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NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/nyregion/cuomo-andy-byford-mta.html


Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Andy Byford, the transit executive hired to rescue New York City’s foundering subways, has clashed with the governor over management of the system.


By Emma G. Fitzsimmons
April 19, 2019



Andy Byford, the transit executive who was hired to rescue New York City’s foundering subway, has had growing tensions with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over management of the system, and several of his colleagues said they feared he might quit.

The two men did not speak between January and April, even as Mr. Byford was seeking to move forward on a sweeping $40 billion plan to overhaul the subway in the next decade.

If Mr. Byford were to step down, it would be a major blow to efforts to improve the system, which has been plagued by antiquated equipment, cost overruns and rising complaints from riders about chronic mismanagement. In recent years, New York’s subways have had one of the worst on-time rates of any major rapid transit system in the world.

Mr. Byford and Mr. Cuomo have disagreed over the plan to fix the L train, new technology to upgrade subway signals, the high cost of Mr. Byford’s “Fast Forward” overhaul plan and Mr. Cuomo’s regular criticism of the authority.

Mr. Byford’s colleagues said he was troubled that he did not have the support that he believes he needs from Mr. Cuomo to carry out ambitious plans for the system.

Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, in turn has felt that Mr. Byford has been reluctant to embrace new technology and needed to understand the governor’s role as the elected official most responsible for the performance of the subways.

Contacted this week, Mr. Byford and a spokeswoman for the governor sought to downplay tensions, and said Mr. Byford had no plans to resign. But the spokeswoman, Dani Lever, said, the “leadership team must deliver real results in real time,” referring to Mr. Byford.

Several people who have spoken with Mr. Byford, including colleagues at the transit agency, said they were deeply worried he would leave.

Richard Ravitch, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority who is credited with turning around the system in the 1980s, said he had dinner with Mr. Byford in February and was struck by how unhappy he was.

“I’m afraid he’s going to quit,” Mr. Ravitch said of Mr. Byford.

Andrew Albert, a longtime M.T.A. board member, said he tried to assure Mr. Byford that he had the support of subway riders, who are rooting for him to succeed.

“I’m very concerned — I don’t think that he would be fired,” Mr. Albert said. “I’m worried that he would quit.”

Mr. Byford appeared to be frustrated with “interference in his daily duties” from Mr. Cuomo and his aides, Mr. Albert said.

“He wants to be able to get on and do the job he was hired to do,” Mr. Albert said.

Asked in an interview whether he was frustrated, Mr. Byford said “any job has its frustrations.”

“I know what needs to be done here,” he said. “I need to be allowed to get on with what needs to be done, and I’m very happy to be held accountable for that.”

Asked when he had last spoken with Mr. Cuomo, Mr. Byford said: “Sometime in January.”

Mr. Byford later said by email that he had not “seriously considered quitting.”

“I love New York, I love this job, I believe in this system, I believe in this agency, and I’m here for the very long haul,” he wrote, before adding: “The governor and I are partners in this fight and I want to stay in this job until it is done.”

Ms. Lever, the spokeswoman for Mr. Cuomo, said he had not lost faith in Mr. Byford or tried to sideline him.

The two men had not spoken since January, she said, because Mr. Cuomo had been focused on the state budget and congestion pricing, a plan to toll cars entering the heart of Manhattan to raise money for the subway.

“We do not understand your fixation with personal drama,” Ms. Lever said in response to questions from The New York Times, noting that Mr. Cuomo primarily spoke with the authority’s chairman, Patrick J. Foye.

Mr. Byford is president of New York City Transit, an arm of the authority that runs the subway and buses. Mr. Cuomo, who controls the authority, interviewed Mr. Byford and helped hire him for the job. Only a year ago, the pair were photographed on the subway tracks together showcasing a new “magnetic wand” that removes steel dust from the tracks.

Mr. Byford, who is British, had received accolades for leading the Toronto transit system, where he won an award for transit system of the year from the American Public Transportation Association. He has also worked on both London and Sydney’s transit networks.

Some of Mr. Byford’s colleagues said his rock star status — with profiles in The New Yorker and on 60 Minutes — may have irked Mr. Cuomo. They compared the dynamic to Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani and his police commissioner, William J. Bratton — men who fought for the limelight. Mr. Bratton resigned in 1996 shortly after being on the cover of Time magazine.

