Please be advised...

As a public service to the residents of New Hyde Park and our supporters in neighboring communities, Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc. encourages all citizens to read and learn from the information posted on this blog site. Recently, however, it has been called to our attention that parts of and/or entire posts from this blog site have been used without our knowledge and/or written consent.

Please be advised that the information presented on this blog is provided by Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc. as a public service and for the exclusive review of our supporters. Any use and/or reproduction of the material on this blog site must be approved by the Board of Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc. We eagerly welcome the opportunity to meet with and/or speak to all those who express an interest in benefiting from our continued work.

Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association Inc. can be reached:

• via email at SOV.NHP@gmail.com
• via snail at 103 Covert Ave., New Hyde Park, NY 11040
• via telephone at 516-328-1171
  

Thank you.
Officers of Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc.

MTA Board Meeting - December 12th

At the December 12th meeting of the MTA Board, NHP Trustee L. Montreuil made the following presentation regarding the LIRR Mainline Corridor Improvement Project (which includes plans for three at grade crossing elimination projects in New Hyde Park):

http://www.mta.info/mta/webcasts/player.htm?id=071212_0930_LIRR_300.wmv&mv=wmp-hires&src=archive

It is important to note that from our inception as of April 2007, Save Our Village's official position has always favored the at-grade crossing elimination projects in New Hyde Park. However, we vehemently oppose the current MTA proposals which jeopardize our economic stability, environment, and suburban quality of life. Once again, Save Our Village insists that the MTA-LIRR and all federal, state and local elected representatives of the mainline communities

1. explore alternatives which promote safety, reduce roadway congestion, and preserve our suburban lifestyle;
   
2. promote the best plan that inflicts the least collateral damage to family homes and properties, regardless of its cost
   
3. negotiate respectfully with all citizens who are directly and indirectly impacted so that they do not suffer unfair economic hardship and can remain residents within their chosen community

SAVE OUR VILLAGE NEW HYDE PARK ASSOCIATION, INC. WISHES TO POSITIVELY ACKNOWLEDGE THE NHP VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES FOR ELOQUENTLY REPRESENTING THE COLLECTIVE VOICE OF OUR GROWING LIST OF SUPPORTERS!

PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT INFORMATION BELOW TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE PROCESS AND THE PLAYERS WHO HAVE THE POWER TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE OUR HOMETOWN COMMUNITY!

"In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth will be a revolutionary act." George Orwell, 1984

MTA Capital Program Review Board

Background:

Every five years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) must submit a capital spending program for the next five years. This fiscal system was established in the early 1980's to insure that New York's subways and commuter railroads (which were nearly collapsed in the late 1970's from decades of deferred maintenance) received adequate capital investment. This process was successful; thus, New York's rail transit systems presently function with reasonable reliability.

The VOTE and the VETO

• Under NYS Law, an MTA Capital Program must be unanimously approved by a four member board known as the Capital Program Review Board. Approval of a capital program is presumed unless, within 90 days, a member of this board vetoes it. The members of this board are appointed by the Governor of New York, NYS Senate Majority Leader, the NYS Speaker of the Assembly, and the Mayor of New York City.
• As a member of the Capital Program Review Board (CPRB), each member is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and approving the MTA's proposed multi-billion dollar five year spending program. Since all capital programs must be unanimously approved, each member's power to veto enables him/her to pass and/or reject any proposal(s) presented to the CPRB.
• On matters related to commuter railroads, Ms. Astrid Glynn, Senator Dean Skelos, and Assemblyman Keith Wright are the members of the CPRB who must vote unanimously to pass commuter railroad-related transportation proposals. A veto by any one of these members can stop a proposed project as well as the allocation of monies to fund this project. Additionally, any individual on the CPRB can approve the project with stipulations added to an agreement. Mr. Doctoroff is the 4th member of the CPRB who votes on issues related only to NYC Transit proposals.
• As a result of Senator Skelos' (9th Senate District, Nassau County) leadership on the MTA Capital Program Review Board, the MTA is presently advancing one of its most comprehensive rail systems expansion programs in over 50 years! In 1998, Senator Dean Skelos was appointed to the CPRB by Governor Pataki and since then, he has served as the NYS Senate's representative on this four-member board.

