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Board votes to give up E-Z Pass perk

By Matthew Sweeney | msweeney@am-ny.com

5:42 PM EDT, June 25, 2008

The free ride's over for former MTA board members.

In a decision that seemed fueled by equal parts resignation and resentment, the MTA board voted yesterday to revoke the dozens of free transit and E-Z Passes it gives to former board members and limit current members to using the passes for work only.

At a news conference following the decision, MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger blamed the media for the agency's troubles.

"You have made an issue of whether people get a free ride or not and that took the focus off of the other issues facing the MTA, which are how we're going to fund mega-projects and how we're going to continue funding service for eight and a half million New Yorkers Dale Hemmerdinger told gathered newspaper and television reporters.

Warren Dolny, 79, a former MTA board member from 1989 to 1996, was the lone voice for keeping the passes. "What does this amount to?" Dolny asked, comparing the cost of his free rides to the billions in the MTA budget. "It's like a postage stamp on a football field."

The Daily News reported last week that Dolny used his E-Z pass at more than 900 MTA tolls -- average cost $4 each -- from November 2006 to November 2007. Besides the E-Z passes, members also received lifetime subway and commuter rail passes. In addition, the agency will move to revoke parking permits for former members issued by MTA police.

"I never earned hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Dolny, who represented Rockland County on the MTA board. "The perks are very important to me financially."

Dolny said he would sue if they took his pass, which he described as a "gift" that they couldn't take back.

The MTA's 12-0 vote, with one member abstaining, came after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened to pursue individual former and current board members for use of the passes, which he argued were illegal compensation under the law. The MTA's initial response was to seek a court decision but the board quickly backed down.

"If they would have won in court, they would have gone to court," Cuomo said.

Board members had differed on whether they should take the issue to court, Sander said.

"There's no admission of guilt or illegality in the past," Sander said. "It's just more important to get past this issue and deal with what's most important."

The MTA is considering fare and toll hikes or service cuts to cover a $500 to $700 million deficit in its operating budget next year, and faces a $15 to $20 billion. A commission charged by Governor Paterson with finding new sources of transit funding will meet for the first time today, officials said.

The free E-Z passes cost about $30,000 a year for the 59 retired and current MTA board members. More significant than the dollar amount, however, the revelation of the free rides put another dent in the agency's tarnished public image.

Gene Russianoff, lead attorney for the Straphangers Campaign, said he sympathized with the MTA's desire to get past the embarrassing episode and that he did not think the free passes were illegal. On other hand, they could have handled the situation differently, he said

"They had an opportunity here to express solidarity with the riders that are paying higher bread and milk prices," Russianoff said. "I'm disappointed they didn't use this opportunity to tell riders we understand your plight we share it. Could they have been more contrite? I think so."