing its budgeting cycle, at least temporarily. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

REPORTER: The MTA decided to create an 18-month budget starting in July, instead of seeing through the current 12-month budget that ends ...

New York, NY —

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority says the economy is looking so bad, the agency will have a $621 million deficit this year, and a $1 billion deficit next year. But Chief Financial Officer Gary Dellaverson told MTA board members there are currently no plans for additional ...

New York, NY —

The state Senate was slated to vote on an MTA rescue plan today, but now it won't happen until next week. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

REPORTER: Lawmakers made two minor amendments on Tuesday, necessitating the delay. The state constitution requires any bill rest on lawmakers' desks ...

New York, NY —

The state Senate is expected to vote on a rescue plan for the MTA Wednesday. Even though an earlier version promised to end the MTA’s woes for some time to come, it is looking more and more like a short-term fix. WNYC’s Matthew Schuerman reports.

REPORTER: ...

A New York City Transit official named Eric Barthell briefed the MTA board members Monday on rats, and what transit system is doing about them. He brought a helpful prop, pictured above, though much of his message was that rats ...

New York, NY —

Contrary to popular belief, transit officials say a typical rat's life is short, just five or six months, and about to get shorter.

BARTHELL: Most rats in the city succumb to stress, deadly battles with other rats, erratic food supplies. They succumb to extermination campaigns, cars.

That's ...

New York, NY —

The weather's getting warmer, except in one part of Manhattan. The MTA has been freezing a two-block section of earth far underneath 11th Avenue to make it easier to drill a tunnel for the Number 7 subway extension. The head of the MTA's capital construction ...

New York, NY —

The MTA says its deficit will grow another $621 million this year. But officials are giving conflicting messages about whether a State Senate bill under consideration this week, would do enough to soften fare increases and service cuts. WNYC's Matthew Schuerman reports.

REPORTER: The MTA was ...