NY State Senate Bill 2015-S3170A

Senate Bill S3170A

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Requires a public hearing for substantial change in transit authority service by the New York city transit authority

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 25, 2016	print number 3170a
Jan 25, 2016	amend and recommit to transportation
Jan 06, 2016	referred to transportation
Feb 03, 2015	referred to transportation

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

2015-S3170 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Public Authorities Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1205 & 1263, Pub Auth L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S1374
2011-2012: S1216
2013-2014: S466
2017-2018: S6263
2019-2020: S2532
2021-2022: S5817
2023-2024: S2876

2015-S3170 - Summary

Conditions the institution of any substantial change in surface route or rapid transit route service upon approval by the metropolitan transportation authority and committee on operations of the NYC transit authority and upon public hearing; sets allotted individual and aggregate speaking time during such hearings.

2015-S3170 - Sponsor Memo

                                BILL NUMBER:S3170

TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to requiring
public notice and hearing prior to any planned substantial change in
service

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To allow for public comment and adequate notice thereof, prior to the
implementation of proposed changes in the levels of subway or bus
service; and to encourage public speaking at board and committee
meetings by specifying minimum speaking times to be allotted to each
speaker.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1205 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 9:

Requires NYCTA to obtain approval by resolution of the committee on
operations of the NYCTA and the MTA Board to hold a public hearing in
the affected county(ies) prior to any substantial change in service.

* Defines a substantial change in service.

* Requires further hearings for additional changes if substantial
changes in service were made within previous three years.

* includes complete or partial closing of a passenger station as a
substantial change

* Defines notice of hearing(s) to be given to affected communities

* Requires posters describing proposed change at affected stations and
on buses on affected routes, where detailed information is available
and date, time and place of hearing(s) and right of public to speak.

Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
authorities law as added by chapter 247 of the laws of 1990 is
amended.

* Describes allowable public speaking

* Requires that public comments be recorded in the minutes.

* Requires agendas for the meeting (s) be made available to the
public.

JUSTIFICATION:

This legislation has four objectives:

(1) Provide Sunshine Law for NYCTA Service Changes. The legislation
will insure that the data collection and analysis performed by the
NYCTA prior to proposing a service change is adequate, and is subject


to detailed scrutiny by the MTA board and the public. Most of the data
collection and analysis stipulated in this legislation is already
being performed by NYCTA planning staff. However, when the.  NYCTA
proposes service changes, minimal information is presented to the
board, and even less to the public. The quality of NYCTA's service
change planning will be significantly improved by opening up the
process to detailed public scrutiny.

(2) Provide Public Input Before Service Changes are Implemented. The
legislation will give the public the opportunity to comment on the
technical analysis presented by NYCTA staff, and also to present other
relevant issues. Service changes on buses and subways often have
impacts on riders that are not apparent from studying ridership
figures alone. Many New Yorkers decide where to live based on
available mass transit and, especially for the elderly and disabled, a
service change that may appear minor may have a major impact on the
quality of rider's lives. Because such facts are often not apparent
from ridership studies alone, a public hearing is essential to bring
to light information that may otherwise be unavailable. Public
hearings would therefore allow those affected by cuts and other
interested parties to present important information to the committee
on NYCTA operators for its consideration.

(3) Improve Public Speaking at MTA Board and Committee Meetings. The
legislation strengthens requirements concerning public speaking at
meetings of the MTA Board and its committees. Currently, the MTA
discourages public speakers by limiting their comments to a maximum of
two minutes; by restricting comments to topics on the agenda, while
making the agenda unavailable to the public until minutes before each
meeting; and by not recording the comments of public speakers in the
minutes. The legislation is specifically designed to correct these
abuses. It stipulates that more adequate speaking times shall be
provided and may be shortened only when, necessary to permit the Board
to proceed with its agenda within a reasonable time, and it requires
that agendas shall be available for public inspection at easily
accessible locations throughout MTA's service territory well in
advance of each meeting of the MT A Board and each of its committees.

