Councilman Daniel Dromm of Queens on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for the state Legislature to return control of the subway to the City of New York. | William Alatriste/NYC Council In an era of MTA dysfunction, councilman suggests returning subways to city control

In 1968, the state took over the New York City subway.

Forty-nine years later, one New York City councilman wants it back.


Councilman Daniel Dromm of Queens on Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for the state Legislature “to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation which would return control of the subway and bus system to the City of New York.”

The resolution, which is non-binding, is designed “to get the discussion going on this idea,” Dromm said in an interview Tuesday.

“I don’t know how much it would cost or what it would take,” he said. “I just know the MTA is not functioning properly now and we have to do something differently.”

The MTA has been beset by troubles recently. Subway delays are rampant. Straphangers are growing weary of their unreliable commutes, and their complaints are getting louder.

On Monday night, in but the latest in a series of dramatic failures, passengers on a sweltering F train were stranded without light or air conditioning for close to an hour. They shed clothing. They tried to pry open doors with umbrellas.

Councilman Brad Lander, who represents many of the people who were stuck on Monday night's F train, said Dromm’s idea is a good one, in theory. But he added that any transfer of control to the city would have to give the city more power to raise revenue. Right now, the city’s ability to do so is “constrained,” he said.

“In the world we live in, where the governor controls the MTA, we need the governor and the MTA to put forward an ambitious plan to fix and improve the subways, and we don’t have it,” Lander said. “Politically, that’s where our energy needs to be.”

The notion that the city should control the city’s mass transit system crops up periodically in political circles. The structure of the MTA — a state authority that’s supposed to be quasi-independent but is in fact an arm of the governor — can be confusing. It muddies the lines of accountability, allowing the governor, for example, to suggest he doesn’t actually control the city’s subway and bus system, when all evidence suggests he does.

During the 2013 mayoral campaign, Republican candidate Joe Lhota, the former Cuomo-appointed head of the MTA, said it might be a good idea for the city to exert more control over the MTA. Anthony Weiner and Christine Quinn, both Democratic candidates that year, argued something similar.

In May, at a press conference about street safety, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was open to talking about the idea.

“If they want to give that power to the City with appropriate funding, we can have that discussion,” he said.

His office declined to comment Tuesday.

POLITICO New York asked Michael Whyland, who speaks for the leadership of the New York State Assembly, if he had any comment on the proposal. He said, “No”.

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Cuomo, called the resolution a “stunt.” Thanks to funding from the governor, Azzopardi said, “the MTA is working day and night to rebuild a transportation network that is up to the standards of its riders.”

Spokespeople for the leadership of the state Senate didn’t respond.

“We have to shake it up and try something else,” said Dromm, referring to the MTA. “Because the way it’s functioning now is not working.”

Gloria Pazmino contributed to this report.