The subway has improved under Mr. Byford, though some riders say it is still unreliable. The on-time rate has increased to 78 percent from 65 percent — the highest rate in years. Mr. Byford said he wanted to keep pushing the rate higher past 80 or 90 percent.

But Ms. Lever said the $40 billion price tag for Mr. Byford’s overhaul plan was “an incredible sum to come by.” She also said Mr. Cuomo expected more progress from the transit authority after he secured new funding through congestion pricing.

One of the biggest rifts between the two men occurred over the repairs to the L train tunnel between Brooklyn and Manhattan, which was damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The transit authority had originally planned to shut down service in the tunnel to do the renovations.

But in January, Mr. Cuomo called off the L train shutdown and announced a different repair plan that would keep the service in the tunnel running by allowing for work at night and on weekends.

Days later, Mr. Byford said he wanted to hire an independent team to assess the safety of the new plan and that he would not be “steamrolled” into rushing his review.

and Mr. Byford has said he supports the new plan.

But Mr. Byford was suddenly unavailable for interviews with reporters and did not appear at hearings with state lawmakers to lobby for congestion pricing, which will allow the state to raise $15 billion for the transit system.

“Maybe the governor didn’t realize how independent he was going to be,” said Mr. Ravitch, the former chairman of the authority.

Mr. Cuomo is known as a demanding boss. During a visit to the Second Avenue subway in 2016, he grew angry about a faulty escalator. He walked around shouting, “Who is working on the escalator?” until the person appeared.

Mr. Byford is not the first transit leader to tangle with Mr. Cuomo. The authority’s former chairman, Thomas F. Prendergast, a respected subway veteran, stepped down in 2017 after also growing frustrated with Mr. Cuomo’s management, according to several colleagues.

Mr. Byford and Mr. Cuomo have disagreed over other issues. The governor has pressed Mr. Byford to focus on a new technology, known as ultra-wideband radio, for signal repairs. Mr. Byford prefers a proven approach, known as communications-based train control — a technology Mr. Cuomo has mocked as archaic, though it is being used in cities like London.

Mr. Byford says he needs $19 billion over the next five years for his “Fast Forward” plan. Mr. Cuomo has said the authority was asking for too much money for its next capital plan.

Even the recent subway improvements have been a point of conflict.

Mr. Cuomo credits his “Subway Action Plan,” which is spending roughly $800 million on subway upgrades. Transit advocates say Mr. Byford’s “Save Safe Seconds” plan — to streamline train operations, increase speed limits and fix faulty signals — has been equally important.

Mr. Foye, who was recently named chairman by Mr. Cuomo, said he supported Mr. Byford.

“I think he’s even more of a rock star than I thought when he came here,” Mr. Foye said in an interview.

Still, Veronica Vanterpool, an M.T.A. board member, said she was also worried that Mr. Byford would resign.

“I’m fearful that now that we have someone who has worked so tirelessly to restore public confidence,” she said, “that if he leaves, it would be a significant setback for the agency.”

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Apr 19 09:25:10 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

This is big news but if Byford leaves I won't be shocked because nobody stays as MTA chair and an agency president for long.

MTA might be big, but not big enough for 2 Andy's.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Allan on Fri Apr 19 09:30:39 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Apr 19 09:25:10 2019.

Andy B's problem is that he is starting to overshadow Andy C. One should never do that to your boss.

He should be improving the system while making Andy C "look better" as a result.
After a while people will realize who is doing the job.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Steamdriven on Fri Apr 19 09:48:31 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Allan on Fri Apr 19 09:30:39 2019.

eh, if he does quit I'll have more respect for Byford. If Cuomo is so thin-skinned that he must get credit for every blade of grass growing, it says more about Cuomo.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Apr 19 09:52:24 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Allan on Fri Apr 19 09:30:39 2019.

The key to success in as large an MTA system is delegation and sub-delegation.
Cuomo/Foy are "delegation", while the agency heads are "sub-delegation.
In the case of the cancelled 24/7 L shutdown, Cuomo wants to run that show. The only people happy about it are Real Estate interests and the vocal rush hour commuters. Meanwhile he's doing no favors to off hour commuters who will find out that a 20 minute headway won't cut it because of over crowding, especially on weekends. Who gets the blame? NYCT and I can't fault Byford over that.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Peter Rosa on Fri Apr 19 10:44:21 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Apr 19 09:52:24 2019.