(4) Enhance Oversight by MTA Board. An intended and desirable effect
of this legislation is that MTA Board members, as well as the public,
shall have at least seven days to review agendas for meetings of the
MTA Board and its committees. Currently, nothing prevents the MTA from
giving draft agendas to Board members as little as forty-eight hours
prior to a committee or Board meeting, and final agendas only a few
hours prior to a committee meeting. At a typical meeting, the MTA
Board is asked to authorize the expenditure of tens of millions of
dollars, and frequently-hundreds of millions of dollars of public
funds by guaranteeing that Board members shall have at least seven
days to review proposed MTA expenditures, this legislation will
significantly enhance the MTA Board's ability to discharge its
responsibilities.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This bill has been introduced in previous legislative sessions.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:


None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This act shall take effect immediately.

2015-S3170 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3170

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 3, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation

AN ACT to amend the public authorities law,  in  relation  to  requiring
  public  notice  and hearing prior to any planned substantial change in
  service

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  1205 of the public authorities law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
  9. (A) FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  "SUBSTANTIAL  CHANGE  IN
SERVICE" MEANS:
  (I)  ANY  CHANGE  IN  FREQUENCY OF SERVICE OF A SURFACE ROUTE OR RAPID
TRANSIT ROUTE WHICH RESULTS IN A CHANGE OF TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT  OR  MORE
DURING ANY TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS AT ANY RAPID TRANSIT STATION, OR ON ANY
PORTION  AT LEAST ONE-HALF MILE IN LENGTH OF ANY SURFACE ROUTE, COMPARED
WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED DURING THE SAME SUCH HOURS IN
THE PREVIOUS THREE YEARS; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT  WHERE  A  SUBSTANTIAL
CHANGE  IN SERVICE FREQUENCY ON SUCH ROUTE AT SUCH HOURS HAS BEEN IMPLE-
MENTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION  WITHIN  THE  PREVIOUS
THREE  YEARS,  ANY SUBSEQUENT CHANGE IN SERVICE SHALL BE DEEMED SUBSTAN-
TIAL ONLY IF  IT  RESULTS  IN  A  CHANGE  IN  FREQUENCY  OF  SERVICE  OF
TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OR  MORE  DURING  ANY TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS AT ANY
RAPID TRANSIT STATION, OR ON ANY  PORTION  AT  LEAST  ONE-HALF  MILE  IN
LENGTH  OF ANY SURFACE ROUTE, COMPARED WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE
PROVIDED DURING THE SAME SUCH HOURS DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME COMMENCING
WITH THE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH PRECEDING SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE  IN
SERVICE; OR
  (II) ANY COMPLETE OR PARTIAL CLOSING OF A PASSENGER STATION WITHIN THE
CITY OF NEW YORK, OR ANY MEANS OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITY.
  (B) ON AND AFTER SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SIXTEEN, NO SUBSTANTIAL
CHANGE  IN  SERVICE  FURNISHED  UPON THE RAPID TRANSIT FACILITIES OR THE

