Mathematical Impossibility

Transit officials have revised the estimated duration of repairs to the A/C line down to "six to nine months" from their original warnings of three to five years. That is something of a relief. There was widespread incredulity and outrage that it could take as long as five years to rebuild a single room full of switches, crippling trains depended on by 580,000 riders every day.

The MTA now hopes to have the A train restored to 50% levels within a couple of weeks, and 80% sometime in April. Still, for the time being, nearly 600,000 New Yorkers must contend with what the New York Times yesterday referred to as the "mathematical impossibility of too many passengers wanting to board fewer trains than usual. "

The President of New York City Transit said it could cost $25-60 million to restore "full functionality," which could still take as long as five years. (If we can find $40 million for an inuagural party, we can find $60 million to repair and upgrade the nation's largest and most important transit system.)

The signal system on which the entire NYC subway system depends dates from 1904, based on technology developed in the 1870s. There are only two companies in the country that can manufacture the necessary components; one of these, according to the Times, is in financially shaky condition because of the limited need for such outmoded technology.

It is preposterous that they would consider spending time and money simply to restore the unacceptable, vulnerable, and century-old status quo. In the short term, it's much more expensive to re-vamp the entire system, but that has to be looked upon as a crucial investment. This is a need far more pressing than the development of the far west side of midtown or, God help us, a new stadium for the Jets and campaigning to bring the Olympics here.

The Times has also reported that the subway system experiences roughly 100 fires per month, mostly from debris coming in contact with the third rail. While the prospect of future fires being set by vagrants still poses a threat, the answer is not, as the New York Post opined yesterday, to throw all homeless people in Rikers' Island. The answer is to address the vulnerability. (If taxpayers should be asked to house homeless people in prisons, doesn't it make just as much sense to take the same taxpayer money and provide services and low-cost housing?)

Additionally, in the past decade there have been two fatal accidents resulting from failures in the system.

Imagine a coordinated terrorist plan to set fires in strategic points throughout the system; it would take very little planning, cost nothing, and have a devastating effect: utter chaos for millions for years. Clearly this is an issue of national security; ponder the effects on our economy if no one in New York City could get to work, even for a day. These points must be driven home to our officials.

President George W. Bush

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton

Senator Charles Schumer

Representative Charles Rangel

Governor George Pataki

National Transportation Safety Board

Department of Homeland Security