Sandy Related Repairs to Affect LIRR and Amtrak Service for Years

New Yorkers have been trying to adjust to the new normal of MTA repairs to tunnels that were flooded by the storm surge from Superstorm Sandy. It included a 15-month closure of the Montague tunnel that affected many living in Brooklyn. There have been scattered closures to other tunnels and rerouted service elsewhere in the subway system, but now comes word that Amtrak is about to do its own remediation of the East River tunnels.

These tunnels service not only Amtrak, but LIRR and NJ Transit. They connect Penn Station with Long Island through the Sunnyside Yards and Harold Interlocking. Amtrak has to take two of the tunnels out of service for a year each. This will reduce the service capacity by 25% (1 out of four tunnels will be out of service at any time during the duration of the project that is expected to start next year).

The reconstruction will be similar to the work done on the Montague tunnels. It will include rebuilding the bench walls that include cable conduits for signals and power, plus railbed replacement and other work that can't be done while the tunnel is active.

The MTA and Amtrak were able to get service restored, but have been seeing an increased amount of service disruptions due to corrosion of equipment in the affected tunnels. That's why this full rehabilitation must get done.

But the East River tunnels are the easy part.

Amtrak has said that they must do the same with the Hudson River tunnels.

There are only two tunnels under the Hudson, and each are over 100 years old. They are functionally obsolete and need major rehabilitation, but that work can't be done until additional capacity is added.

After Gov. Christie cancelled the fully funded ARC tunnel project, that left a gaping hole in capacity expansion. Amtrak proposed a better project, Gateway, that would directly link in with NY Penn Station and allow through trains to run and high speed rail once service improvements elsewhere in the system are made.

Gateway is more than a decade away from seeing the light of day due to lack of funding. So New Jersey residents will be suffering with service delays for the foreseeable future.

Now some will point to Christie being short sighted in his cancellation of the project, but it was the right thing to do because NJ Transit has never met a capital project it couldn't complete overbudget and years after the scheduled deadlines. Cost overruns were likely to be in the $1-2 billion range, and even the FTA warned about the cost containment.

Gateway allows more capacity to the entire system - NJ Transit, Amtrak, and LIRR. ARC would have had limited capacity improvements for NJ Transit since the New York terminus was just that - a terminus. There was no place to store additional trains for rush hour, reducing actual customer capacity on the trains that would run to New Jersey.

The fact that we need to get additional capacity to allow for both growth in customer demand and to fix existing infrastructure is well established. What's missing is the lack of support in New York and New Jersey to find the funding for this critical work. That falls on both Gov. Christie and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Both have shown indifference to mass transit and infrastructure beyond a few car-centric projects like the new Tappan Zee bridge in New York and the Pulaski Skyway rehabilitation and NJ Turnpike expansion projects in New Jersey.

This has to change in order to improve the economic competitiveness of the region against other world-class cities.

Amtrak's $151 Billion Northeast Corridor Wishlist, and California's HSR Boondoggle

Let the numbers sink in.

$151 billion.

220 mph high speed rail between Washington DC and Boston, enabling 37 minute trips between Philadelphia and New York City, and 94 minute trips between Boston and New York or New York and Washington DC.

That was the promise once envisioned for the Northeast Corridor (NEC) when Amtrak settled for the Acela service that ended up being less than half that speed. Those kinds of numbers would get me out of my car and head down to DC or Baltimore to catch ballgames on the weekend and would make business travel even more convenient for those all along the NEC.

Now, Amtrak is resurrecting the true high speed rail vision for the Northeast Corridor. It has the potential to be a game changer considering that those trips would be a fraction of the time spent flying between those destinations (not counting the travel time from the airport to the city center or the security checks).

Current travel times from New York to Philadelphia on Amtrak's sleek Acela trains are 1 hour, 15 minutes. Travel between New York and Washington currently takes 2 hours, 45 minutes and New York to Boston takes 3 hours, 41 minutes, according to Amtrak's website.

"The NEC (Northeast Corridor) region is America's economic powerhouse and is facing a severe crisis with an aging and congested multi-model transportation network that routinely operates at or near capacity in key segments," Amtrak's President Joe Boardman said in a statement.

The traditionally cash-starved railroad is funded by Congress, where Republicans have been reluctant to finance prior plans to develop high-speed rail in the United States.

Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm acknowledged a lack of federal support but said there were other funding options.

"You have to have a plan and if you have a plan, the money will follow," Kulm said.

Among the sources was $450 million in funding turned down by the state of Florida for a high-speed rail proposal there that will instead be used for rail improvements in New Jersey.

Starting sometime in the 2020s, the hyper speedy "NextGen" trains will replace Acela trains, which were first introduced in 2000, Kulm said.

The newest Amtrak improvement plan also calls for direct links to airports and listed Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore and White Plains, New York, as possible candidates for Amtrak service. Some are already served by local commuter rail lines, such as Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which connects to the Philadelphia International Airport.

"The vision we will shape with the Northeastern states, Amtrak and all of our stakeholders will outlast the vagaries of politics, budgets and critics," said Joseph Szabo, administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration, which oversees Amtrak, of the 2012 report.

There's more than a little to be critical of when discussing Amtrak's record on high speed rail and upgrading its infrastructure. It has consistently lagged behind on its maintenance and upgrades of infrastructure, and while it has moved ahead with bridge replacement projects elsewhere on the NEC, particularly in Connecticut, the three major bottlenecks on the system are in New Jersey - the Portal Bridge, the tunnels into Manhattan, and the Harold Interlocking, which is Sunnyside Queens where LIRR, NJ Transit, and Amtrak trains have to pass through in a coordinated ballet to keep everything resembling a schedule. Those projects would apparently be included in the overall $151 billion approach.