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05231-01-5

S. 3170                             2

OMNIBUS LINE FACILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY  SHALL  BE  INSTITUTED,  EXCEPT
UPON  APPROVAL  BY  RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON OPERATIONS OF THE NEW
YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND APPROVAL BY RESOLUTION OF THE  METROPOL-
ITAN  TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, AND ONLY AFTER A PUBLIC HEARING OR HEAR-
INGS HELD BY THE BOARD OF THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION  AUTHORITY  IN
THE  COUNTY  OR  COUNTIES WHEREIN THE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN SERVICE WILL
HAVE AN IMPACT.
  SUCH HEARING SHALL BE HELD NOT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER  NOTICE  OF
SUCH  PROPOSED  SERVICE CHANGE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO, AND COMMENTS SOLICITED
FROM, THE NEW YORK CITY  TRANSIT  AUTHORITY  ADVISORY  COUNCIL  AND  THE
COMMUNITY  BOARD  OR BOARDS AS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THE NEW YORK CITY
CHARTER WHOSE AREAS OF JURISDICTION INCLUDE PART OR ALL OF  THE  SURFACE
OR  RAPID  TRANSIT  ROUTE, OR PASSENGER STATION, AFFECTED BY THE CHANGE.
NOTICE ACCOMPANIED BY THE INFORMATION SPECIFIED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS
SUBDIVISION SHALL  BE  MADE  ACCESSIBLE  TO  THE  PUBLIC  AT  DESIGNATED
LOCATIONS IN THE AREA AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE, INCLUDING
AT  LEAST  ONE LOCATION WITHIN THE AREA OF JURISDICTION OF EACH AFFECTED
COMMUNITY BOARD.
  (C) NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE:
  (I) A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED SERVICE  CHANGE,  INCLUDING
ANY  PROPOSED  CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF SERVICE; A DIAGRAM OF THE PROPOSED
CHANGES, IF ANY, IN THE ROUTE SERVED;  A  MAP  OR  DIAGRAM  OF  AFFECTED
ACCESS FACILITIES AT PASSENGER STATIONS.
  (II)  A  PRESENTATION OF THE DATA OBTAINED BY THE AUTHORITY ON NUMBERS
AND PATTERNS OF RIDERS AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED CHANGE.
  (III) A DESCRIPTION OF  THE  METHODOLOGY  USED  BY  THE  AUTHORITY  IN
OBTAINING  SUCH  DATA,  INCLUDING THE DATES AND TIMES ON WHICH COUNTS OF
RIDERS WERE TAKEN.
  (IV)  THE  PROJECTED  IMPACT  ON  PASSENGERS,  INCLUDING  THE  AVERAGE
INCREASE IN WAITING TIMES, IF ANY, AND THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS AFFECTED
BY  SUCH INCREASE; AND THE VALUE OF THE COSTS OR BENEFITS TO PASSENGERS,
OBTAINED BY ASSIGNING A DOLLAR VALUE TO PASSENGERS' TIME, AND TO FACTORS
SUCH AS CROWDING, SENSE OF SECURITY, AND OTHERS.
  (V) THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE AUTHORITY, INCLUDING ANY COST  SAVINGS
EXPECTED TO BE REALIZED BY THE AUTHORITY.
  (VI) A PROJECTION OF THE IMPACT ON RIDERSHIP.
  AT  EACH  AFFECTED STATION AND ON BUSES OPERATING ON EACH AFFECTED BUS
ROUTE, POSTERS SHALL BE DISPLAYED PROVIDING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE, IDENTIFYING THE LOCATIONS AT WHICH THE INFORMA-
TION REQUIRED BY THIS PARAGRAPH IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE  PUBLIC,  INFORMING
THE  PUBLIC  OF THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING OR HEAR-
INGS AND OF THE BOARD MEETING AT WHICH THE CHANGE WILL BE ON THE AGENDA,
AND STATING THAT THE PUBLIC MAY SPEAK AT SUCH MEETING PURSUANT TO  PARA-
GRAPH  (C)  OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE OF
THIS ARTICLE. THE PUBLIC SHALL BE NOTIFIED OF ANY CHANGE IN THE TIME AND
PLACE OF SUCH HEARING OR HEARINGS AND OF SUCH BOARD MEETING  BY  NOTICES
AT ALL OF THE ABOVE LOCATIONS.
  (D)  THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL  PERFORM  PASSENGER  COUNTS ON THE AFFECTED
SERVICES SIX MONTHS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION  OF  EACH  SUBSTANTIAL  SERVICE
CHANGE.  SUCH  COUNTS, ACCOMPANIED BY THE ORIGINAL PROJECTIONS OF IMPACT
ON RIDERSHIP, SHALL BE REPORTED TO THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC.
  (E) THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES IN SERVICE
WITH A PROJECTED DURATION OF LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS,  NOR  TO
SUBSTANTIAL  CHANGES  IN  SERVICE  RESULTING FROM AN EMERGENCY SUCH THAT
PUBLIC HEARINGS CANNOT TAKE  PLACE  WITHOUT  IMPERILING  THE  SAFETY  OF
PASSENGERS.

