Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials are furious that Gov. Cuomo has now extended the transit agency’s “state of emergency” designation for the fourth time, with board members saying chairman Joe Lhota is using the order to do whatever he wants.
The 30-day emergency order, which allows Lhota to make purchases and sign contracts without first telling the MTA board or getting any kind of approval, has now been activated since June, when the subway system was in the midst of a crisis over major delays.
Lhota made more than $102 million in authorizations in three months, including $2.2 million to PricewaterhouseCoopers and other companies to administer Cuomo’s Genius Transit Challenge, where the governor offered to pay $1 million for a good idea that will save the hobbled subway system.
Other items that Lhota authorized include more than $686,000 for a concession contract with tenants at Park and Ride locations, nearly half a million dollars for passenger vans, and more than $2.3 million for vacuum trucks.
Sources on the board say they think Lhota’s purchases go well beyond the scope of an emergency.
“We have always had concerns about this state of emergency and how its being administered,” said board member Veronica Vanterpool.
Lhota declined to comment Tuesday, but MTA spokesman Jon Weinstein said the order is meant to help fix the system faster.
“The executive order was issued to allow the MTA to address a transportation emergency across the entire region and the purchases made under the order strictly follow that mission,” he said.