Something has to give on the costs involved. There's no reason why Amtrak's costs to upgrade are anything approaching $335 million a mile for the NEC between Boston and DC. It costs France's SCNF far less to build a mile of new rail, but that has to be tempered by the fact that the Amtrak right of way is seriously constrained because of urban development throughout the NEC and acquisition costs would be far higher in the US. Still, there are ways that Amtrak can and should bring the costs to upgrade the system down.

Still, $151 billion as spread over 30 years is something approaching $5 billion a year - a major infusion of money but not nearly as eye popping. This is investment in infrastructure and it would mean tens of thousands of construction jobs up and down the East Coast. It would mean steelmakers and fabricators would be supplying new rail and equipment. Technology companies would be providing equipment to make the system more reliable. Engineering firms would be generating jobs for those to design and build the network.

In other words, while Amtrak would be spending the money, it would be private enterprises that are generating the jobs and revenues that would have long term benefits to the local and national economy. It would also build a robust backup to the creaking air travel system.

It's also worth noting that California is about ready to delve into a high speed boondoggle of its own where it's proposing to build a high speed rail network not to connect San Francisco with San Diego via Los Angeles, but rather, inland where there's a fraction of the population to support such a network. It was a political decision so that the money could be obtained, not because it made economic sense.

The California HSR project route was decided not because of practicality or revenue, but by which parts of the state would be able to get it to run through their communities, even though it would mean tearing up farmland and requiring condemnation of land (eminent domain). Instead of using a routing that required fewer eminent domain proceedings and a more direct route, they chose the one that had the political backing. So, California will find itself with a HSR that few will end up using, cost more than it should, and everyone will point to it as a reason not to do HSR in the US.

The HSR setup in France and Japan is similar to an airport hub and spoke approach. You build the hubs in the major urban centers, and connect those with HSR. As the system grows, you can expand the HSR to secondary satellite communities and then with urban rail networks. This way, you maximize population density that would take advantage of the HSR, you can achieve travel times that can not only meet but beat air travel (especially considering the time to pass through security, to say nothing of having to travel to an airport that is frequently on the outskirts of the city, not the city center as most rail facilities are located).

Amtrak's Northeast corridor is the opposite approach - it's already a profitable route for Amtrak and if Amtrak could get the system up to speeds approaching HSR found in Europe or Asia, it could not only win commuters away from the airlines, but it would reduce congestion in the air- improving the travel for fliers too since commuter flights between Boston, DC, and New York are a significant cause for delays throughout the US airspace because of congestion at the New York area airports. It's all the more reason to throw support behind the Amtrak plan. It has a path to profitability and generating economic development to say nothing of jobs.

UPDATE:
The Amtrak documentation can be found here. It's a manageable 42 page document, complete with charts, graphs, and how the new right of way would be organized. It would essentially create a 4-track express/local track configuration with the express track capable of handling the HSR.

Capital investment would be phased in - with the section around New York City being key to the overall strategy. That means getting the Gateway/Portal Bridge/Harold Interlocking done is critical to the overall strategy. It also means a significant chunk of the $151 billion is going to the New York metro area for design and construction. Considering that the Portal Bridge is estimated to run $1.3-1.8 billion, while the Gateway Tunnel is another $13-15 billion ($14.7 billion as per page 24). Page 31 addresses the segment costs. Interestingly, rolling stock is the lowest cost of the entire package - $5.2 billion, which makes sense since the infrastructure construction costs are the lion's share of the project.

It also addresses expanding existing capacity - including acquiring 40 additional Acela express passenger cars to lengthen train-sets by 2015 (expanding capacity by 40%). By 2020, Amtrak hopes to acquire new high-speed train sets (doubling service from NYC to DC) as well as complete the Portal Bridge and Harold Interlocking/Sunnyside Yards projects as well as upgrading the power systems through New Jersey.

By 2025, it hopes to get Gateway Tunnel done and to finally get more regularly scheduled Acela trips between NYC and DC and Boston. It's only by 2040 that the full HSR would be realized.

The document also provides new renderings for the Moynihan Station, which would expand Penn Station under the Farley Post Office. It wouldn't expand capacity, but rather rejigger space under the post office and MSG.

What's interesting is that the HSR plan for the NEC would include an entirely new alignment inland from New Rochelle, New York through Providence, Rhode Island. The alignment wouldn't change south of New York City. A newly configured Shoreline Express would cover those cities covered by the current NY to Boston alignment, with regional service supplementing service.

The Amtrak vision also indicates that there would be express and super express service - direct NYC to DC and NYC to DC routings - with no intermediate stops. Other trains would stop at designated city stops.

The Amtrak plans for rolling stock - the locomotives and train sets, would depend greatly on whether the FRA would allow an off-the-shelf solution or needing to build a system from the ground up. Frankly, it would be far cheaper to go with an off-the-shelf system, but that would mean likely buying from a foreign source (think France, Japan, or other European or Asian providers).

MTA's East Side Access Project Faces New Delays

For those hoping that the MTA could get the East Side Access project on track, wonder no more. It will be seeing even more delays now that the construction has run into new troubles at the Sunnyside Yards.

It now appears Long Island Rail Road trains won’t be stopping at Grand Central Terminal until 2019.

That’s the word Tuesday from Joseph Lhota, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The MTA is building a new tunnel under the East River to allow LIRR trains access to Grand Central. All LIRR trains now go to Penn Station.