S. 3170                             3

  S  2.  Paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
authorities law, as added by chapter 247 of the laws of 1990, is amended
to read as follows:
  (c)  The  [chairman] CHAIRPERSON shall ensure that at every meeting of
the board and at every meeting of each committee  the  public  shall  be
allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any
topic  on the agenda. EACH SPEAKER  SHALL BE ALLOTTED NOT LESS THAN FIVE
MINUTES OF SPEAKING TIME, EXCEPT THAT  WHEN  THE  NUMBER  OF  REGISTERED
SPEAKERS  IS SUCH THAT THE THIRTY MINUTE DURATION WOULD BE SUBSTANTIALLY
EXCEEDED, THE ALLOTTED SPEAKING TIMES MAY BE REDUCED TO  NOT  LESS  THAN
THREE  MINUTES.  THE  CHAIRPERSON MAY, AT HIS OR HER DISCRETION, END THE
PUBLIC SPEAKING PERIOD AFTER SEVENTY-FIVE  MINUTES.  AGENDAS  FOR  EVERY
MEETING  OF  THE BOARD AND EVERY MEETING OF EACH COMMITTEE THEREOF SHALL
BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION BY THE PUBLIC NOT LESS THAN SEVEN  DAYS
PRIOR  TO EACH MEETING AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE AUTHORITY AND AT LEAST
ONE DESIGNATED LOCATION WITHIN EACH COUNTY WHERE THE AUTHORITY  PROVIDES
SERVICE.
  THE  MINUTES  OF  EACH MEETING SHALL RECORD THE COMMENTS OF THE PUBLIC
SPEAKERS WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF DETAIL AS IS ACCORDED TO ANY OTHER  PART
OF THE AGENDA.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

co-Sponsors

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Transportation
Law Section:: Public Authorities Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§1205 & 1263, Pub Auth L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S1374
2011-2012: S1216
2013-2014: S466
2017-2018: S6263
2019-2020: S2532
2021-2022: S5817
2023-2024: S2876

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S3170A

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the public authorities law, in relation to requiring
public notice and hearing prior to any planned substantial change in
service

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

To allow for public comment and adequate notice thereof, prior to the
implementation of proposed changes in the levels of subway or bus
service; and to encourage public speaking at board and committee
meetings by specifying minimum speaking times to be allotted to each
speaker.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1205 of the public authorities law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 9:

Requires NYCTA to obtain approval by resolution of the committee on
operations of the NYCTA and the MTA Board to hold a public hearing in
the affected county(ies) prior to any substantial change in service.

* Defines a substantial change in service.

* Requires further hearings for additional changes if substantial
changes in service were made within previous three years.

* includes complete or partial closing of a passenger station as a
substantial change

* Defines notice of hearing(s) to be given to affected communities

* Requires posters describing proposed change at affected stations and
on buses on affected routes, where detailed information is available
and date, time and place of hearing(s) and right of public to speak.

Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
authorities law as added by chapter 247 of the laws of 1990 is
amended.

* Describes allowable public speaking

* Requires that public comments be recorded in the minutes.

* Requires agendas for the meeting (s) be made available to the
public.

 JUSTIFICATION :

This legislation has four objectives:

(1) Provide Sunshine Law for NYCTA Service Changes. The legislation
will insure that the data collection and analysis performed by the
NYCTA prior to proposing a service change is adequate, and is subject
to detailed scrutiny by the MTA board and the public. Most of the data
collection and analysis stipulated in this legislation is already
being performed by NYCTA planning staff. However, when the.  NYCTA
proposes service changes, minimal information is presented to the
board, and even less to the public. The quality of NYCTA's service
change planning will be significantly improved by opening up the
process to detailed public scrutiny.


(2) Provide Public Input Before Service Changes are Implemented. The
legislation will give the public the opportunity to comment on the
technical analysis presented by NYCTA staff, and also to present other
relevant issues. Service changes on buses and subways often have
impacts on riders that are not apparent from studying ridership
figures alone. Many New Yorkers decide where to live based on
available mass transit and, especially for the elderly and disabled, a
service change that may appear minor may have a major impact on the
quality of rider's lives. Because such facts are often not apparent
from ridership studies alone, a public hearing is essential to bring
to light information that may otherwise be unavailable. Public
hearings would therefore allow those affected by cuts and other
interested parties to present important information to the committee
on NYCTA operators for its consideration.

