City Council eyes subway report card system
A G train approaches the 4th Ave/9th Street subway station in Brooklyn. (March 15, 2012) Credit: amNY/Jason Andrew
First, restaurants, now city politicians want to give subway stations letter grades.
Councilman Peter Koo made the suggestion to MTA officials at a joint hearing of the council's finance and transportation committees Wednesday.
"We grade the restaurants, right? A, B, C, D. So we should rate all the stations in the MTA system," Koo (D-Queens) said.
Transportation chairman James Vacca concurred with Koo's proposal.
"Why can't we rate stations on cleanliness, rats, water, garbage, graffiti?" he asked. Vacca (D-Bronx) said he would draft a resolution to call for the grading system along with Koo and Domenic Recchia, who heads the council's finance committee.
The council, however, cannot approve legislation requiring the agency to post grades because the MTA is run by the state.
Recchia (D-Brooklyn) suggested the MTA follow the Department of Health grading system, which returns frequently to eateries that fail.
"If they get a 'D' or an 'F,' we want to make sure that they're going to come back immediately and upgrade it so it could be an 'A' station," he said.
The MTA quickly rejected the council's station grading idea, saying it already provides monthly statistics about the appearance, equipment and information on its subway lines and the stations, which are broken down borough by borough.
"The MTA already publishes an array of statistics on station cleanliness," spokesman Kevin Ortiz said.
Gene Russianoff of the Straphangers Campaign, which has done its own station inspections, said letter grading might hold the MTA more accountable for station conditions. "I think they could do it, and maybe the council should fund it," Russianoff said.
Riders said letter grades would have little effect on their travels.
"I'm more concerned about the service," said Malik Perry, 19, of the Bronx as he waited for a No. 2 train at Penn Station. He rated the station a "B+" for cleanliness, saying, "It could be better."
Jake Rogal, a film production assistant and West Village resident who was waiting for a downtown train at the Times Square station, said the subways are "all gross."
"My route is my route no matter what," Rogal, 24, said. "I wouldn't fully reroute just to get a cleaner route."
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Out East with Doug Geed: Wine harvests, a fish market, baked treats and poinsettias NewsdayTV's Doug Geed visits two wineries and a fish market, and then it's time for holiday cheer, with a visit to a bakery and poinsettia greenhouses.