Lhota says there have been problems tunneling underneath a rail yard in Queens. The MTA has brought in experts from Europe to help with developing a plan going forward.

Expect that the cost for the project will also increase as a result of missed deadlines and additional costs in engineering around the problems. The problems stem from having to deal with the disposal of contaminated soils and the ground in the construction site is soft rather than rocky. It's interesting that the problems aren't with tunneling under Grand Central Terminal and Manhattan, but in the vicinity of Sunnyside Yards.

Once East Side Access (allowing LIRR trains to access Grand Central Terminal rather than going to NY Penn Station) is completed, it should reduce commute times from Long Island to the East Side of Manhattan by 40 minutes and expand capacity of the LIRR by 41%.

The project began in 2006 and was originally scheduled for completion in 2012, but delays have pushed the completion and commencement of revenue service back to 2014, 2016, 2018, and now 2019. As of 2011, the expected cost of the project was $7.3 billion with a 2016 completion date (which is $1 billion higher than the costs estimated at the outset in 2006).

The latest news will surely mean that the budget will continue rising upwards.

MTA Decides To Fast Track East Side Access Project

One has to wonder why the Department finally came around to fast tracking the long-delayed East Side Access project considering that such a move would have helped save costs over the life of the project and would have provided much-needed facilities access for commuters.

The East Side Access project allows LIRR trains to access Grand Central Terminal through newly constructed tunnels bored beneath the East River from Sunnyside Yards. Previously, LIRR trains would have to go to either Atlantic Terminal in Brooklyn or Penn Station on the West Side of Manhattan. For those commuting to Midtown on the East Side, it would result in a far longer commute that was less reliable.

By building the East Side Access, LIRR and MTA officials could improve reliability, expand commuter options, and upgrade facilities at Grand Central Terminal.

The scope of the project is daunting in its complexity:

Upon completion of the project, which is expected to happen by 2016, the new terminal will have eight new station tunnels — each with a diameter of 22 feet — will expand the total number of tracks from 67 to 75, and will add another four platforms taking the total number in the Terminal to 48.

A new mezzanine will provide stores, restaurants, bars, food halls, public amenities and other facilities.

The tunnel length will stretch approximately 7,200 feet — from 37th St. up to 63rd St. The area of the mezzanine will take up to 60,000 square feet, an MTA spokesman said.

The lower platform levels will take up to nearly 48,000 square feet, while the upper platform sections will measure out to 46,000 square feet and the concourse itself will take up 350,000 square feet.

The project is considered perhaps the most ambitious and challenging one undertaken by the MTA in recent years, and comes as other major transportation projects across the city have been mired with budget constraints, including Moynihan Station, which is one day destined to become a gleaming rail hub.

Not for nothing, the project has been behind schedule for the past couple of years and wasn't expected to be completed before 2016. Now, it appears that the project is on schedule for completion in 2013.

Yet, when the project was originally conceived, it was expected to be in revenue service in 2012 (that would be this year). The Federal Transit Administration believed that the project would not be completed before the fourth quarter of 2018 as the MTA noted a 2016 completion date just a few months ago. And it doesn't begin to go into the spiraling costs of construction. East Side Access is now expected to cost $7.4 billion when completed, though the FTA thinks it will be over $8 billion. The project was originally sold to the public on a cost basis of $3 billion when initially proposed to more than $7 billion.

Part of the issue is that the costs are purposefully minimized so as to get the project started, and additional funding will come later. It also is the result of unanticipated issues that arise during construction and other related issues. However, it is also the result of the MTA inability to manage projects of this size and scope and keep them on budget and on schedule. Mind you that the Sunnyside Yards are the focus of several high profile projects to upgrade rail access in and out of New York City (upgrading and separating the interlocking to permit high speed rail for Amtrak to Boston, additional capacity for subways and commuter rail, and the East Side Access project).

It is curious that the MTA now finds that they can proceed with the fast tracking of East Side Access at this time.

Another LIRR Pension Scandal Brewing

It's been a few years since the last pension scandal at the LIRR, but it seems that whatever procedures were put in place to prevent abuse of the pension system were insufficient. 10 people were arrested in connection with the latest pension scam. This investigation grew out of the original 2008 scandal, as federal investigators dug deep to find out what was going on.

The United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and the head of the New York F.B.I. office, Janice K. Fedarcyk, were expected to announce the charges at a news conference with two inspectors general, Barry L. Kluger of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Martin J. Dickman from the Retirement Board. The investigation was conducted by the F.B.I. and federal prosecutors in Manhattan, along with the inspectors general of the federal Railroad Retirement Board and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Long Island Rail Road’s parent agency, the people said.

The Times articles reported that virtually every career employee of the railroad was applying for and receiving disability payments, giving the Long Island Rail Road a disability rate of three to four times that of the average railroad. The Times found that retired railroad employees who had successfully claimed disability were regularly playing golf at a state-owned course without charge — another perquisite of their disability.

Indeed, the railroad’s retirement rate was particularly striking when compared with the number of disability pensions at Metro-North, another transportation authority subsidiary that serves commuters north of New York City and has a work force of similar size and composition.

The articles revealed that a web of doctors and facilitators were helping the workers file papers claiming they were disabled.

The authorities estimate that the cost to the Railroad Retirement Board of disability claims by Long Island Rail Road retirees was $1 billion, the people briefed on the case said.

Turns out that this was a billion dollar scandal.

Think about what a billion dollars could do for the LIRR. That's a one followed by nine zeroes. 1,000,000,000.

It could buy a solvent pension system that does what it was intended to do by servicing all eligible employees in a fair and just manner.