(3) Improve Public Speaking at MTA Board and Committee Meetings. The
legislation strengthens requirements concerning public speaking at
meetings of the MTA Board and its committees. Currently, the MTA
discourages public speakers by limiting their comments to a maximum of
two minutes; by restricting comments to topics on the agenda, while
making the agenda unavailable to the public until minutes before each
meeting; and by not recording the comments of public speakers in the
minutes. The legislation is specifically designed to correct these
abuses. It stipulates that more adequate speaking times shall be
provided and may be shortened only when, necessary to permit the Board
to proceed with its agenda within a reasonable time, and it requires
that agendas shall be available for public inspection at easily
accessible locations throughout MTA's service territory well in
advance of each meeting of the MT A Board and each of its committees.

(4) Enhance Oversight by MTA Board. An intended and desirable effect
of this legislation is that MTA Board members, as well as the public,
shall have at least seven days to review agendas for meetings of the
MTA Board and its committees. Currently, nothing prevents the MTA from
giving draft agendas to Board members as little as forty-eight hours
prior to a committee or Board meeting, and final agendas only a few
hours prior to a committee meeting. At a typical meeting, the MTA
Board is asked to authorize the expenditure of tens of millions of
dollars, and frequently-hundreds of millions of dollars of public
funds by guaranteeing that Board members shall have at least seven
days to review proposed MTA expenditures, this legislation will
significantly enhance the MTA Board's ability to discharge its
responsibilities.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This bill has been introduced in previous legislative sessions.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                 3170--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 3, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by Sens. STAVISKY, PARKER -- read twice and ordered printed,
  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Transportation --
  recommitted to the Committee  on  Transportation  in  accordance  with
  Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN ACT to amend the public authorities law,  in  relation  to  requiring
  public  notice  and hearing prior to any planned substantial change in
  service

  THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section  1.  Section  1205 of the public authorities law is amended by
adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
  9. (A) FOR  PURPOSES  OF  THIS  SUBDIVISION,  "SUBSTANTIAL  CHANGE  IN
SERVICE" MEANS:
  (I)  ANY  CHANGE  IN  FREQUENCY OF SERVICE OF A SURFACE ROUTE OR RAPID
TRANSIT ROUTE WHICH RESULTS IN A CHANGE OF TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT  OR  MORE
DURING ANY TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS AT ANY RAPID TRANSIT STATION, OR ON ANY
PORTION  AT LEAST ONE-HALF MILE IN LENGTH OF ANY SURFACE ROUTE, COMPARED
WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE PROVIDED DURING THE SAME SUCH HOURS IN
THE PREVIOUS THREE YEARS; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT  WHERE  A  SUBSTANTIAL
CHANGE  IN SERVICE FREQUENCY ON SUCH ROUTE AT SUCH HOURS HAS BEEN IMPLE-
MENTED PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION  WITHIN  THE  PREVIOUS
THREE  YEARS,  ANY SUBSEQUENT CHANGE IN SERVICE SHALL BE DEEMED SUBSTAN-
TIAL ONLY IF  IT  RESULTS  IN  A  CHANGE  IN  FREQUENCY  OF  SERVICE  OF
TWENTY-FIVE  PERCENT  OR  MORE  DURING  ANY TWO CONSECUTIVE HOURS AT ANY
RAPID TRANSIT STATION, OR ON ANY  PORTION  AT  LEAST  ONE-HALF  MILE  IN
LENGTH  OF ANY SURFACE ROUTE, COMPARED WITH THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF SERVICE
PROVIDED DURING THE SAME SUCH HOURS DURING THE PERIOD OF TIME COMMENCING
WITH THE DATE OF IMPLEMENTATION OF SUCH PRECEDING SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE  IN
SERVICE; OR

