Long Island needs strength on MTA board
A meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board in Manhattan (JULY 28, 2010) Credit: Charles Eckert
HELP WANTED: Nassau County rep to the MTA Board. Transportation background essential. Agile mind required for complex real estate, business, labor and commuter issues. Political savvy a must. LIRR rider preferred. Six-year commitment. NOT a patronage job.
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County Executive Edward Mangano needs someone to serve as Nassau's representative on the Metropolitian Transportation Authority board. The spot has been vacant since Patrick Foye left to take over as head of the Port Authority in January.
As of now, Suffolk's liaison, Mitchell Pally, is the sole voice for Long Island concerns such as East Side Access funding for the Long Island Rail Road, double tracks on the Ronkonkoma line and possible cuts to LIRR track space at Penn Station.
Mangano must send three names to the governor, while highlighting his top preference, and he says he'll do so by the end of March. He already has had an informal chat with Albany about Foye's replacement, and his suggestion was immediately dismissed as unacceptable.
Mangano is trying to decide whether he should select someone from his administration or a an outsider with knowledge about transit. He should go with the civilian -- but not to return a political favor. The post, while unpaid, is significant as a voting member who approves major decisions, from the price of a single ticket to the spending of billions of dollars.
Mangano's pick must be someone who will positively influence our region's transit needs, not a person who will use it for personal influence.
Apply now.