It could buy hundreds of railcars.

It could upgrade signal and rail systems.

It could renovate stations throughout the system to bring them up to modern standards.

Instead, it's a billion dollars that was siphoned silently from the system and commuters and taxpayers paid for it.

Now, investigators have to attempt to claw back the ill-gotten gains and take criminal actions against all those involved. It means that the agency will likely get back only a fraction of that amount, but it's still better than nothing. LIRR commuters deserve as much; they deserve a chance to recoup these costs from these defendants.

MTA Hits Up New York City For $250 Million To Continue Capital Projects

The MTA, which announced its intentions to raise fares twice in the next few years has now gone with hat in hand to New York City to ask for $250 million to complete two of the big capital projects that are still underway: the Second Avenue Subway and the East Side Access project.

The agency's theory is that with real estate taxes likely to rise after the projects are completed, the City would recoup any outlays and then some. In effect, this is essentially a roundabout call for tax increment financing to get the deal done (leveraging future tax revenues to pay for capital projects).

The problem is that the City doesn't exactly have the money to spare, and neither does the state. These projects must get completed and delays end up costing everyone billions more down the road.

However, the MTA needs to show that it can control costs on its capital projects better than it has done to date. Had it been able to keep within budget on existing projects like Fulton Street, the 2d Avenue Subway or the South Ferry projects, the agency would have had sufficient funds available to complete the two other projects with money to spare.

This goes back to the way that the projects are bid and calculated but highlights a further need to contain costs within the capital budget to make sure that critical projects are completed on budget and on time.

MTA Proposing Fare Hikes For 2013 and 2015 In Light Of Reduced Support From Albany

The MTA is proposing fare hikes for both 2013 and 2015 in light of the fact that the nation's largest transit agency is facing a shortfall in its budget and the state is not providing as much support as it did just a few years ago.

The agency has spent the past couple of years trying to cut out dead-wood and reduce its workforce, but it's still working against ongoing maintenance needs and projects that continue to go over budget.

The fare hikes would be 7.5% in 2013 and likely a similar percentage in 2015.

The MTA budgeted the hikes as part of its five-year financial plan, which the brass will bring to the agency board today for review.

Even with the hikes, the agency's fiscal situation remained grim.

There's a $54 million shortfall for the 2014 budget, while 2015 -- the year the newly announced fare hikes will take effect -- is still $178 million in the red, according to the preliminary budget.

The MTA will also try to draw out deep concessions from its unionized workforce, demanding that employees forgo raises for three years -- saving $347 million by 2015.

But the Transport Workers Union -- which represents the majority of MTA workers -- has repeatedly said they will not forgo cost-of-living raises.

The MTA also yesterday announced a complicated funding formula to replenish the funds in its capital budget, which includes asking the feds to loan it $3 billion.

Most of that dough will go toward a massive project to bring the LIRR into Grand Central Terminal.

Fare hikes continue to hit the working class hardest and they're in the position least capable of absorbing the incessant fare hikes. It may well drive some off mass transit altogether as they consider the costs of driving directly to work locations preferable to dealing with a scheduled timetable (particularly for those on Metro North or LIRR).

Part of the problem stems from the highly distasteful payroll tax that never brought in the kind of revenues envisioned. The budget shortfalls also were due to reduced real estate transfer tax revenues during the recession, but those payments are starting to come back to pre-recession levels.

What the MTA needs is to better address capital construction budgets to keep costs down and more support from Albany to make sure that the transit system remains the premier system in the world - and one whose subway system operates 24/7.

An Emphasis on Infrastructure

The New York Times Magazine ran a report on the precarious status of infrastructure throughout the country and the troublesome and overextended and overtaxed systems that are on the verge of failure.

There are tens of billions of dollars that are needed to rebuild and renovate these systems, which include everything from levees and dams to power systems. One would have thought that the stimulus package (ARRA of 2009) enacted last year would have started bringing improvements to vital systems.

You would have thought wrong.

You would have thought that things like overhauling and replacing antiquated rail signal systems such as those on the LIRR would have been done years ago.

You thought wrong - although the plan to replace the system is underway and seriously over budget and late.

The state has "invested" many billions of dollars in LIRR facilities, including a current project to send some Long Island trains into Grand Central Terminal, Manhattan's other huge railroad station. Though its budget is $7.3 billion, federal transportation estimators say it's running $800 million over budget and 18 months behind schedule.

As for last week's service disruption, a computerized train control system is scheduled to go into service at Jamaica in November—three years late and more than 200% over budget.

Under state ownership, the Long Island Rail Road has survived, but never prospered. Fares are higher than most riders like, but lower than necessary to run the railroad.

Nobody expects the LIRR to make a profit; the riders shout that would be unfair. Why the current subsidies are not unfair to taxpayers, especially the million Long Islanders commuting in cars, is never explained.

Signal and power problems are an all too common occurrence on the Northeast Corridor, and the failure to address and update these systems means that the chances for further problems are far too high.

All of these issues go to competitive advantage and improving the business climate. Yet, while politicians and the public entities running the mass transit and infrastructure love to tout new construction, it's the existing infrastructure that needs to be addressed with updates, upgrades, and replacements where necessary.

LIRR Disability Claims Still Being Processed

Last year, it was revealed that retiring LIRR employees were getting federal disability checks when they were undeserving of them. That was costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, and yet a year later the disability claims are still being rubber stamped:

The agency, the Railroad Retirement Board, which is the equivalent of Social Security for railroad workers, said last October that it would use greater oversight to examine claims filed by L.I.R.R. employees after reports in The New York Times that virtually every career L.I.R.R. employee applied for and received disability payments from the federal government.