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD05231-02-6

S. 3170--A                          2

  (II) ANY COMPLETE OR PARTIAL CLOSING OF A PASSENGER STATION WITHIN THE
CITY OF NEW YORK, OR ANY MEANS OF PUBLIC ACCESS TO SUCH FACILITY.
  (B)  ON AND AFTER SEPTEMBER FIRST, TWO THOUSAND SEVENTEEN, NO SUBSTAN-
TIAL CHANGE IN SERVICE FURNISHED UPON THE RAPID  TRANSIT  FACILITIES  OR
THE OMNIBUS LINE FACILITIES OF THE AUTHORITY SHALL BE INSTITUTED, EXCEPT
UPON  APPROVAL  BY  RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON OPERATIONS OF THE NEW
YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND APPROVAL BY RESOLUTION OF THE  METROPOL-
ITAN  TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY, AND ONLY AFTER A PUBLIC HEARING OR HEAR-
INGS HELD BY THE BOARD OF THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION  AUTHORITY  IN
THE  COUNTY  OR  COUNTIES WHEREIN THE SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN SERVICE WILL
HAVE AN IMPACT.
  SUCH HEARING SHALL BE HELD NOT LESS THAN THIRTY DAYS AFTER  NOTICE  OF
SUCH  PROPOSED  SERVICE CHANGE HAS BEEN GIVEN TO, AND COMMENTS SOLICITED
FROM, THE NEW YORK CITY  TRANSIT  AUTHORITY  ADVISORY  COUNCIL  AND  THE
COMMUNITY  BOARD  OR BOARDS AS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO THE NEW YORK CITY
CHARTER WHOSE AREAS OF JURISDICTION INCLUDE PART OR ALL OF  THE  SURFACE
OR  RAPID  TRANSIT  ROUTE, OR PASSENGER STATION, AFFECTED BY THE CHANGE.
NOTICE ACCOMPANIED BY THE INFORMATION SPECIFIED IN PARAGRAPH (C) OF THIS
SUBDIVISION SHALL  BE  MADE  ACCESSIBLE  TO  THE  PUBLIC  AT  DESIGNATED
LOCATIONS IN THE AREA AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE, INCLUDING
AT  LEAST  ONE LOCATION WITHIN THE AREA OF JURISDICTION OF EACH AFFECTED
COMMUNITY BOARD.
  (C) NOTICE SHALL INCLUDE:
  (I) A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED SERVICE  CHANGE,  INCLUDING
ANY  PROPOSED  CHANGE IN FREQUENCY OF SERVICE; A DIAGRAM OF THE PROPOSED
CHANGES, IF ANY, IN THE ROUTE SERVED;  A  MAP  OR  DIAGRAM  OF  AFFECTED
ACCESS FACILITIES AT PASSENGER STATIONS.
  (II)  A  PRESENTATION OF THE DATA OBTAINED BY THE AUTHORITY ON NUMBERS
AND PATTERNS OF RIDERS AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED CHANGE.
  (III) A DESCRIPTION OF  THE  METHODOLOGY  USED  BY  THE  AUTHORITY  IN
OBTAINING  SUCH  DATA,  INCLUDING THE DATES AND TIMES ON WHICH COUNTS OF
RIDERS WERE TAKEN.
  (IV)  THE  PROJECTED  IMPACT  ON  PASSENGERS,  INCLUDING  THE  AVERAGE
INCREASE IN WAITING TIMES, IF ANY, AND THE NUMBER OF PASSENGERS AFFECTED
BY  SUCH INCREASE; AND THE VALUE OF THE COSTS OR BENEFITS TO PASSENGERS,
OBTAINED BY ASSIGNING A DOLLAR VALUE TO PASSENGERS' TIME, AND TO FACTORS
SUCH AS CROWDING, SENSE OF SECURITY, AND OTHERS.
  (V) THE FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE AUTHORITY, INCLUDING ANY COST  SAVINGS
EXPECTED TO BE REALIZED BY THE AUTHORITY.
  (VI) A PROJECTION OF THE IMPACT ON RIDERSHIP.
  AT  EACH  AFFECTED STATION AND ON BUSES OPERATING ON EACH AFFECTED BUS
ROUTE, POSTERS SHALL BE DISPLAYED PROVIDING A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE
PROPOSED SERVICE CHANGE, IDENTIFYING THE LOCATIONS AT WHICH THE INFORMA-
TION REQUIRED BY THIS PARAGRAPH IS ACCESSIBLE TO THE  PUBLIC,  INFORMING
THE  PUBLIC  OF THE DATE, TIME, AND PLACE OF THE PUBLIC HEARING OR HEAR-
INGS AND OF THE BOARD MEETING AT WHICH THE CHANGE WILL BE ON THE AGENDA,
AND STATING THAT THE PUBLIC MAY SPEAK AT SUCH MEETING PURSUANT TO  PARA-
GRAPH  (C)  OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF SECTION TWELVE HUNDRED SIXTY-THREE OF
THIS ARTICLE. THE PUBLIC SHALL BE NOTIFIED OF ANY CHANGE IN THE TIME AND
PLACE OF SUCH HEARING OR HEARINGS AND OF SUCH BOARD MEETING  BY  NOTICES
AT ALL OF THE ABOVE LOCATIONS.
  (D)  THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL  PERFORM  PASSENGER  COUNTS ON THE AFFECTED
SERVICES SIX MONTHS AFTER IMPLEMENTATION  OF  EACH  SUBSTANTIAL  SERVICE
CHANGE.  SUCH  COUNTS, ACCOMPANIED BY THE ORIGINAL PROJECTIONS OF IMPACT
ON RIDERSHIP, SHALL BE REPORTED TO THE BOARD AND THE PUBLIC.

