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MTA Awards 1st Contract Under New Program

Posted by
on December 5th, 2010 at 10:33 pm

Until very recently, small businesses had little to no chance of winning any of the lucrative MTA contracts that come down the pipeline. The agency looked to level the playing field recently by starting a new small business program aimed at helping such businesses compete.

Late Friday afternoon, the agency announced the awarding of the first contract under the new program. The contract which is for the replacement the stairway canopy at the Junius Street station on the 3 Train was awarded to Arch Builders & Developers, Inc of Brooklyn. Here are the complete details courtesy of a press release I received:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that a Brooklyn construction firm has been awarded the first contract under a new program created to help small businesses win MTA construction contracts. Under the MTA’s new Small Business Mentoring Program, Arch Builders & Developers, Inc., of Brooklyn, will replace the badly deteriorated stairway canopy at MTA New York City Transit’s Junius Street 3 station in Brooklyn.

The program was created in June under New York State authorizing legislation sponsored by Senator John Sampson and Assemblyman Keith Wright. The program matches emerging small businesses with a larger construction management firm, TDX Construction Corp., to facilitate a transfer of knowledge that will enable the participants to become regular MTA contractors and larger subcontractors.

It also includes classroom construction training and field work by MTA staff members, access to working capital loans provided by Carver Federal Savings Bank, and bonding support, which had proven a stumbling block for smaller contractors seeking to do business with the MTA.

“I am delighted that this program is now enabling the MTA to expand the pool of qualified contractors who can complete MTA projects successfully, on time and within budget,” said MTA Chairman Jay H. Walder. “The more construction firms we have bidding on our projects, the easier it will be for us to reduce our construction expenses as we fundamentally overhaul the MTA’s cost structure. This program has been especially helpful in allowing us to engage more small businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses.”

Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampsonsaid: “The Small Business Mentoring Program leverages the billions of dollars in the MTA capital budget to boost our most vital economic sector – small businesses. We know that minority-owned small businesses locate in minority communities and employ minority workers in greater numbers than other businesses.

Promoting entrepreneurship among women- and minority-owned businesses is critical to promoting economic diversity and getting our economy back to work for all New Yorkers. The MTA benefits with cost savings, and our state benefits from more economic opportunity. This is a win-win for everyone.”

Assemblyman Keith Wright of Harlem said: “For too long small business, particularly minority-owned small businesses, have been unable to compete for lucrative MTA contracts. With this program we hope to change that history and give small construction firms the same ability to compete as their larger and well-connected counterparts.

By linking small businesses with big businesses, we close a gaping hole in our public works contracting processes and bring State and City dollars closer to the businesses which need them most, especially in this time of fiscal unease. If successful, I hope to see this program replicated within many authorities and government run corporations throughout New York State.”

The Junius Street project is being undertaken through New York City Transit’s new component-focused approach to maintaining stations, in which individual components of stations are repaired or replaced as needed instead of being kept in place until a station undergoes a thorough overhaul.

“The Small Business Mentoring Program benefits from, and reinforces, our component replacement program,” said Thomas F. Prendergast, President of MTA New York City Transit. “The smaller size of these new projects lends itself to being attractive to smaller sized firms.”

To date, 102 construction firms have formally approached the MTA about participating in the program, 58 have completed applications, and 31, including Arch, have been approved. Each firm will move through the program in a four-year sequence.

The MTA is currently soliciting bids on three additional contracts under the Small Business Mentoring Program: A station improvements project at the Metro-North Railroad station in Port Jervis, brick and stone repointing at the RFK Bridge, and a stairway canopy replacement at New York City Transit’s Van Siclen Avenue 3 station.

For information on applying, go to MTA.info and click on “Doing Business With Us,” then “Small Business Mentoring Program.”

This is good news for small businesses as for years it seemed cronyism & nepotism ruled the day when it came to the awarding of these contracts. Hopefully this program not only leads to fairer opportunities for small businesses but will also help cutback on overpriced deals meant to line the pockets of a select few. Only time will tell on those two fronts.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 12-03-10

Posted by
on December 3rd, 2010 at 3:01 pm

I just updated the Service Diversions page by removing all of the scheduled work that wrapped up a minute ago. The weekend diversions which I posted yesterday morning have now moved to the top followed by the subsequent work during the week.

I suggest you print out a copy of the page to carry with you or use any mobile device to access Transit Blogger’s mobile site. The next update will be on Monday at 5:01 AM when the weekend work scheduled to wrap up by 5 AM is removed. Everyone have a wonderful weekend & as always stay safe!

xoxo Transit Blogger

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1

Service Diversions 12-02-10

Posted by
on December 2nd, 2010 at 7:36 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions page with the latest planned diversions for this weekend, next week, & beyond in some cases. The next update will be at 3:01 PM Friday when the remaining diversions for this week are wrapped up & the upcoming ones moved up.

I suggest printing out the diversions before heading out or using any mobile device to access the Transit Blogger mobile site. As always, be safe throughout all your travels.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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NYC Transit Adds Extra Weekend Holiday Service

Posted by
on December 2nd, 2010 at 7:32 am

Yesterday afternoon, MTA New York City Transit announced that they will be adding extra weekend subway service for the 2010 holiday season. Here is a brief press release they sent out yesterday:

If you’re planning on taking advantage of all of the great things the City has to offer this holiday season, including the shopping, sightseeing and visits with friends and relatives, MTA New York City Transit will be offering more frequent weekend service along several subway lines. And as an added treat, come out and take a ride on a rolling piece of NYC Transit history.

NYC Transit provides subway service to meet demand and careful monitoring of past holiday travel trends shows that the number of subway trips rise during the peak holiday season. The numbered lines significant ridership increases which are driven largely by trips made by holiday shoppers.

“This is an extremely busy time of year for weekend travel and we are increasing our scheduled weekend service in areas of historically high ridership,” said NYC Transit President Thomas F. Prendergast. By adding extra trains we are able to increase capacity and also shorten the wait time for riders.”

The service increases will be in place the weekends of December 4th and 5th, 11th and 12th, and 18th and 19th. During these periods, customers using the No. 1 and No. 6 will see scheduled wait times will drop from eight to six minutes. Combined, No. 2 and No. 3 trains will arrive every five minutes instead of the regularly scheduled six. No. 4 and No. 5 trains are also scheduled for an increase in service from every five minutes to every four.

Three of the lettered lines will also benefit from increases in scheduled service during these December weekends. E trains are scheduled to run every 7 1/2 minutes instead of every 10 minutes on Saturday evening and Sunday. E service is already scheduled to arrive at 7 1/2 minute intervals during the day on Saturdays. F train riders will also see trains scheduled to arrive every 7 1/2 minutes instead of every 10 minutes on Saturday and Sunday. Q service is scheduled to run every 7 1/2 minutes instead of every 10 minutes.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions 11-29-10

Posted by
on November 29th, 2010 at 5:01 am

I have just updated the Service Diversions page by removing all of the work that just wrapped up just a minute ago. The latest information for the upcoming week & beyond in some cases is at the forefront.
Throughout the week, I will make minor updates on the page itself (no entries about it) by removing work already completed. The next full update should be sometime Wednesday or Thursday.

As always, I suggest you print out a copy of the diversions to have with you while riding. You may also use any phone or electronic device to access the mobile friendly version of Transit Blogger. Have a safe week.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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Service Diversions