Commission, including NYLCV's president,
finalizes recommendations

The MTA's Blue Ribbon Commission on Sustainability has finalized its recommendations to expand the "greening power of transit" to more riders while reducing the agency's energy consumption and environmental footprint.

Click the image above to read the MTA Sustainability Commission's final report.The recommendations, which are complied in a final report, set the stage for the most ambitious "greening" of a regional transit system undertaken and the most significant enhancement of the MTA system in half a century. The overarching thesis is that the MTA must reach and absorb two-thirds of metro New York's projected population growth in order to achieve sustainability, create more livable communities and maintain the city's global economic importance.

Among the report's nearly 100 recommendations are:

• Implement the Ravitch Commission's plan for long-term, stable financing for the MTA that spreads the burden of higher costs among motorists, riders and businesses.
• Position the MTA to draw 80 percent of its total operating energy from clean, renewable sources by 2050.
• Adopt LEED Silver as the standard for all building projects and major renovations.
• Collaborate with communities on how to create, expand and eliminate gaps in the regional transit network.

The report also includes policy recommendations and a list of action items that the federal, state and local government can take to enhance the mass transit system.

NYLCV's President, Marcia Bystryn, is a member of the commission.