The following is a look back at some of the top stories in Nassau County over the past week:
MTA to End Funding of LI Bus
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board voted unanimously to end its operation of the Nassau County-owned Long Island Bus system.
This year, the MTA had been seeking an additional $26 million from the county to maintain the current service for LI Bus. The county currently pays $9.1 million of the $134 million it costs to run the bus system. The rest is made up of state funding and fares.
MTA officials claim they have been covering the county's funding shortfall for about a decade, while the county — in the midst of a financial crisis — has maintained that it cannot afford an extra $26 million per year. Instead, County Executive Ed Mangano has proposed privatizing L.I. Bus.
"Because the MTA has failed taxpayers time and time again, Nassau County will move forward with a public-private partnership that maintains bus service without demanding an additional $26 million from taxpayers," Mangano said.
Katie Grilli-Robles, a spokeswoman for Mangano, said the county has put together an independent committee to look into privatization. The committee is currently reviewing three bids from private companies, which she did not name. The committee is expected to make a recommendation to Mangano by mid-May, she said.
Kevin Ortiz, a spokesman for the MTA, did not specify the county's non-payment as a reason for the board's decision.
"The vote this week was, in essence, a vote to help the county transition to privatization at the start of next year," he said. "The county made a decision to move forward with privatization."
The state is providing an additional $8.6 million to the MTA to maintain the current bus service through the end of 2011.
Nassau GOP Proposes New Legislative District Lines
Nassau's Republican majority recently proposed new legislative district lines that Democrats allege will allow the GOP to hold onto power for the next 10 years.
The Democrats also accuse the Republicans of skirting the county charter by pushing the lines before a two-year deadline, but members of the majority say they must act soon to stay legally within the U.S. Constitution.
Your local Patches will have the full story early next week.
County Supporting Adelphi Breast Cancer Program
The county has joined the Adelphi New York Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline and Support program, an annual Mother's Day campaign that encourages women to get mammograms.
This program is led by the Adelphi University School of Social Work. To find a mammogram facility near you, call the hotline at 1-800-877-8077. Services are free.
Good luck trying to sell this. BAD UNINFORMED IDEA!!!! Do your homework ROB!!!!
one of two things will happen-either this district will be redistricted into an existing district in queens;or wind up being part of peter kings turf.
If you charge me for your stuff, why would you complain? The goal here is to provide acceptable service paid entirely by the user of that service. The MTA has failed miserably at that task.
or the same size yellow school busses? The currrent MTA busses are never crowded Take the larger busses off the road or sell them. People who can't afford cars need public transportation.
Should there be a public bus system in Nassau County ? If Mr. Mangano and his apologist, Mr. Germino, had any interest in seeing the system continue, they would have initiate a review of existing safety regulations to make private ownership feasible while providing safe, clean buses. On the other hand, public transportation could be outmoded. Nassau County will not in the forseeable future have a system similar to much of New York City, which reliably can be used by working people to get to and from work from stops near where they live and work. Most LI Buses which I have seen are virtually empty. Very few people can use public transportation to travel from their homes to their jobs and schools within Nassau County. This is made clear by the fact that Hofstra and Adelphi Universities operate extensive private bus systems for their students. We will not debate the real issue. The Republican politicians will have set up LI Bus reform to fail. They allowed MTA to abandon LI Bus without a viable alternative and with no benefit to Nassau County taxpayers -the MTA will redistribute its LI Bus subsidy to other MTA operations. When no private company will step forward to run LI Bus without promises of government subsidies, the Republicans will blame regulation and claim victory. At the same time, Nassau County will reduce its deficit by the $9.1 million it pays for LI Bus. I don't know who wins, but the public will lose.
The taxpayer wins. He no longer has the burden of supporting an inefficient system overloaded with management from which he derives on benefit. The day of the Democrats milking the taxpayer for every scheme which will benefit someone somewhere is over. I'll keep my money, and with it I'll benefit MY family and pay MY bills. Thank you, Republicans, for finally letting me keep a few dollars for my own family.
1. Create a food terminal for Nassau County. That will limit truck traffic from NJ and the crappy boros. 2. Improve Nassau's ports. That will also limit truck traffic from NJ and the crappy boros. 3. Use rail to deliver bulk durable and non-durable goods. That will also limit truck traffic from NJ and the boros. See a pattern? Fewer trucks, more space on the road, fewer delays, better service. 4. Change the stupid zoning laws on the books. Stop suburban sprawl. Concentrate key government services. 5. Build the seaford oyster bay tunnel. Don't care if the NIMBYs hate it, it will improve traffic flow and provides an alternate means of getting off the Island in an emergency 6. Expand the existing highway and parkway structures. Use eminent domain if you have to. 7. Create more park and ride sites for commuters that make sense. 8. Lower LIRR fares not increase them. The goal is to increase ridership not reduce it! 9. Have private cab service use NYC pricing scheme rather than the antiquated zone fares. 10. Push for more, better protected bike lanes on our streets. 11. Give a tax break to the public ridership. 11. My favorite. Stop all the traffic to the Hamptons and use ships to drop'em off. Long Island roads are not summer parking lots. 'Nough said
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