In the case of the cancelled 24/7 L shutdown, Cuomo wants to run that show. The only people happy about it are Real Estate interests and the vocal rush hour commuters. Meanwhile he's doing no favors to off hour commuters who will find out that a 20 minute headway won't cut it because of over crowding, especially on weekends.

Not that I'm defending Cuomo, but if it comes down to a choice between severely inconveniencing rush hour commuters or severely inconveniencing off-hours riders, it's better to inconvenience the latter group.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by italianstallion on Fri Apr 19 11:08:52 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

You could see this coming.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 11:09:12 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Peter Rosa on Fri Apr 19 10:44:21 2019.

And the latter group were going to get even more inconvenienced under the old plan.

The new plan is obviously far better than the old plan as long as it works.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by R30A on Fri Apr 19 11:13:39 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 11:09:12 2019.

But it doesn't work. It isn't even intended to work.
it is intended to be a medium term bandaid to postpone the necessary work until Cuomo is out of office.


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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 12:23:40 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by R30A on Fri Apr 19 11:13:39 2019.

Proff?

Some experts claim it will be essentially as good as the old plan. I neither believe nor disbelieve. What have you got to prove them wrong?

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Dan on Fri Apr 19 12:26:11 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

Keep Byford, fire Cuomo.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by randyo on Fri Apr 19 12:43:04 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Dan on Fri Apr 19 12:26:11 2019.

IAWTP!

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by randyo on Fri Apr 19 12:51:29 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

I realize that being tapped to run what is probably the largest transit system in the world definitely comparable to London ois quite tempting. However, knowing the type pf personality Prince Andrew has, I would insist on carte blanche with complete and unrestricted control over the operation of the system with absolutely no outside interference save, of course the need to follow applicable laws. The contract must be written in stone reenforced with concrete and rebar and changeable or revocable only on divine intervention otherwise, no deal. I realize that the so called governor would never agree to it but if enough potential candidates refused the take the job without those protections, NY’s Il Duce might end up being publicly exposed for the phony he is.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 13:13:48 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Steamdriven on Fri Apr 19 09:48:31 2019.

I hope he goes to NJT and bump off the current clown Exec Director Corbett.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 13:14:28 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Fri Apr 19 09:52:24 2019.

Don't forget the silica dust to be churned up.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 13:15:11 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 11:09:12 2019.

You are better off with 0% of the service than 30%.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:17:58 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 13:15:11 2019.

Yup. It's similar to how no internet is better than frustratingly slow internet. Instead of an organized contingency which results in an orderly change of routine, we'll have a bunch of half-measures resulting in overcrowding everywhere.

The few weekend Ls will be overcrowded, the alternatives will be overcrowded, and it will be 3 years of complete and total suckage.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:20:22 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Dan on Fri Apr 19 12:26:11 2019.

Anyone who didn't vote for a non-Cuomo candidate this past November has signalled they support him and agree with this course of action.

Elections matter...

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 14:38:40 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:17:58 2019.

the alternatives will be overcrowded

Not convinced. The M will run to midtown 24/7. The G will run to the M, 7, and E.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 14:39:57 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:20:22 2019.

IAWTP. The signs of Cuomo's nature have been evident for a long time.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Apr 19 14:44:49 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Allan on Fri Apr 19 09:30:39 2019.

Not too long after 9/11, FDNY started promoting hundreds of people from the eligible list early, on both sides of the department, to make good severe personnel shortages, especially at the executive level. One of the things that happened concurrently with this, was that FDNY went through a forced modernization cycle, because so much equipment needed to be replaced immediately.

The (newly promoted) Chief who was put in charge of making that happen, hit the ground running, and by the summer of 2002, most of the destroyed apparatus had been replaced. He handled a very difficult job extraordinarily well, and when asked about it, he credited the Commissioner, Thomas Von Essen, for letting him get the job done. Von Essen had absolutely zero fire management experience before being named Commissioner by Mayor Giuliani, in fact, he was the president of the Uniformed Firefighters' Association, and never rose above the rank of firefighter.

