It’s sounding like Apple got a sweetheart of a deal from the MTA to open an Apple Store in Grand Central Station. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is going to investigate.

As much as I hate linking to and quoting the NY Post here it is:

In addition to state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who told The Post he would look into Apple’s sweetheart lease, State Sen. Tony Avella also called for an investigation yesterday.

Regardless, iPads are coming to Grand Central a week from today — probe or no probe. Confirming a Post report, Apple said yesterday it will open its store inside the Big Apple’s historic commuter hub Dec. 9.

So what does an Apple Store in Grand Central Station do for NYC’s economy?

Earlier today I blogged about New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board and its link to the dysfunctional legislature that is Albany. Now I get an email from the Working Families Party about the MTA fare hikes which said the following.

I’m sure you’ve heard that the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) voted last week to raise fares by at least 25% on New York City subways, buses, Metro North and the Long Island Railroad.

They took this step because our state legislators in Albany failed to pass an alternative that would solve the MTA’s budget crisis without these painful fare increases.

So due to inaction in Albany, New Yorker’s are going to feel the pain? The WFP have started an online action (shout out to DIA!) to get people to contact their legislators to get them to propose a better solution than the one the MTA is about to impose. What’s also cool is a parallel action where they’ve created a clever poster that they want people to download and post all over the place. They then want you to take pictures and email them to clenchner@votewfp.org. Lastly, there’s the Facebook component where they’ve created a graphic that they are asking people to post on their wall or make it their profile picture. Now I may not be living in New York anymore (I’m in DC metro) but I still care about what goes on there! This fare hike is going to hurt millions!

I just got an email from the Working Families Party on their fight to stop the MTA from raising fares. They’re teaming up with NYPIRG’s straphangers campaign and started a site called Halt the Hike. While i’m not in New York City or NY for that matter anymore (I’m a NY’er lost on the DC metro) I think this is a good campaign. It’s a campaign that directly effects working people who take public transportation. There is a huge number of people who can’t afford cars and take public transportation.

Squeezed between rising costs and declining public aid, the MTA is calling for another round of fare hikes to close the gap.

With riders already paying more than their fair share, and the cost of living in New York skyrocketing, we need more city and state aid for public transportation – otherwise, transit riders will be left to pick up the tab.

Gov. Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg oppose the fare hikes, but they need to hear from you: with adequate funding for mass transit, we can Halt the Hike!

I also think that the audit of the MTA that the NY Comptroller is talking about doing, is a great idea to find ways to cut costs and not raise the fares. Lastly, I have to say that it’s kind of cool to see WordPress powering this website!

Technorati : mta, nypirg, wfp

The comptroller of New York is planning to audit the MTA and it’s about time. They always look for ways to hike fares while being known to keep two sets of books! One book says they’re not making enough while the other shows a surplus. They also try to undercut their employees when it comes time to bargain. This is why TWU Local 100 went on strike in 2005. New York’s public authorities need reform and many were hoping that Sptizer would have taken this on when he was the governor. I wonder what Governor Patterson’s thoughts are on public authorities in NY?