But in the six months since the changes were adopted, the agency approved 64 of the 66 occupational disability claims filed by retired L.I.R.R. workers, according to the review, an audit by the Government Accountability Office that is to be released on Friday. A copy of the report was obtained by The Times.

The approval rate was roughly 97 percent, about the same level as before the new measures were enacted.

“Business as usual,” said Daniel Bertoni, the director of disability issues at the Government Accountability Office, who oversaw the study.

As the Times notes, retirees have obtained $250 million since 2000 from the federal government in addition to state pensions and benefits (that until recently included free access to state parks and golf courses, including the famous Bethpage golf course.

Did the LIRR change the way that they processed these claims? It doesn't appear so, although the LIRR had cracked down on those facilitating bogus claims (including arrests of several involved in October 2008). The problem is that once the claims are submitted to the FRB, they're rubber stamped, regardless of the actual merit of these claims.

American Jihadi From Long Island Involved in Afghanistan Attack

Rep. Peter King has gotten into hot water because he's said that mosques on Long Island are under investigation for jihadi activities. Local law enforcement has said that they do not have any investigations underway, and the FBI has said that they do not investigate mosques. They only investigate individuals.

On Monday, the New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations called on the FBI to "confirm or deny" King's claim that Long Island mosques were under law enforcement surveillance. The FBI, while not addressing King's comments, said its investigations target individuals, not organizations. "The FBI does not investigate mosques or other houses of worship," spokesman James Margolin said in a statement Monday.

I read that as a nondenial denial. Let that be the case, all while the FBI continues investigating individuals participating in jihad that meet in mosques on LI. The FBI isn't going to jeopardize its investigations into jihadi activities because of King's statements or inquiries into the same.

Meanwhile, why is all of this an issue? Well, it looks like a former Long Island resident who went and converted to Islam went to Afghanistan to engage in jihad:

Bryant Neal Vinas, who converted to Islam at a Long Island mosque, was arrested in Pehsawar, Pakistan after trying to kill GIs in the September 2008 attack.

Court papers also revealed that Vinas provided al Qaeda with "expert advice and assistance" based on his "specialized knowledge" of New York's subways and the Long Island Rail Road.

The documents, filed in Brooklyn federal court, didn't tie Vinas to a specific plot against the transit systems.

But last November -- about the time Vinas was captured -- federal law enforcement officials warned the NYPD and other authorities about a possible al Qaeda conspiracy to blow them up.

An intelligence bulletin warned city officials that the FBI had received "plausible information" that al Qaeda discussed terror attacks on the city subways and other transit systems in September.

Vinas -- who also used the names "Ibrahim," "Bashir al-Ameriki" and "Ben Yameen al-Kanadeea -- has been cooperating with investigators, both American and European, since his arrest.

The NY Times reports that he's helping prosecutors with two terrorism cases in Europe.

There's no word on whether Vinas was charged with treason, which might be applicable given the circumstances provided thus far.

UPDATE:
The Bergen Record has some more detail about what Vinas is doing these days.

Authorities revealed Wednesday that an American — charged with giving al-Qaida information on the New York transit system and attacking a U.S. military base in Afghanistan — has been a secret witness in the fight against terror both here and overseas.

Court papers unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn identified the defendant as Bryant Neal Vinas, also known as "Ibrahim."

His identity had been kept secret since his indictment late last year. Court papers indicate that he pleaded guilty in January in a sealed courtroom in Brooklyn.

Federal prosecutors refused to discuss his background Wednesday. But a law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the official was not authorized to discuss the case, said Vinas provided critical information that led to a security alert about the New York City subway system last year.

Federal authorities issued an alert around Thanksgiving last year saying the FBI had received a "plausible but unsubstantiated" report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system around the holidays. The origin of that report, the official said, was Vinas.

It certainly sounds like he's singing like a canary to avoid more serious charges.

UPDATE:
The Jawa Report has much more details, including a possible photo, and a copy of the indictment, which all points to charges of treason, but for the singing like a canary about possible operations against the US and Europe.

Specifically, 18 USC 2339 relates to providing material assistance to terrorists, including details relating to the operation of the LIRR.

It also appears that Vinas got the jihad bug from attending the Islamic Association of Long Island in Selden.

First Arrest Made In LIRR Disability Scam

It's a start.

State prosecutors have arrested a longtime Long Island Rail Road employee on corruption charges linked to the recent disability pension scandal.

Fred Kreuder has been charged with official misconduct and receiving reward for official misconduct. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced the arrest on Monday.

The 23-year employee was suspended last month by the railroad amid allegations that while on duty at the railroad, he was advising co-workers on the proper way to file disability forms after they retire.

"Today's arrest is the first time that someone is being held accountable for the culture of entitlement and systemic abuse that plagued the LIRR and Railroad Retirement Board," said Cuomo. "Moving forward, this office will continue to pursue criminal charges against any individual who facilitated such unchecked abuse, and will continue working to correct the systemic abuse in the disability benefits program."

I'm hoping that this trickle becomes a torrent of cases as the disability scam proffered by the LIRR employees to bilk taxpayers of hundreds of millions of dollars must be dealt with in a meaningful and long lasting way.

It's also rich that no one in state government or the MTA or the LIRR thought that there was anything strange with the fact that so many LIRR employees were claiming disability after retiring. It took a New York Times investigation to root out that these employees were gaming the system on retirement to not only soak federal taxpayers through an obscure federal agency (the Railroad Retirement Board), but that they were able to turn around and get free lifetime passes to state parks and access state run golf courses for free, including the famous Bethpage courses.

