Links roundup

Aerial view of railroad infrastructure at the Jersey City Waterfront, circa 1960, via the Railfan Window Blog. Click image for source.

Housing Authorities

• The Saratoga Springs Housing Authority is facing an audit from the state comptroller. [TU]

LDCs

• N.Y. Attorney General Eric Schneiderman wants to impose new board requirements on nonprofits, including—presumably—a lot of LDCs. [NY Post]
• Speaking of LDCs, the comptroller’s office concluded that the Village of Cornwall-on-Hudson used an LDC to avoid state procurement laws and construct a public works garage that was built on unsuitable land, failed to meet building codes, and cost nearly $1 million. [Press Release]

MTA

• MTA chairman Joe Lhota announced his opposition to a bill that would ban eating on the subway. [NYT]
• Lhota also made some negative comments about the bill and its sponsor, Senator Bill Perkins, and then apologized. [Transportation Nation]
• Stainless steel seating is being used to replace the iconic wooden benches in the subway. [NY Daily News]

Port Authority

• Former Governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson think the latest Port Authority audit was unfair. [Transportation Nation]
• The Port Authority announced a $500 million rehab project for the George Washington Bridge. [NJ Real Time News]

Power Authorities

• The former head of the Green Island Power Authority collected over $17,000 in “double dip” pension payments before he actually left the payroll. [TU]
• Customer satisfaction is deteriorating at the Long Island Power Authority. [Suffolk County LIPA Oversight Committee]

Thruway Authority

• New York has applied for a $2 billion federal loan to finance the new Tappan Zee Bridge. [Bloomberg]

Transit beyond NY

• Congress is considering a bill that would give the Federal Transit Administration oversight powers and the authority to set standards for the nation’s subways and light rail systems. [WaPo]
• Boston’s transit agency is proposing a 25% fare hike. [Boston Globe]
• In Detroit, early morning bus service may be cut. [Free Press]