The MTA's New York City Transit Committee on Monday approved three sole-source parts and maintenance contracts totaling roughly $123.7 million, covering rail car brakes and HVAC parts, bus parts and subway signal system maintenance.
The board approved a three-year, $3.2 million contract with West Code for rail car air brake, truck, door and HVAC parts; a two-year, $37 million contract with the aftermarket parts company NFI covering 2,460 bus parts items; and a five-year, $83.5 million contract with Siemens Mobility for maintenance of subway signal systems known as communications-based train control. All three passed on a voice vote with no objections noted.
Before the votes, deaf and disabled riders and advocates spoke during public comment about gaps in accessibility. A rider who said she is legally deaf described not knowing why trains stop or empty out because she cannot hear announcements. "I should not have to depend on the kindness of strangers just to know whether I'm safe," she said, adding, "We deserve the same information at the same time."
A disability justice advocate who said she also represents the Transit Riders Council said the first time she heard the MTA's accessible announcements she cried, but worried that deaf and hard-of-hearing riders can't benefit from them. "The deaf community needs to be a part of this conversation and a part of the solution," she said.
An advocacy director for the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled referenced an effort raised the previous month to push the AccessRide paratransit booking deadline from 5 p.m. to midnight, saying the current requirement is "onerous and punishing" and creates "substantially different and segregated life styles" for people who must book rides a day in advance. A wheelchair user and AccessRide customer who said she serves as vice president of Rainbow Connection Alliance called directly for extending the deadline to midnight and said she has twice been trapped on a wheelchair lift on an express bus, once in the rain, calling for modernized lifts and trained operators.
Transit officials later addressed the reassignment of roughly 250 unarmed fare-enforcement agents, known as Eagle teams, after two incidents in which employees were seen getting physical with customers on video. Demetrius told the board the agents were pulled from the field following an announcement by Chair Lieber and that the incidents remain under investigation, saying getting physical with customers does not reflect the agency's policy or the professionalism expected of its employees.
Board members pressed for changes. One member who said he previously served on the fare evasion committee called for in-depth background investigations of people in those positions, not just training. Another member argued technology could reduce the need for physical confrontations, saying an electronic system that flags non-payment "proves that that's not race-related, it's just technology-related."
Officials also announced a nine-day full closure of A train service between Rockaway Boulevard and Ozone Park-Lefferts Boulevard starting at 12:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, and running until 5 a.m. Monday, Nov. 16, for track and switch work tied to a signal modernization project. Free shuttle buses will replace service between the affected stations during the closure.
A senior director of bus service planning reported results from the Queens Bus Network Redesign, which launched in 2025 and affects about 800,000 daily riders. Average local bus speeds across the borough rose 1.7%, with rush routes improving 4.6% overall and speeds up to 28% faster on Hillside Avenue, while 124,000 more residents now have access to service every 10 minutes or better. Officials said further changes, including increased Q5 local Saturday service and the discontinuation of redundant Q87 rush weekend service, are planned for January 2027.
A police chief reported that subway crime rose 12.4% in September compared with a year earlier, driven largely by grand larcenies, while year-to-date robberies tied a record low and gun arrests reached 51, the highest on record.