You Don't Say

This is going to be a new feature here. It's when media outlets report news that is so stunningly obvious, that you have to wonder what took people so long to realize something was wrong.

Today's story relates to the ongoing saga of the LIRR disability scam, which has cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in disability payments paid out to LIRR workers who claimed they had disabilities, and the federal board responsible for the disbursements rubber stamping the claims.

We now learn that there was absolutely no reason that any of those people should have gotten free lifetime passes to state park golf courses.

New York State’s parks officials have determined that there is no legal justification for hundreds of retired Long Island Rail Road workers on disability to be playing golf free in state-owned parks with passes intended for severely disabled people.

The laws and regulation governing the passes do not mention railroad workers with occupational disabilities, Eileen Larrabee, a spokeswoman for the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, said on Thursday. “They made a leap at some point along the line.”

The parks agency has not yet decided whether to rescind the passes or take other action, Ms. Larrabee added, saying she hoped to have “something more definitive to say in the next couple weeks.”

State park officials began reviewing the Access Pass program after The New York Times reported in September that in recent years more than 90 percent of the railroad’s career employees retired early and qualified for federal disability payments, which allowed them to play golf free.

Indeed, many Long Island golfers would love to be able to play Bethpage Black, one of the most famous courses in the US, if not the world, let alone play it for free. That's exactly what this perk enabled supposedly disabled LIRR retirees to do.

So far, officials have identified 215 people who hold Access Passes in a category assigned to railroad retirees, and an additional, unknown number improperly in the Social Security category.

Here's the fees at Bethpage Black:
Reservation Fee $4
Weekday Fee (18 Holes) Residents:$50.00
Non-Residents: $100.00
Weekend Fee (18 Holes) Residents: $60.00
Non-Residents: $120.00

The fees at the other four Bethpage golf courses are less, but still substantial.

There's no word on how often these people used the free perks, and their ultimate cost to taxpayers.

UPDATE:
Instapundit links. Thanks!

Derailing the LIRR Disability Gravy Train

Last month the New York Times discovered that thousands of retired LIRR employees were busy getting disability payments from the Federal Railroad Retirement Board to the tune of nearly $250 million despite a lack of actual disabilities. That reporting led the LIRR and investigators to look into how the LIRR operates and demands that the federal agency change how it does business.

Now, the LIRR has taken action against one of its employees who helped facilitate this scam.

At a hearing on abuse of the retirement system, Williams declined to identify the employee or his position at the LIRR, pending an ongoing investigation. But sources yesterday identified him as Fred Kreuder, a 23-year veteran, now of Bellmore, the railroad's manager of operations support and analysis.

Reached at his home yesterday afternoon, Kreuder said, "I'm sorry, but I can't comment."

Kreuder's attorney, William Petrillo of Rockville Centre, confirmed that his client had been suspended, but said he was "convinced that when the investigation is completed, the attorney general will conclude that Mr. Kreuder had not done anything wrong."

Williams said the employee's side job was uncovered during an internal investigation by the LIRR's newly created compliance unit -- but he had been transferred from a previous job in the railroad's pension office for doing the same thing, sources said. The investigation turned up an e-mail he sent to a colleague who was seeking advice on how to apply for the U.S. Railroad Retirement Board's occupational disability benefit.

In the e-mail, the employee gave advice on how to maximize his benefits, when to set up appointments with a doctor and with retirement board representatives, and how to choose just the right retirement date.

Nearly all LIRR employees somehow managed to get disability payments from the federal agency. 98% of disability applications were approved by the federal board. The LIRR had an incredible number of disability claims despite being recognized annually for running one of the safest railroad operations in the nation.

All this comes at a time when the MTA, the LIRR's parent agency, is mulling yet another fare hike.

LIRR Disability Scammers May See End of Gravy Train

The Federal Railroad Board, which has rubber stamped disability claims from the LIRR to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars may finally institute new rules that would go a long way to ending the gravy train for former LIRR workers.

Part of the new plan would be to "re-evaluate dubious disability claims" currently being paid at an average yearly rate of $25,000, the source said.

At least 30 percent of the "disabled" LIRR workers are expected to be asked to submit to a new medical exam by a doctor chosen by the USRRB, not the retiree - as was the case in the past.

What about the remaining 70% of those dubious claims? Hundreds of former employees were able to cash in by claiming disability where none existed. That includes those who rode the rails as ticket agents as well as back office workers.

The NY Times, which broke this major scandal, has more on the steps to be taken:

Under the new rules, the retirement board said it would order independent medical evaluations for occupational disability cases from the Long Island Rail Road. Until now, many disability determinations were made solely on the basis of medical evaluations submitted by the applicant’s own doctor.

The board said it would also “re-evaluate dubious disability claims” among the railroad’s retirees and would conduct quarterly on-site reviews of the retirement board’s Westbury office.

To identify suspicious claims, the board said it was assigning a senior supervisor to search for unusual patterns of ailments.

In addition, the board said it would monitor management employees seeking disability payments. Records show that dozens of retired Long Island Rail Road supervisors were receiving them.

While the scandal appears contained to the LIRR, it would make sense to expand the independent medical exam requirement for all those seeking disability claims from the board.

LIRR Announces Anti-Fraud Measures

It's taken two weeks since the New York Times uncovered massive fraud and abuse of a federal program that grants disability payments to railroad workers that appears to have cost taxpayers more than $250 million since 2000, but the LIRR has instituted new policies designed to thwart the rampant abuse that saw nearly all employees obtain disability payments.