The trick for Byford is to get the job done while making the political guy above him look good anyway. Cuomo doesn't know the work, Byford does, and everyone in the know, is aware of that.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Union Tpke on Fri Apr 19 14:50:47 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:20:22 2019.

Someone in one of my classes said that while they don't like him, they voted for him because he gets stuff done. He is corrupt, he is an abuser of power, he is power hungry, he has a huge ego, is tight-skinned, and does not care for the people of the state! I voted for Miner for that reason.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 14:53:34 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 14:38:40 2019.

People will first dangerously overcrowd the L trains, platforms, and stairs out to the street before they try any of that. 20 minute intervals will become 30-35 minutes in trying to get the doors shut at every station. They have to be forced off col turkey.

They have dealt with total weekend outages into Manhattan before, they can do it again. So has the #7 and the J.

On Monday morning, they will be inhaling silica dust. That's why the R42's haven't be scrapped yet. Nobody but Cuomo, realtors, and landlords believe it will work.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 14:55:05 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Apr 19 14:44:49 2019.

It's bad enough to have dysfunction with DeBlasio and Cumoa bickering, now we have Byford and Cuomo. Mario would never have gotten into this mud wrestling.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 15:59:57 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:17:58 2019.

They're adding 7, G, and M service.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by MainR3664 on Fri Apr 19 17:59:23 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Joe V on Fri Apr 19 14:53:34 2019.

I agree that the single-track operation is unlikely to work. It'll probably be subject to terrible overcrowding. But why will silica dust on Monday mornings be more of a problem on the L than it was on other lines that had Sandy-related repair work on weekends, like the G, and the 2/3?

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by The Silence on Fri Apr 19 18:55:38 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

And this is why we can’t have nice things...

Cuomo and deBalsio would stand around on a sinking ship, demand the other fix it, and then end up drowning because of it.

Someone please remind me why we keep electing these morons...?

Oh, right, because people are idiots who buy into anything you tell them.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 03:06:28 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by MainR3664 on Fri Apr 19 17:59:23 2019.

Did they do much of a benchwall destruction in those ?

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 03:08:49 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Fri Apr 19 15:59:57 2019.

The only way to encourage people to do that is to kill "L" train service. Each will expect everyone else to go that way, but not themselves, because they are in too much in a hurry and too important.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 03:19:34 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 03:06:28 2019.

They're not planning to do any real benchwall destruction on the L.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 03:21:06 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 03:08:49 2019.

False. Many people will see the crowds and say screw this, I'm going over to the G (or the M).

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by nasadowsk on Sat Apr 20 03:31:12 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

I'm honestly surprised he's stayed on as long as he has. After the L train fiasco, I would have left and made it quite clear that political meddling in things was why.

He was hired to run a transit system. He's pretty good at that. Let him do his job.

Flip side - he might not be terribly bad for SEPTA or even NJT. SEPTA seems to be on a trajectory towards being a quite respectable system, they just need a push over the finish line and someone who can get their regional rail chaos straightened out*.

* No level boarding (high, low - PICK ONE), equipment purchases that make zero sense (multilevels and locos on what's really a compact S bahn. The existing push/pull stuff gets no utilization, ie. it's wasted money), mostly. The whole Key thing could be a useful way to reduce overcrewing of trains. Tighten up the schedules and a few other things, you get a model system in the US...

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 04:05:23 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 03:19:34 2019.

They are planning some, hence the silica dust concerns.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 04:06:30 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 03:21:06 2019.

I don't think so. They'll stand, wait, and bury their faces in their Smartphones.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 04:08:12 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by nasadowsk on Sat Apr 20 03:31:12 2019.

I'd like to see him at Amtrak and get rid of that fucker Anderson and/or Gardner.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 05:20:08 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 04:06:30 2019.

Some, not all.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Andrew Saucci on Sat Apr 20 05:31:19 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Union Tpke on Fri Apr 19 14:50:47 2019.

You forgot to mention that he's a bully.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by TransitChuckG on Sat Apr 20 06:11:43 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Andrew Saucci on Sat Apr 20 05:31:19 2019.

NJT revolving door..

NJT is the same way. All major press releases start with , "Governor Murphy is pleased to announce."

