MTA Won't Wait For Board Vote To Call Off L Train Shutdown

WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — Officials have seemed to change their mind yet again on whether the MTA board needs to approve Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to avoid the L train shutdown.

In a surprising press release Thursday night — just two days after MTA board members argued about the plan in an emergency meeting — the MTA announced, again, that the shutdown had been averted by the new proposal devised by Cuomo's team of experts.

The announcement seemed to contradict Chairman Fernando Ferrer's comments during the meeting that any changes to a contract on the project would come before the board, not to mention Cuomo's comments last week that MTA board approval was necessary before the plan moved forward.

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But an anonymous MTA source told Gothamist that the MTA has decided that, after all, it doesn't need the board to vote. The plan can bypass the board because it is expected to cost less than the full $477-million shutdown, the source said.

"We do not believe the cost of reconstruction will increase, and given the tremendous benefits to the riding public, reduction in the volume of traffic and savings from the traffic mitigation efforts, it is a clear positive alternative and in the public interest," the release from MTA read.

The news shocked board members, elected officials and government watch-dog groups that questioned whether pushing the plan through violated the MTA's bylaws.

The confusion seemed evident even before the announcement. At Tuesday's emergency meeting, DOT Commissioner Penny Trottenberg and Ferrer engaged in a somewhat heated exchange about what the board's role should have been and would be in the announcement.

Ferrer told Trottenberg that changes to the contract would come before the board, but seemed to avoid a question about whether the "shutdown averted" announcement was premature.

"If the sign says 'shutdown averted' it should have a footnote that says 'subject to board approval,'" Trottenberg said.

The MTA did say in the release, though, that it will be hiring an independent consultant to oversee safety operations and report directly to the board. A full construction schedule and contract negotiation will be complete in the next several weeks, they said.

An MTA official did not return Patch's request for comment.

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images.