S. 3170--A                          3

  (E) THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL NOT APPLY TO SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES IN SERVICE
WITH A PROJECTED DURATION OF LESS THAN ONE HUNDRED EIGHTY DAYS,  NOR  TO
SUBSTANTIAL  CHANGES  IN  SERVICE  RESULTING FROM AN EMERGENCY SUCH THAT
PUBLIC HEARINGS CANNOT TAKE  PLACE  WITHOUT  IMPERILING  THE  SAFETY  OF
PASSENGERS.
  S  2.  Paragraph  (c)  of  subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
authorities law, as added by chapter 247 of the laws of 1990, is amended
to read as follows:
  (c) The [chairman] CHAIRPERSON shall ensure that at every  meeting  of
the  board  and  at  every meeting of each committee the public shall be
allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any
topic on the agenda. EACH SPEAKER  SHALL BE ALLOTTED NOT LESS THAN  FIVE
MINUTES  OF  SPEAKING  TIME,  EXCEPT  THAT WHEN THE NUMBER OF REGISTERED
SPEAKERS IS SUCH THAT THE THIRTY MINUTE DURATION WOULD BE  SUBSTANTIALLY
EXCEEDED,  THE  ALLOTTED  SPEAKING TIMES MAY BE REDUCED TO NOT LESS THAN
THREE MINUTES. THE CHAIRPERSON MAY, AT HIS OR HER  DISCRETION,  END  THE
PUBLIC  SPEAKING  PERIOD  AFTER  SEVENTY-FIVE MINUTES. AGENDAS FOR EVERY
MEETING OF THE BOARD AND EVERY MEETING OF EACH COMMITTEE  THEREOF  SHALL
BE  MADE AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION BY THE PUBLIC NOT LESS THAN SEVEN DAYS
PRIOR TO EACH MEETING AT THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE AUTHORITY AND AT  LEAST
ONE  DESIGNATED LOCATION WITHIN EACH COUNTY WHERE THE AUTHORITY PROVIDES
SERVICE.
  THE MINUTES OF EACH MEETING SHALL RECORD THE COMMENTS  OF  THE  PUBLIC
SPEAKERS  WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF DETAIL AS IS ACCORDED TO ANY OTHER PART
OF THE AGENDA.
  S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S3170A

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Toby Ann Stavisky

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Transportation Committee

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

Kevin S. Parker

2015-S3170 - Details

2015-S3170 - Summary

2015-S3170 - Sponsor Memo

2015-S3170 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

Kevin S. Parker

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Details

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2015-S3170A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments