The Fig File for 02.03.09

The Fig File for 02.03.09 by: Mike Figliola

The Fig File: The MTA Lost and Found: Kill The Masquerade.

I thought I knew all it took to bother me about the MTA, but there is more that creeps up behind the imminent subway and toll increases despite the 1.5 to 2 billion bucks that will be pouring in to this astringent agency from President Obama’s Stimulus Package.

This latest cyanide laced kool-aid comes in the form of a lost and found website; a brand new virtual spot on the MTA homepage where those who have lost possessions can congregate and sort through the urban laundry bag to find their valuables, or that which has been deemed valuable.

Main Cheerleader CEO Lee Sander says that ‘that this is another example of making our customers the top priority’

Nope. The customers are not top priority. The customers pay the fare, click through the turnstile wheel and patiently wait for a molasses train. They wait in sub-par stations, minus the major hubs like Grand Central, Penn Station, 14th Street 125th Street et al that have been de-greased with the MTA’s spit. Those stations are featured with over the head water or sewer leaks dripping onto the tracks and even in some cases, I suspect, a steady spread of asbestos paint peeling off the tunnel walls- though not confirmed but not out of the ordinary, floating around the permeating subway stair air. 

Customers are top priority.

Hey customers drink the kool-aid if you’re buying into this narcissistic madness... if not read on.

The guillotine mask is on folks: the MTA is preparing to rape those who use the subway system and drive the river crossings; that which has become the depended on life line to the inner city, an outreach into ones paycheck to pay off the endless parade of bills and tax increases imposed by the Empire State and it’s partners in crime: Verizon, Time Warner, Con-Edison and LIPA . Note the service charges on your phone or cable bill from one or two of these amenities.

Customers are top priority.

1.5 to 2 bilion dollars will be injected into the right arm of the MTA, not leaving any tracks, but providing a monetary high for the time being until the agency eventually mismanages and then, once again like the deserts miss the rain, cries fiscal dehydration.

Repeat after me:
 
Customers are top priority. 
Customers are top priority.
Customers are top priority.
Customers are top priority.

I have lost a significant amount of crap over the years on the railways and will take the better part of this weekend to search for it online. Swell. I think my faith was lost somewhere on the almost defunct Z Train near Woodhaven and 80th street, a pretty good bet I methinks. I read that the MTA views it’s customers as top priority.

Kill The Masquerade. Please.

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