- Calls on MTA not to delay fan work designed to keep subways safe;

‘Wait for Ravitch Commission to do its work’-

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. joins Steve Cassidy, President, Uniformed Firefighters' Association and Gene Russianoff, staff attorney, NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign at a news conference in Manhattan on July 9, 2008 to call on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to reverse its plan to defer $2.7 billion in capital programs, including $366 million in vital fan plant work. Pictured (l to r) are: Gene Russianoff, staff attorney, NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign; Thompson; Steve Cassidy, President, Uniformed Firefighters Association; and, Joe Rappaport, Senior Policy Analyst, New York City Office of the Comptroller.

View MTA letter

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. joined transit advocates and the Uniformed Firefighters’ Association today to call on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to reverse its plan to defer $2.7 billion in capital programs, including $366 million in vital fan plant work.

In a letter to the MTA Chair H. Dale Hemmerdinger, Thompson asked that it hold off on making its proposed cuts until the Commission on Metropolitan Transportation Authority Financing appointed by Governor Paterson concludes its work over the next several months. The 13-member commission, headed by former MTA chair Richard Ravitch, will examine the MTA’s finances and propose ways to solve its long-term financing needs.

“The MTA should not jump the gun by putting off vital projects before Chairman Ravitch and his colleagues examine the funding situation and issue their recommendations,” Thompson wrote.

In June, the MTA board approved $2.7 billion in 2005-2009 Capital Plan project deferrals, with $2.4 billion of those cuts affecting city subway and bus projects. It now must submit its revised capital plan to the Capital Program Review Board for approval.

Speaking at the 14th Street station of the A and C lines, Thompson highlighted the need to move forward with the work on subway fan plants, which remove smoke from tunnels in fires and other emergencies. One of the projects proposed for delay is the construction of a new fan plant in the tunnel between the West 4th Street and the 14th Street stations.

The fan plant -- ranked 10th in priority by NYC Transit in a survey of 252 tunnel sections -- would be pushed back to the next MTA capital plan under the MTA’s new proposal.

The 14th Street project is one of $366 million fan projects that the MTA wants to delay. Altogether, the MTA has said it wants to delay five subway fan projects, which include seven fan plant replacements and three new fan plants. These projects include the rehabilitation of fan plants on the Jackson Avenue line, at 55th St. on the 8th Avenue line, at 19th Street on the 6th Avenue line and another new fan installation on the Queens Boulevard line, in addition to the new fan plant between 4th Street and 14th Streets on the 8th Avenue line.

The deferred fan projects account for two-thirds of the funds allocated for fan plant work in the 2005-2009 capital program.

Thompson wrote, “Every one of the New York City Transit projects proposed for deferral -- signal upgrades, new buses and subway cars and station rehabilitations -- is important. However, I am especially concerned about the proposal to delay at least $366 million in fan plant projects.  Delaying fan plant projects jeopardizes rider, worker and firefighter safety. In its own project descriptions, MTA New York City Transit notes that ‘fan plants enhance safety, especially in the post 9/11 environment’ and that they are vital for the ‘life safety’ of passengers.”

“New Yorkers depend on a safe transit system, and these ventilation projects, which include new fans in locations where there is inadequate or no coverage currently, are vital to ensuring that they have one,” Thompson said. 

“Safeguarding riders on the New York City Subway is the responsibility of the MTA and FDNY,” said Steve Cassidy, President of the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), which represents 9,000 New York City Firefighters. “It is imperative that these upgrades to the emergency ventilation system are carried out immediately to ensure both public and firefighter safety.”

In February 2007Thompson issued a report, “A Review of MTA New York City Transit “State of Good Repair” Capital Expenditures,” which faulted the MTA for jeopardizing the safety and security of riders by consistently delaying critical infrastructure work in New York City.

In his report, Thompson emphasized that the MTA must increase capital spending on NYC Transit projects and accelerate its work. Among the key findings was that essential passenger safety equipment, such as fan plants would not be in a State of Good Repair until 2028, 21 years later than projected in 1992. More than 40 percent of the B Division (lettered train routes) operate with mostly original, 70-year-old signal system equipment and mid-20th century antiquated track switches, and older emergency fans do not meet current safety standards.
 
Thompson made several recommendations in his report, including that additional funds should be used to accelerate critical New York City Transit State of Good Repair projects such as signal upgrades, fan plant modernization and other “hidden infrastructure” expenditures that improve reliability, security and safety.

Thompson also issued a report last August, “Putting the Brakes on the Bus and Subway Fare: Options for Eliminating Fare Increases in 2008 and 2009,” identifying $728 million in revenue sources to help the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) put the brakes on proposed subway and bus fare hikes.

Over the last several years, Comptroller Thompson has highlighted the need for the MTA and NYC Transit to make its financial books more transparent, and issued audits revealing troubling conditions at many subway stations in the City.

###