Meet Andy Byford's Interim Replacement

A Cuomo ally who pushed for more subway cops [View this email in your browser]( Meet Andy Byford's Interim Replacement: A Cuomo Ally Who Pushed For More Subway Cops Plus: Congestion pricing may not happen by January of 2021. This week saw a ticketing blitz for cyclists without bells on their bikes. And one MTA board member wants to tax Airbnb rentals to fund city transit. By [James Ramsay](mailto:james@wnyc.org?subject=We%20the%20Commuters) [New interim NYC Transit chief Sarah Feinberg stands at a podium ] Patrick Cashin/MTA/Flickr A leading proponent of adding 500 cops to New York City's transit system is now leading that transit system. Sarah Feinberg, an MTA board member and former Federal Railway Administration leader, was named this week as the interim replacement for Andy Byford, whose last day as NYC Transit chief was last Friday. A board appointee of Gov. Cuomo, Feinberg has built a reputation for her focus on quality-of-life concerns, such as fare evasion and homelessness. She has [consistently claimed]( that hiring hundreds of new police officers would not amount to a fare-beating crackdown, despite [internal MTA statements]( indicating otherwise. She has sparred with opponents of the plan, claiming that doubters need a ["reality check]( She has suggested that repeat criminals should be banned from the transit system. And she has floated the idea of publicly shaming fare evaders, saying [at a board meeting]( last year, "I would like to see us capture this behavior on camera and then posting it publicly...on our YouTube channel." This, from the person replacing a leader so beloved by the public that they made stickers with his face imposed over Thomas the Tank Engine. "To our millions of riders, I hear you, I see you, I'm one of you," Feinberg said during her job announcement this week. "And I want you to know every single day you can count on me to advocate for you, and to be honest and transparent with you about the challenges we face and what it will take to address them." As we noted in [this newsletter last week]( subway performance has been on the rise, due largely to Byford's Save Safe Seconds effort. And the transit advocacy group Riders Alliance said Feinberg is well positioned to keep the improvements coming. "Sarah Feinberg's long experience in government and transit are a boon for riders," Riders Alliance said in a statement. "New Yorkers should look to her to continue the progress of the past two years by cutting delays, speeding up trains, and delivering transformative new bus networks in each borough." But Feinberg also said this week that "gains in performance are all for naught if riders and employees don't feels safe. "The police officers the MTA is adding will be deployed strategically throughout the system and will be focused on deterrence, protection, and assistance," she added. "And our number one goal is all New Yorkers feel a sense of safety and security when they ride with us." It's unclear who will become the next permanent NYC Transit leader, or how long the interim chief will remain in place. MTA Bridges and Tunnels has had an interim president for over a year, while MTA Buses has had one for the past six months. — [Reporting by Stephen Nessen and Jake Offenhartz]( Is Congestion Pricing Happening, After All? [cars in bumper-to-bumper traffic in Manhattan]( Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock New York City is supposed to start tolling drivers below 60th Street starting in January of 2021. But technically, the federal government has to approve the congestion pricing plan, since it involves roads that receive federal funding. And Gov. Cuomo said last week that he's "not holding my breath" that the Trump administration will give this a thumbs up. Thanks to the [National Environmental Policy Act]( the Trump administration needs to look at the plan to decide how thoroughly to investigate its environmental impact. And it's possible the president is concerned that cars could idle outside the congestion zone and ruin the Upper West Side's air quality. It's also plausible that the Trump administration doesn't in good faith suspect that congestion pricing will hurt the environment. Just as he did with tax deduction changes that specifically hit New York homeowners, the president might hold up congestion pricing out of political spite towards his [former home](. "It's a great irony that the administration that seems to care the least about environmental regulations is now holding up congestion pricing, which most people agree will really help New York City, in terms of reducing pollution," Gothamist's Christopher Robbins [told Brian Lehrer this week](. Either way, part of this is New York's own fault. The feds need a congestion pricing plan to review, but that plan doesn't actually exist yet, because the six-person Traffic Mobility Review Board that's obligated to come up with that plan also doesn't exist yet. "We’ll have it when we have it," an MTA spokesperson said when asked when the MTA is going to roll out the board. "We’re well aware of it. We’re still doing all the things we need to do in terms of various studies, in terms of moving forward on various issues." Speaking of moving forward, there is another option: Gov. Cuomo could just put the congestion pricing tolls into effect on his own. The people of New York wanted it. Lawmakers passed it. The MTA needs the revenue. And if Trump makes a stink about it, he and Cuomo can [duke it out in court](. This Week's News From Gothamist And WNYC [commuters wear surgical face masks on the subway] Justin Lane/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock Those who are feeling sick or have underlying conditions may want to avoid the subway in the event of a coronavirus outbreak. Past studies have found the subway to be full of largely harmless germs, but a prominent virologist told us [he wears gloves on the train](. The CDC does not recommend wearing a face mask for those who are not infected or sick. At least 10 NYPD officers forcibly removed a young couple from a subway late Monday night, seemingly without telling them why. The police department says the officers were responding to a 911 call about an armed man on the 2 train. But [videos captured at the Atlantic Avenue station]( show the couple, who eventually received summonses for "disorderly conduct," being manhandled by police without explanation, while riders around them panicked. The NYPD says no gun was found. This week saw several ticketing-blitzes for cyclists. Streetsblog reporter Julianne Cuba stopped at the foot of the Manhattan Bridge on Monday to photograph cops giving cyclists tickets — and was [then summoned for not having