The railroad chief, Helena Williams, also said that all management and union employees — about 6,800 workers in all — would receive “additional ethics training” on the rules governing federal disability payments.

In announcing these steps at a news conference, Ms. Williams said that her railroad, and those who finance it — specifically taxpayers and commuters — were being victimized by what she described as lax federal regulations that made it possible for virtually everyone who wants a disability payment to get one.

The New York Times reported last month that former L.I.R.R. employees had collected about a quarter of a billion dollars in disability payments from the Railroad Retirement Board, a little-known federal agency that is similar to Social Security but serves only railroad workers.

The L.I.R.R. pays $91 million a year to the retirement board. Workers also contribute through a tax on their earnings.

After reporters began inquiring last February into the high percentage of disabilities given to career L.I.R.R. employees — as many as 97 percent of retirees in one recent year — investigations were begun by the United States attorney in the Eastern District of New York, inspectors general from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the retirement board, and the New York attorney general, Andrew M. Cuomo.

There's going to be increased ethics training and the LIRR is calling on an overhaul of the federal Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) to prevent future abuse.

At the same time, investigations continue into the LIRR operations. LIRR contracts enable employees to game the system so that they can receive payouts equivalent to their former pay, and no one ever bothered to see whether any of those involved were actually disabled - not the LIRR or the RRB.

It remains to be seen whether anyone will go after the employees who clearly received disability payments despite having no actual disabilities that could be traced to their employment at the LIRR. After all, how disabled are you if you're able to regularly play golf on the state dime?

New York State Investigating LIRR Scamming: UPDATE: FBI Raids Federal Agency

As reported by the New York Times over the weekend and covered here, New York State has launched an investigation into the LIRR and practices that have allowed employees to claim disabilities to receive federal funds from an obscure federal agency to the tune of $250 million since 2000, in addition to padding salaries using various contract clauses to their advantage.

NYS Attorney General Andrew Cuomo was granted authority to investigate possible fraud in the case, and has already subpoenaed the LIRR.

Starting as soon as Tuesday, investigators from the attorney general’s office will meet with officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the railroad to begin sorting out how so many employees apparently took advantage of the system.

In addition, state parks officials have begun a review of the requirements and distribution of Access Passes, which give the disabled — including the railroad’s retirees who receive disability payments — free use of sports facilities in state parks, said Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for Gov. David A. Paterson.

The subpoenas to the L.I.R.R. went out one day after Mr. Paterson granted Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo broad powers to investigate the matter.

“This begins what will be an aggressive and expeditious investigation into troubling allegations of wrongdoing,” Mr. Cuomo said in a written statement.

Helena E. Williams, president of the railroad, has said it planned to hand over whatever was requested of it.

The investigation followed a report by The New York Times that found that virtually every career employee of the railroad applied for and received federal disability payments shortly after they retired. In many cases, the workers showed no signs of disability while they were employed, yet they claimed disability once they retired.

An obscure federal agency, the Railroad Retirement Board, reviews the claims, which have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. The practice also ends up costing the railroad money because so many workers retire early to take advantage of the benefits. As a result, the railroad pays for early pension benefits, extra overtime costs and training new workers. Unusual contract provisions that allow the railroad’s employees to retire as early as 50 with a full pension contribute to the problem.

What this suggests is that no one at the LIRR ever bothered to notice how many of its employees suddenly came to be classified as disabled the moment they considered retirement in order to cash in.

The fact that nearly all former employees, from management on down to the conductors, took advantage of this suggests that this was a well known and open secret that considered the federal program to be nothing more than a piggy bank to raid.

It means that LIRR employees fleeced all taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars over the years, and meant that the amount of money available to Social Security and infrastructure were reduced by the fraudulent claims.

The MTA is again calling for fare hikes and/or service cuts, which should now be cast in a different light since the MTA has completely mismanaged its budget and failed to engage in proper oversight of its own subsidiary - the LIRR. The NYS Legislature is also at fault, since they too have failed to engage in proper oversight that would have potentially uncovered the rampant featherbedding and disability scam. No one bothered to protect taxpayers, all while the MTA and LIRR were looking to taxpayers to increase their budgets, increase fares, and reduce service.

UPDATE:
The FBI and federal officials have raided the federal agency responsible for rubber stamping the LIRR employee disability payments to the tune of at least $250 million since 2000.

The raid, part of a separate federal inquiry, was led by investigators for the retirement board’s inspector general, joined by agents for the F.B.I.

And after the disclosure that dozens of the railroad retirees have been enjoying free golf on state-owned courses, state parks officials have also begun a review of who gets an Access Pass, which gives the disabled free use of sports facilities in state parks.

Martin J. Dickman, the retirement board’s inspector general in Chicago, declined to comment on the raid, except to say, “We’re investigating.”

The retirement board is run by three presidential appointees, one representing labor, one representing management and one representing consumers.

L.I.R.R. workers file for occupational disability benefits after they retire and can get them if they are unable to perform their regular railroad jobs — even though they might be capable of doing other work. Under retirement board rules, rail employees can pick the doctors who conduct their medical evaluations.

“I understand the outrage that has ensued,” Jerome F. Kever, the management member of the railroad board, said in a statement released on Tuesday. “The occupational disability program that exists today under the Railroad Retirement Act too easily permits medical conditions normally associated with aging to be adjudicated as occupationally disabling.”

Congress dropped the ball by not engaging in proper oversight - or perhaps they simply figured that no one would care that taxpayer money was being spent in this fashion.