MTA Capital Program Review Board: Organization

The following elected representatives appoint the members of the CPRB:

1. NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer
2. NYS Senator Joseph Bruno, Majority Leader of the Senate, 43rd Senate District
3. NYS Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly, 64th Assembly District
4. Mr. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of the City of New York

The following appointees are members of the MTA's Capital Program Review Board:

1. Senator Dean Skelos, 9th Senate District (Nassau County)
2. Assemblyman Keith Wright, 70th Assembly District
3. Ms. Astrid Glynn, NYS Department of Transportation, Commissioner
4. Mr. Daniel L. Doctoroff, Deputy Mayor of Economic Development, NYC
   

(click on image to enlarge view)

Federal Funding for Transportation Projects

Timeline:
After the MTA and the LIRR produce the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), citizens can attend public hearings to voice their comments about the project. These public hearings usually take place approximately three months after the DEIS is issued. Thereafter, the MTA and the LIRR must address the concerns raised by citizens during the public comment period in their Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to satisfy federal guidelines. Afterwards, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) may allocate money approved by Congress through the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations Bill.

1. Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS)
2. Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)

Federal Procedures and Guidelines

• Annually, the ENTIRE Congress votes on approximately 11 Appropriations bills. One of these bills is called "The Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Bill." If this bill is approved by Congress, the funds are allocated to the Department of Transportation which then allocates a portion of this funding to ALL the individual states. This funding is used for roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, airports and railroads.
• After an Appropriations Bill is approved by Congress, no member of Congress can add amendments to the bill. All amendments or stipulations must be added to the bill before the vote.
• The MTA/LIRR may choose not to use federal money to fund its projects. Instead, they may choose to fund an entire project with money allocated to them through the NYS Department of Transportation.
  

Thus, the following representatives are the key players in the process of approving the "LIRR Mainline Corridor Improvement Project":

1. NYS Governor Eliot Spitzer

• Website: http://www.ny.gov/governor/
• Email: http://161.11.121.121/govemail
• Address: State Capitol, Albany, NY 12224
• Telephone: 518-474-83902.

2. NYS Senator Joseph Bruno, NYS Senate Majority Leader - 43rd Senate District

• Website: http://www.senatorbruno.com/
• Email: http://www.senatorbruno.com/send_email.asp
  
• Address: Albany Office, Room 909, Legislative Office Bldg., Albany, NY 12247
• Telephone: 518-455-3191

3. NYS Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the Assembly, 64th Assembly District

• Website: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064
• Email: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=064&sh=con
• Address: 250 Broadway, Suite 2307, New York, New York 10007
• Telephone: 212-312-1420

4. NYS Senator Dean Skelos, 9th Senate District and member of CPRB

• Website: http://www.senatordeanskelos.org/
• Email: http://www.senatordeanskelos.org/send_email.asp
• Address: 55 Front Street, Rockville Centre, NY 11570
• Telephone: 516-766-8383
• Fax: 516-766-8011

5. Ms. Astrid Glynn, Commissioner, NYS Dept. of Transportation and member of CPRB

• Website: https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/index
• Email: https://www.nysdot.gov/portal/page/portal/main/form-challenge
• Telephone: 631-952-6632 (Regional Director's Office)

6. Assemblyman Keith Wright, 70th Assembly District and member of CPRB

• Website: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=070
• Email: http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=070&sh=con
• Address: 163 W. 125th St., Suite 911, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Bldg., NY, NY 10027
• Telephone: 212-866-5809

The information presented above is provided by Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc. for the exclusive review of our supporters. Any use and/or reproduction of this or any other material on this blog site must be approved by the Board of Save Our Village New Hyde Park Association, Inc.