Caption: 370 really does have it all - sidewalk shed, pealing paint, planters full of trash, burnt out light bulbsFinally! Someone gets what I am saying! Check out this Op-Ed. A Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute came to the same conclusion that I did - the MTA must sell unused buildings before they raise fares.
Also, the Op-Ed recognizes the disgraceful and disrespectful condition of the building. "The crown jewel of underused property - standing in shocking deterioration for all to see - is the 13-story Board of Transportation Building at 370 Jay St., on top of Brooklyn's Jay St.-Borough Hall subway station."
Oh, and apparently we have a new name for 370 Jay Street - 'legacy real estate'. "One former official calls this a 'classic case of legacy real estate. The agency owns it and has no incentive to sell it.'" Here's an incentive - YOU'RE BROKE!!! C'mon, the MTA is flouting this one right in front of our face. Of course the author, Ms. Vitullo-Martin, says this a little more officially - "Taxpayers are entitled to an accounting before they are asked to bear yet another set of fare and tax increases."
Yeah, lets get a little accounting . . . and a building that isn't a slap in the face.
This is easy. The MTA needs money, we need clean subway stations and a landlord that won't run important buildings into the ground.
[PS - Lets get a shout-out for this blog the next time someone writes about the MTA selling its vacant buildings.]