Conditions the institution of any substantial change in surface route or rapid transit route service upon approval by the metropolitan transportation authority and committee on operations of the NYC transit authority and upon public hearing; sets allotted individual and aggregate speaking time during such hearings.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9583
IN ASSEMBLY
March 20, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HYNDMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT to amend the public authorities law, in relation to requiring
public notice and hearing prior to any planned substantial change in
service
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 1205 of the public authorities law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. (a) For purposes of this subdivision, "substantial change in
4 service" means:
5 (i) any change in frequency of service of a surface route or rapid
6 transit route which results in a change of twenty-five percent or more
7 during any two consecutive hours at any rapid transit station, or on any
8 portion at least one-half mile in length of any surface route, compared
9 with the highest level of service provided during the same such hours in
10 the previous three years; provided, however, that where a substantial
11 change in service frequency on such route at such hours has been imple-
12 mented pursuant to the provisions of this section within the previous
13 three years, any subsequent change in service shall be deemed substan-
14 tial only if it results in a change in frequency of service of twenty-
15 five percent or more during any two consecutive hours at any rapid tran-
16 sit station, or on any portion at least one-half mile in length of any
17 surface route, compared with the highest level of service provided
18 during the same such hours during the period of time commencing with the
19 date of implementation of such preceding substantial change in service;
20 or
21 (ii) any complete or partial closing of a passenger station within the
22 city of New York, or any means of public access to such facility.
23 (b) On and after September first, two thousand twenty-four, no
24 substantial change in service furnished upon the rapid transit facili-
25 ties or the omnibus line facilities of the authority shall be insti-
26 tuted, except upon approval by resolution of the committee on operations
27 of the New York city transit authority and approval by resolution of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04608-01-3
A. 9583 2
1 metropolitan transportation authority, and only after a public hearing
2 or hearings held by the board of the metropolitan transportation author-
3 ity in the county or counties wherein the substantial change in service
4 will have an impact.
5 Such hearing shall be held not less than thirty days after notice of
6 such proposed service change has been given to, and comments solicited
7 from, the New York city transit authority advisory council and the
8 community board or boards as established pursuant to the New York city
9 charter whose areas of jurisdiction include part or all of the surface
10 or rapid transit route, or passenger station, affected by the change.
11 Notice accompanied by the information specified in paragraph (c) of this
12 subdivision shall be made accessible to the public at designated
13 locations in the area affected by the proposed service change, including
14 at least one location within the area of jurisdiction of each affected
15 community board.
16 (c) Notice shall include:
17 (i) a detailed description of the proposed service change, including
18 any proposed change in frequency of service; a diagram of the proposed
19 changes, if any, in the route served; a map or diagram of affected
20 access facilities at passenger stations.
21 (ii) a presentation of the data obtained by the authority on numbers
22 and patterns of riders affected by the proposed change.
23 (iii) a description of the methodology used by the authority in
24 obtaining such data, including the dates and times on which counts of
25 riders were taken.
26 (iv) the projected impact on passengers, including the average
27 increase in waiting times, if any, and the number of passengers affected
28 by such increase; and the value of the costs or benefits to passengers,
29 obtained by assigning a dollar value to passengers' time, and to factors
30 such as crowding, sense of security, and others.
31 (v) the financial impact on the authority, including any cost savings
32 expected to be realized by the authority.
33 (vi) a projection of the impact on ridership.
34 At each affected station and on buses operating on each affected bus
35 route, posters shall be displayed providing a general description of the
36 proposed service change, identifying the locations at which the informa-
37 tion required by this paragraph is accessible to the public, informing
38 the public of the date, time, and place of the public hearing or hear-
39 ings and of the board meeting at which the change will be on the agenda,
40 and stating that the public may speak at such meeting pursuant to para-
41 graph (c) of subdivision four of section twelve hundred sixty-three of
42 this article. The public shall be notified of any change in the time and
43 place of such hearing or hearings and of such board meeting by notices
44 at all of the above locations.
45 (d) The authority shall perform passenger counts on the affected
46 services six months after implementation of each substantial service
47 change. Such counts, accompanied by the original projections of impact
48 on ridership, shall be reported to the board and the public.
49 (e) This subdivision shall not apply to substantial changes in service
50 with a projected duration of less than one hundred eighty days, nor to
51 substantial changes in service resulting from an emergency such that
52 public hearings cannot take place without imperiling the safety of
53 passengers.
54 § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 1263 of the public
55 authorities law, as added by chapter 247 of the laws of 1990, is amended
56 to read as follows:
A. 9583 3
1 (c) The [chairman] chairperson shall ensure that at every meeting of
2 the board and at every meeting of each committee the public shall be
3 allotted a period of time, not less than thirty minutes, to speak on any
4 topic on the agenda. Each speaker shall be allotted not less than five
5 minutes of speaking time, except that when the number of registered
6 speakers is such that the thirty minute duration would be substantially
7 exceeded, the allotted speaking times may be reduced to not less than
8 three minutes. The chairperson may, at his or her discretion, end the
9 public speaking period after seventy-five minutes. Agendas for every
10 meeting of the board and every meeting of each committee thereof shall
11 be made available for inspection by the public not less than seven days
12 prior to each meeting at the headquarters of the authority and at least
13 one designated location within each county where the authority provides
14 service.
15 The minutes of each meeting shall record the comments of the public
16 speakers with the same level of detail as is accorded to any other part
17 of the agenda.
18 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