Bloomberg Seeks Imposing Property Tax Hike Early

Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who's never met a tax scheme he couldn't refuse to support, now wants to impose a planned property tax increase earlier than scheduled. The 7% property tax hike was scheduled to take effect July 1, 2009, but Bloomberg wants to push it up to January 1, 2009 because of the disastrous Wall Street revenue numbers.

That's right, Bloomberg plans to add insult to injury by hitting up property owners at a time when revenues are falling. Bloomberg had previously increased property taxes, but rolled them back for a time because of the overwhelming outcry against them.

The latest call to accelerate the tax hike is a recipe for disaster, and yet Bloomberg is ordering full steam ahead.

Not once have you heard Bloomberg order spending cuts on an order of magnitude necessary to deal with the looming budget shortfalls. Of local politicians, only Governor David Paterson (D-NY) seems to understand that the situation requires cutting revenues, even if there are going to be some tax hikes. New York has increased spending by 40% since 2003. Even though Wall Street was doing gangbusters during that time, the state still overspend, and led to deficits in many of those years. The state still overspends considerably, and it's refreshing to hear Paterson talking so bluntly about the situation he inherited from Governors Pataki and Spitzer.

Gov. Paterson is calling on NYS AG Andrew Cuomo to investigate the rampant fraud and possible mismanagement at the LIRR. Just think of what could be done if the state and federal government actually paid attention to the featherbedding contracts awarded to the likes of LIRR workers, to say nothing of the rampant fraud and mismanagement of federal, state, and local agencies that has cost taxpayers $250 million since 2000 alone. It's particularly rich that the head of the LIRR says that he's not at fault for the situation there. Few if any are held accountable for situations such as this. They get a pass.

That has to come to an abrupt end.

The Disability Scam At the LIRR

Commuters who use mass transit on Long Island have every reason to be pissed off at the MTA and the Long Island Railroad (LIRR) for the poor service and inability to improve the service in a timely fashion to say nothing of the fact that the taxpayers are getting soaked without getting much in return.

Why?

Well, the LIRR workers have figured out a way to game the system so that they can apply for and get disability pay equal to or in excess of their annual salaries, even when no disability is present.

The answer, according to government records and dozens of interviews, stems from a combination of factors, including highly unusual L.I.R.R. contracts that allow longtime workers to retire with a pension as early as age 50, federal rules that let railroad retirees claim disability for jobs they no longer hold, and an obscure federal agency called the Railroad Retirement Board that almost never says no to a disability claim.

The federal agency pays the disability claims, but losing so many workers to early retirement costs the L.I.R.R. money — in overtime, training of replacements and early pension payments. At the same time, passengers could soon face another fare increase and the transportation authority is seeking more taxpayer support, already half a billion dollars a year, to close a huge budget gap.

Union contracts also inflate operating costs through arcane work rules, some dating back to the 1920s, which pad employee paychecks, boosting pension and disability payments in turn.

“There are maybe nine different ways to show up at work and get two days’ pay without doing anything extra,” Michael J. Quinn, general chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen at the L.I.R.R., said in an interview.

These work rules made it possible for eight senior train engineers to earn from $215,000 to $277,000 in 2006. Younger workers earn much less, and income in the top tier was lower in 2007.

No one noticed these issues for years? How many millions are involved?

Since 2000, those records show, about a quarter of a billion dollars in federal disability money has gone to former L.I.R.R. employees, including about 2,000 who retired during that time.

No one noticed that the LIRR was rife with claims for arthritis and rheumatism or other musculoskeletal system diseases? The MTA also operates the Metro North system, and claims under these rules are virtually nonexistent when compared to the LIRR.

You would think that the LIRR is the most dangerous railway operation in the world, and yet it receives awards for safety annually.

So, we've got a series of contracts negotiated that allows LIRR workers to game the system to their benefit, but the ultimate arbiter of this money, the Railroad Retirement Board is to blame as well. Why does it approve nearly 100% of the claims before it? Is that any way to safeguard the system by allowing claims where no disability actually exists?

After all, if this kind of fraud were existent at a traditional insurance company, insurance investigators would be all over the persons claiming disability and showing up with the video evidence of their golf outings (paid for by the state by the way) and other physical activity that should not be possible if the injuries claimed actually existed.

If the transportation authority needed any expertise on disabilities, it could have turned to a former board member and union official, Joseph Rutigliano, who became occupationally disabled after retiring in late 1999 at age 52.

Mr. Rutigliano said in an interview that he “crushed” his back in a fall at home and eventually could no longer work as a conductor, where his duties included walking through trains taking tickets and repeatedly climbing in and out of railroad cars. “I needed to use my legs and my back every day,” he said. “It meets the criteria for what the railroad retirement system says prevents you from performing your railroad occupation.”

If Mr. Rutigliano’s condition kept him from working, it did not stop him from golfing. He was a regular this summer at Sunken Meadow, often walking the course twice a week. As a disabled worker, he played free.

This is a huge scandal for the MTA and LIRR and it affects all taxpayers, not just those in the New York metro region since it uses a federal agency as a piggy bank.

The money that these people have received means that there is less money available for actual operations at the railroad, less money for Social Security since the money from the Federal Railroad Retirement Board comes from the Social Security fund, and taxpayers pay for the extravagant lifestyles afforded by these employees who took advantage of the open secret - the piggybank that awaits after retirement upon making the magic claim of disability.

Shameful doesn't begin to describe this; criminal does.

Congress must act to reform the Federal Railroad Retirement Board to deal with this issue, and the LIRR must review and reform its employment procedures. Taxpayers deserve nothing less.