FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 16, 2020

MTA Board Representative Calls for Preservation of Rail Service and Equity for Rockland Residents

New City, NY, - Rockland County's MTA Board representative Frank Borelli delivered a statement during today's MTA Board Meeting prior to the Board's vote on the Authority's 2021 Budget.  Commissioner Borelli was nominated by Rockland County Executive Ed Day and has served on the Board since the Governor appointed him to the Board and the NYS Senate confirmed his appointment in June.

Commissioner Borelli's statement is below and is followed by a short statement from County Executive Day:

"As the MTA today meets to review and consider its 2021 budget, I am compelled to comment. The residents and commuters of Rockland County are being shortchanged. While the budget we are being asked to vote for today does not, at this time, include the horrific cuts to service and unfair impact on MTA's loyal and hardworking employees, it does leave open the very real possibility for the elimination of rail service west of the Hudson if the federal funding does not materialize.

"The proposal to eliminate our service is a continuation and evidence of the inequitable treatment of the residents and commuters of Rockland County. Eight years ago, Rockland County conducted a value gap analysis which showed that the difference between the value of the MTA service Rockland received and the estimate of the dollars paid to the MTA by Rockland commuters/residents was approximately $40 million per year at that time.  Since then, service to our area has been even further reduced.

"The proposal showed an operational savings of approximately $25 million if rail service was eliminated west of the Hudson.  While there are many moving parts contained in this budget, it is still very clear that the $40 million annual value gap has been underestimated and is signifyingly higher.  What is insulting to Rockland County is that the proposal called for Rockland County's service to be completely eliminated, while all other MTA service simply be reduced to balance our budget and deal with the Covid-19 reductions in ridership. I suspect elimination was called for, rather than reductions to service like other parts of MTA's territory, because Rockland's service is already so thin and currently reduced to its limits, so any further reduction would leave us with nothing.

"I have mentioned before that Rockland County would have no reason to continue to be part of the MTA and pay into the system if service to our area were eliminated. I am asking the Board while we navigate the issue of Covid-19 and its impact on our transit system and employees, that we do not forget our neighbors to the northwest who work hard to earn their salaries and need reliable transportation. They must be treated equitably. Thank You."

"I appreciate Commissioner Borelli's efforts to bring attention to Rockland County's continuing plight with MTA," said Rockland County Executive Ed Day. "Rockland County residents have suffered decades of inequity and, at this point, years of deplorable and diminished rail service on the Pascack Valley Line.  MTA has proposed eliminating our service entirely while only reducing service elsewhere.  Everyone else in the MTA region would get a haircut while Rockland gets a beheading.  This is simply unacceptable."

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