It has, to put it mildly, been a whirlwind few months for transit news. Coronavirus and the MTA’s around-the-clock disinfectant work has dominated headlines, but since the start of 2020, we’ve had to contend with problems with the R179s, Andy Byford’s abrupt resignation and fears of federal interference in the congestion pricing roll-out. We don’t know the fate of the funding for the MTA’s capital plan, and the agency’s budget is hanging in the balance. It can all be a lot to keep up with, and for the 2020 debut of the Second Ave. Sagas podcast, I wanted to bring in a news veteran to help us understand it all.

Joining me for this episode is Jose Martinez, senior reporter for THE CITY and the former NY1 transit beat reporter. Martinez, a popular Twitter presence, has been covering transit since 2013 and hosted the news magazine/interview show “In Transit” on NY1. He’s the perfect guest to catch us up on the news, and there certainly is a lot to cover. We talked about the ongoing response to the coronavirus and the MTA’s around-the-clock work to disinfect the system, Byford’s departure, transformation, and his time on the beat working for one of the city’s cutting-edge local news publications. The conversation went by in a flash, and I think you’ll enjoy this episode, despite the pall the news casts on the city these days.

As of my writing this, the episode is already available via Apple’s Podcast app, and within the next few hours, you’ll be able to find this episode at all the popular podcast spots — iTunes, Google Play, Spotify or Pocket Casts, to name a few. Or you can listen by clicking the “play” button below. If you like what you hear and have been enjoying the podcasts, please consider leaving a review on your iTunes.

Thanks for listening, and a big thank you as well to Joe Jakubowski for sound engineering. The podcasts are great fun, but they take a lot of time and effort. I can keep doing them only through the generous contributions of my listeners so please consider joining the Second Ave. Sagas Patreon. Since this site runs entirely on Patreon contributions, your help keeps the proverbial engine going. And be sure to check out Jose’s work at THE CITY and follow him on Twitter. I’ll be back soon with a Second Ave. subway-themed episode of the podcast, among others.