MTR 268,

Issue 268

May 5, 2000

Nadler, NYC Reps Urge Change at NYMTC

A recent letter from a delegation of NYC Congressional Representatives to U.S. Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater calls on US DOT to direct the NY Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) to:

Situate NYMTC staff in an institutional setting independent of NYMTC member agencies.
Review rules and voting membership to accommodate local elected officials.
Examine the wisdom and implications of its rule that all votes be unanimous.

The initiative was headed up by Congressman Jerrold Nadler. Nadler is joined on the letter by Representatives Jose Serrano, Nydia Velazquez, Carolyn Maloney, Nita Lowey and Major Owens.

NYMTC is currently under a regular review that US DOT agencies make of all major metropolitan planning organizations every three years. The 1996 review of NYMTC was sharply critical (MTR #104), but recommended only technical changes at the agency. NYMTC is comprised of the major transportation agencies in the region, and has a central staff of about 70. Overall, it is supposed to plan and oversee effective use of federal transportation funding in downstate NY.

Now, the Congresspeople want "significant reform" of NYMTC's institutional structure. Their letter points to NYMTC's 1999 long range plan as a case study in the failure of NY regional transportation planning: "The document amounts to little more than a list of every potential project conceived by every agency in the region. It offers no perspective on...salient transportation debates...and suggests no clear course of action or criteria for evaluating and comparing the myriad proposals it contains."

See a copy of the letter from members of the NYC Congressional delegation to Secretary Slater.