Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy is headed to Albany Monday to ask the state to use $26 million of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bailout to take control of Suffolk Transit.
Earlier this month, state pols approved a payroll tax as part of the bailout and Levy argues the deal burns Suffolk residents and businesses. He also said that New York City’s transit system would be improved, while the Suffolk bus system would get ignored.
Levy has railed against the state’s handling of public transportation for years, pointing out that even though Suffolk takes up nearly three times the land of neighboring Nassau County, Suffolk gets less than half the subsidies.
Suffolk County legislators have also pushed for a takeover, saying New York State placed more than $127 million in new fees and taxes to on Suffolk County residents and that revenue generated by Suffolk County to operate the MTA is now in excess of half a billion dollars, or $347 per resident, not including fare revenue.
Suffolk County operates Suffolk Transit with a state subsidy,” said Legis. Ed Romaine in a press release. “The MTA operates Long Island Bus in Nassau and the county contributes less than 10 percent of its operating cost.
As for what Suffolk gets out of the deal, a group of legislators said nearly all the MTA money earmarked for Suffolk goes toward Long Island Rail Road improvements.
Source:
http://libn.com/politbureau/2009/05/17/mr-levy-heads-to-albany/
