Goodbye, W and Z train. Hello, longer waits at night and on weekends.
The MTA is giving these and other unwanted service cuts to New Yorkers as early Christmas gifts. If the plan goes through, Clinton Hill resident Matt Dolimpio will have to find a new morning commute; he takes the W to work on the Upper East Side.
“It’s a joke — they’re always raising fares and cutting service,” said Dolimpio, 29. “I’m terrified it’s now going to take longer to get home at night.”
The MTA unwrapped its doomsday budget for 2010 yesterday: no W and Z trains, 21 buses canceled and less frequent bus and subway service on nights and weekends. The MTA’s finance committee yesterday approved the budget cuts set to start in July 2010. The MTA’s full board casts a final vote tomorrow.
The dire changes are necessary to cover a $383 million budget gap discovered this month, MTA CEO Jay Walder said.
The MTA is also doing in-house belt-tightening: Non-union employees, including Walder, will receive a 10 percent pay cut and 700 transit workers will be laid off next year, the MTA said.
