BP MARKOWITZ STATEMENT ON APPROVAL OF MTA PLAN

“I applaud Governor Paterson, the Senate Democratic Majority, Senate Finance Chair Carl Kruger—who successfully fought against the tolling of our bridges—and the entire Legislature for finding a solution that spares our riders from draconian MTA fare hikes and service cuts that threatened vital subway and bus routes in Brooklyn and throughout the City. In these difficult economic times, this plan keeps extra costs to a relative minimum and, as I have repeatedly called for, does more to spread the financial responsibility across the entire MTA region and not unfairly burden the NYC boroughs outside Manhattan, as tolls on the East River and Harlem River bridges would have done. This solution will carry our public transit system through these next tough couple of years, but with the MTA increasing its budget shortfall projections quarterly, we need to remain active in finding alternative revenue streams for funding our region’s public transit. I stand by my earlier recommendations that the Legislature approve a modest and dedicated gas tax in the 12-county MTA region for mass transit, and consider other ideas such as a dedicated mega-millions lottery to fund transit projects. This is obviously an ongoing process, but for now we finally have a plan that will rescue the MTA and keep our trains, buses and City moving.”