Statement by Senator Zeldin on Resignation by MTA Chairman Walder

State Senator Lee M. Zeldin (R, C, I- Shirley) released the following statement in response to Jay Walder's resignation as MTA Chairman:

“While many improvements were made to the MTA under Chairman Walder's tenure, much more work needs to be done.

Here are a dozen suggestions for the next Chairman:

1) Prepare for life after the MTA Payroll Tax. Chairman Walder said it was "impossible", which was simply the wrong answer;

2) Cap the salaries of all MTA employees to no more than Governor Cuomo's salary. The amount of individuals making over $200,000, especially Chairman Walder's $350,000, is insulting to all taxpayers in the 12 county MTA region;

3) Commit to staying in the position through at least December 31, 2014;

4) Agree to new contracts with the MTA's unions that reflect the realities of the MTA's poor and unstable fiscal health;

5) Eliminate overtime abuse;

6) Pursue more public-private partnerships;

7) Initiate a pilot project to assess competitive bidding possibilities for NYC bus contracts;

8) Reduce outside litigation costs;

9) Lower cash and investment float;

10) Improve process for approving personal and miscellaneous service contracts;

11) Reduce the excessive amount of managers and supervisors; and

12) Sell off real estate.

This isn't a moment for anyone to be patting others on the back for fixing the MTA's finances. While a problem has been mitigated, nothing has been fixed. "Stability and credibility" for the MTA is still desperately lacking. I look forward to working closely with the next Chairman and wish Governor Cuomo the best of luck in this most critical replacement for our mass transit system.”