a bell on her bike](. Then, on Tuesday, multiple people spotted a ticketing blitz at 6th Avenue and West 23rd Street in Manhattan. The mayor's office did not respond to an inquiry about whether these enforcement actions were part of the NYPD's new "Vision Zero Unit." The NYPD has arrested a school bus driver who allegedly hit and killed a 10-year-old girl in East New York on Tuesday. The driver, 61-year-old Pedro Colon, was arrested for [two counts of failure to yield to a pedestrian and two counts of failure to exercise due care](. On Thursday morning in the same Brooklyn neighborhood, [a driver hit and killed a 7-year-old boy]( who was walking with his mother. F train riders will soon experience their own version of the L train's partial shutdown. The MTA said it plans to start making repairs to the F line's Sandy-ravaged tunnel early next year. For 20 weeks, [riders can expect the East Broadway and York Street stations to close during nights and weekends]( with trains rerouting over the A/C line between Brooklyn and Manhattan. The Tonight Show loves the subway. In addition to staging a BTS performance in Grand Central this week, [The Tonight Show also filmed several bits on the subway]( including an interview with the Korean boy band, and Jimmy Fallon's monologue. He joked that if his show on the subway was successful, "NBC's gonna move the fifth hour of the Today Show down here." What Else We're Reading Staten Islanders are tying yellow ribbons around utility poles next to speed cameras. A two-year-old law allowing speed cameras to be installed anywhere within a quarter-mile near a school led to more than a five-fold increase in cameras citywide. The founder of the Facebook group that's putting up the ribbons argues that the cameras are placed arbitrarily, "just to raise revenue." The city's Department of Transportation says speeding cameras do retrain drivers to slow down — 18 months after one is installed, the number of violations at that site drops about 70%. ([NY1]( The MTA is dedicating 200 of its 500 new police hires to patrol buses. Asked by a Brooklyn bus rider who complains that fare-beaters board through the back doors and take all the seats, the MTA's chief safety officer said that over 200 uniformed and plainclothes officers have been assigned to patrol the top 50 busiest bus routes to deter fare evaders and issue summonses. ([AM New York]( Rather than raise subway fares, what if we added a tax on New York City Airbnb rentals to fund mass transit? MTA board member Larry Schwartz pitched the idea this week — and a spokesperson for Airbnb said the company would be willing to collect and share that tax money with New York. Currently, MTA fares are set to automatically increase every two years, meaning we'd be due for an increase in 2021. ([The Wall Street Journal]( A prominent commuter group in New Jersey wants NJ Transit's CEO to step down. The New Jersey Association of Railroad Passengers started a petition this week calling for the top two leaders at NJ Transit to resign, following two years without substantial improvements in service. The petition also hinted at a desired replacement: Andy Byford. ([NJ.com]( This Just Happened [Billy Idol and Mayor de Blasio hold an event about not idling in your car] Mayor's Office/Flickr New York City launched a $1 million anti-idling awareness campaign today, and it stars English musician Billy Idol. "Yeah, it’s a fun play on my name," Idol said, standing outside City Hall next to a campaign poster with his face on it that reads, "Billy Never Idles." The message will be featured on billboards, gas station TV ads, and a website. This follows the City Council's 2018 expansion of a law that [deputizes New Yorkers]( to report idling commercial vehicles — and collect a quarter of the fine. A vehicle is considered to be idling illegally after three minutes, except for outside hospitals and schools, where it's one minute. Mayor de Blasio, [who was in attendance]( also painted himself as an anti-idling evangelist, explaining that he frequently directs his security team to force drivers to cut their engines. "Idling is just stupid. We all do it but we don’t need to," the mayor said. "I’m obsessive [about idling]. Like all the blanking time. This is like a real thing for me." [an illustration of Mozart riding in a subway conductor car] As you know by now, the experts at WQXR often curate this playlist around a theme, be it a holiday, or a season. But today's Classical Commute playlist is different. "No special theme," they told me. "Just nice music!" [Stream it for free on Spotify](. Weekend Service Changes: Night of February 28th – Early Morning on March 2nd This is a partial list of major service disruptions scheduled for the weekend. For a complete list of the MTA's Weekender updates, [check here](. train Service between Dyckman St and 137 St in Manhattan will be replaced by trains and free shuttle buses. train service between E 180 St and Dyre Av in the Bronx will be replaced by free shuttle buses. On Saturday and Sunday, train service between 111 St and Main St in Queens will be replaced by free shuttle buses. trains will run via the line in both directions between 21 St-Queensbridge and W 4 St. Friday night through Saturday night, Coney Island-bound and Church Av-bound trains will skip 4 Av-9 St, 15 St-Prospect Park and Fort Hamilton Pkwy in Brooklyn. train service in Brooklyn between Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr and Kings Hwy will be replaced by free shuttle buses. Saturday and Sunday, trains will skip Jay St-MetroTech, Court St, Whitehall St, Rector St, Cortlandt St and City Hall in both directions, and Forest Hills-bound trains will skip 25 St, Prospect Av, 4 Av-9 St, Union St and DeKalb Av in Brooklyn. [Check here]( for complete details about the Long Island Rail Road. For NJ Transit, [check here]( for the latest service advisories. Upcoming Meetings and Events Thursday, February 27th Queens Bus Network Redesign Workshop Cross Island YMCA, Bellerose — 7:00 p.m. [Check here]( for more information on all the Queens Bus Network Redesign meetings, including the four meetings scheduled for next week. Monday, March 23rd Joint Metro-North & LIRR Committee Meeting — 8:30 a.m. NYC Transit / MTA Bus Committee Meeting — 10:00 a.m. Wednesday, March 25th MTA Board Meeting — 9:00 a.m. Registration for two-minute public speaking slots opens 15 minutes before the start time for official MTA committee meetings. To speak before an MTA board meeting, you must register 30 minutes early. All meetings are held in the MTA's Board Room at 2 Broadway, on the 20th Floor. [a portrait of James Ramsay] James Ramsay loves nice music. 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