$14B capital program will harm MTA operating budget: DiNapoli
Posted by Philip Newman in State Comptroller, Statewide Offices on September 29, 2011 | No Comments
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said the MTA’s plan to borrow more than $14 billion could further imperil the agency’s financial straits. “The MTA is in a very difficult position as it struggles to hold together a strained operating budget while proposing the largest borrowing program in its history to fund capital projects,” DiNapoli said. In [...]
Sunnyside rail junction to get $295M in federal dollars
Posted by Philip Newman in Congress, District 14, Governor, U.S. House on September 1, 2011 | No Comments
The federal government has made available $295 million to improve a Queens railroad bottleneck in Sunnyside and provide a major step in opening the way for high-speed rail from New York to Boston. U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) said the U.S. Department of Transportation money would also create 9,213 jobs and provide a $585.9 million [...]
Schumer asks feds to fund East Side Access
Posted by Philip Newman in Congress, U.S. Senate on June 23, 2011 | No Comments
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has appealed to federal officials to approve the $2.2 billion vital to completing the East Side Access project, which could start bringing Long Island Rail Road commuters into Grand Central Terminal in 2016. Schumer suggested the $2.2 billion in federal funds recently rejected by New Jersey could become New York [...]
Maloney gets $550K for LIC public schools
Posted by Philip Newman in City Council, City Offices, Congress, District 12, District 14, District 26, State Senate, U.S. House on June 16, 2011 | No Comments
U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) has announced a federal grant of $552,000 for volunteer mentoring and tutoring in an effort to increase attendance and graduation rates in Long Island City schools. The money is part of a $2.9 million grant for such activities throughout New York City. “With tough budgets in Washington, federal education grants [...]
Schumer decries loose pilot regulation plan
Posted by Philip Newman in Congress, U.S. Senate on February 17, 2011 | No Comments
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has complained to the Federal Aviation Administration that airlines are trying to water down rules against using fatigued pilots that he championed. The regulations were put into effect as a result of a crash that left 49 people dead near Buffalo, N.Y., in 2009. The National Transportation Safety Board said [...]
DiNapoli searches for fraud in MTA overtime
Posted by Philip Newman in State Comptroller, Statewide Offices on September 2, 2010 | No Comments
State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently audited the MTA and found what he said was “a culture of acceptance” of overtime pay. Now his office will soon begin what is known as a forensic audit to determine whether fraud or any other illegality was involved in the hundreds of millions of dollars in overtime paid by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority over the past few years.
