The subways are supposed to serve New York neighborhoods, not ignore them. But sadly, transit officials have been turning a deaf ear to communities around the city.

Their insensitivity ranges from pushing ahead with a plan to cut the G line in half to rejecting requests from the Chinatown area to mitigate the hardships of a two-and-a-half year closing of their main subway station. The latest outrage is their current plan to remove station agents from subway stations around the city without a word of advance notice or an opportunity for riders to be heard.

This is no way for transit officials to treat their customers and workers. For many riders, the station agent reductions will make the subways less safe and less convenient.

The Straphangers Campaign does not oppose genuine savings from the use of the well-designed and convenient MetroCard vending machines. Nor do we object to the long-term plan to have station agents leave booths become "customer service representatives" charged with assisting customers instead of selling transit, if that’s what officials really intend to do.

But we won’t stand for deceiving and ignoring the riding public. And that’s what is happening here. Transit officials are not reaping "MVM" savings; they are acting on their longstanding desire to eliminate personnel from part-time entrances in the subways. That leaves many riders with a hard choice : Either enter through an unstaffed entrance or walk to the main staffed entrance. For many, this pits having to add minutes to their commute against their safety.

In December, the campaign wrote to transit officials about a proposal to reduce personnel by 235 in the Stations Department. We requested "a detailed list in advance of any new proposals either to reduce hours at toke n/MetroCard booths or to leave booths unstaffed." (See letter on back.) We received a response that the agency would follow proper procedures. Since then, the agency has not had the decency to publish a list, let alone hold hearings.

New York State Public Authorities Law Section 1205, paragraph five mandates a hearing here: "Any complete or partial closing of a passenger station within the city of New York, or any means of public access to such facility, except for purposes of repair or renovation or in case of emergency shall be accomplished only if approved by resolution of the authority adopted by no less than a majority Š and only after a public hearing."

The NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign calls on Governor Pataki to demand that transit officials listen to the communities they are supposed to serve. MTA New York City Transit should be required to produce a detailed list of the planned reductions and there should be hearings on the plan. Riders, workers and city neighborhoods deserve no less.

_____________________________________________________________________ www.straphangers.org | www.nypirg.org