All Executive Directors of NJT have been asked to resign when there is a new governor so the new governor can appoint a friend who makes a big campaign contribution. Another way they leave is if there is a major incident and the governor makes themselves look good by getting rid of the problem-- the NJT Executive Director and then tell the public that they solved the problem at NJT until the next problem and then that person is also history and the whole cycle repeats and repeats and .....

Trenton ignores the fact that they picked the person they dumped.

With the exception of Shirley Delibero none has lasted very long . Shirley Delibero left for Dallas.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Bill from Maspeth on Sat Apr 20 07:08:12 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 05:20:08 2019.

IMO, MOST but not all.

For many going a longer way would still take longer than passing up a train or 2.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Allan on Sat Apr 20 07:11:00 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by JayZeeBMT on Fri Apr 19 14:44:49 2019.

I agree but Andy C. has to recognize
that and take political advantage of it.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by zac on Sat Apr 20 08:15:58 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Sat Apr 20 07:08:12 2019.

What it will do is shift the patterns away from the L. People that are only marginally closer to the L than the others will switch, people that are right along the L will not. If you have a choice you will choose to NOT take the L whereas in the past you would have chosen the L because of the frequency of service. How many I couldn't say.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by MainR3664 on Sat Apr 20 10:22:52 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Sat Apr 20 07:08:12 2019.

That's what I think. At least for the first weekend, an unsafe, or at least ridiculous number of people will try to ride the L. hopefully, enough will quickly realize they're better off with the M. personally I'm often willing to walk further I order to get a more comfortable ride. But many folks only want or only can perceive what's immediately closer. Which is why I think the 1-track operation can only succeed in the small hours of the night. On a weekend - I doubt it.

In any event, we'll all find out next week.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by AlM on Sat Apr 20 10:44:41 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Sat Apr 20 07:08:12 2019.

I was at Lorimer on a weekend when the L was shut. G to 7 to 4/5 wasn't particularly bad. I would do that just to avoid the crowding, even if it was longer.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by BrooklynBus on Sat Apr 20 11:11:14 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Allan on Fri Apr 19 09:30:39 2019.

He fully realizes that. He once publicly stated that his job was to make the governor look good. That was before the L train meddling.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by BrooklynBus on Sat Apr 20 11:12:12 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by italianstallion on Fri Apr 19 11:08:52 2019.

I was saying this months ago.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Jackson Park B Train on Sat Apr 20 11:13:52 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Henry R32 #3730 on Fri Apr 19 14:20:22 2019.

or that the other choices were even more odious. Since turning 21, every single presidential election has been a "vote against" exercise often failing to prevent crooks, senile fools, or semi-incompetent dems who were at best place holders accomplishing very little. yes, elections have consequences, but when the choices are both completely unacceptable (can anyone name the last time a "third party" candidate won a major election?) it is really unpleasant.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by randyo on Sat Apr 20 13:23:50 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by The Silence on Fri Apr 19 18:55:38 2019.

It’s too bad they really can’t drown (politically that is). Then maybe we can get some leaders with integrity.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Easy on Sat Apr 20 13:25:58 2019, in response to NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by GojiMet86 on Fri Apr 19 09:09:13 2019.

I guess that this speculation comes from behind the scenes information, because in front of the camera Byford seems as "all in" as ever. I have seen no indication of him being unhappy or looking like he wants out. I think that it would look bad for him to quit now and make it less likely that he would ever get his dream job at TfL.

The L train reconstruction will either go reasonably well or it will go south with lots of money and effort that don't fix the problem. In the latter case the governor will look bad. He wouldn't be able to spin his way out of that as he has made the case that the entire solution was from his office.

Plus I think that Byford does have the support of the governor. Not as vocal as he would like but he's still sending lots more money to NYCT and the MTA.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 13:51:36 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Bill from Maspeth on Sat Apr 20 07:08:12 2019.

Most people don't think like us, read maps, or research reroutes. Google Transit said to go that way and that is what they will do.

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Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear

Posted by Joe V on Sat Apr 20 13:54:30 2019, in response to Re: NYT: Subway Chief May Quit Over Tensions With Cuomo, Colleagues Fear, posted by Allan on Sat Apr 20 07:11:00 2019.

Was Byford in Toronto during the reign of that crackpot Mayor Ford ?

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