New York's Metro Transit Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota will resign Friday to announce plans to run for mayor, NyPo is reporting.
Lhota is a Republican who was deputy mayor under the Rudy Giuliani. It is an uphill battle for a Republican to be elected mayor of the Big Apple. The still relatively unknown Lhota was trounced by a generic unnamed Democrat for mayor in a recent Quinnipiac University poll, 60 percent to 9 percent.
The Democratic field is likely to include City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, former City Comptroller Bill Thompson and current Comptroller John Liu, reports NyPo.
In not exactly the best way to launch a race for mayor, the MTA, today, just two days before Lhota resigns, is expected to announce that fares and tolls will be raised throughout the metropolitan area.
The single subway ride fare will be raised from $2.25 to $2.50.
Other hikes will:
-Raise the cost of a 30-day MetroCard $8 to $112.
-Raise the cost of a seven-day unlimited card $1 to $30.
-Raise the cost of a single-ride subway ticket a quarter to $2.75.
-Raise Express Bus fares 50 cents to $6.
-Raise most LIRR and Metro-North tickets between 8.2% and 9.3%.
-Raise the E-ZPass toll on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge $1 to $10.66 for non-Staten Islanders, who would pay $6.36. Island residents would get $6 tolls if they make at least three crossings per month.
-Cut the pay-per-ride bonus from 7% to 5% — but also lower the minimum purchase required for getting the free cash.
Lhota will enter the race bankster approved. He worked at the mysterious Swiss- based investment firm MediaWin & Partners. Lhota also spent 15 years in investment banking at both CSFB and at PaineWebber. He served as a Managing Director at Paine Webber.
I wrote a piece on Mr. Lhota and the MTA a few months back regarding the fare hikes. They will tout him as the savior of a post-Sandy New York, just like Giuliani and 9/11.
ReplyDeletehttp://deadmarkets.com/2012/10/21/the-mta-and-state-propaganda/
When I last lived in NYC in 2011, I recall the pay per ride bonus being 15% (with foreboding plans from the MTA to halve it some day).
ReplyDeleteNow it's down to 5% so soon? Stop the farce and end it.
9/11 was Yugo Crimean Blow Back. How much did Sacirbey pay his neighbor Molinari? How much did Albanaian Heroin Mafia pay Dioguardi?
ReplyDelete