S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9583
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 20, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
 
 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 TRAN-
 SIT  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  TWENTY-FOUR,  NO
 SUBSTANTIAL  CHANGE  IN SERVICE FURNISHED UPON THE RAPID TRANSIT FACILI-
 TIES OR THE OMNIBUS LINE FACILITIES OF THE  AUTHORITY  SHALL  BE  INSTI-
 TUTED, EXCEPT UPON APPROVAL BY RESOLUTION OF THE COMMITTEE ON OPERATIONS
 OF THE NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY AND APPROVAL BY RESOLUTION OF THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04608-01-3
 A. 9583                             2
 
 METROPOLITAN  TRANSPORTATION  AUTHORITY, AND ONLY AFTER A PUBLIC HEARING
 OR HEARINGS HELD BY THE BOARD OF THE METROPOLITAN TRANSPORTATION AUTHOR-
 ITY 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.
   § 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:
 A. 9583                             3

   (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.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.