MTA Seeks $5 Billion in Sandy Aid After Firing Lobbyists
This article is for subscribers only.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority fired its Washington lobbyists six months before Hurricane Sandy inflicted the most damage in the 108-year history of the subway system. Now the agency is trying to get at least $5 billion in federal aid without them.
The MTA jettisoned its four lobbying firms in March and April, according to federal disclosure reports. The terminations were “all about cost cutting,” Chairman Joseph Lhota said in an e-mail message, part of a drive to cut administrative spending as the biggest U.S. transit agency battles rising debt and labor costs.