Jay H Walder

We here in why did you join the union do not agree with the New York Times article which stated ‘Governor Said to Have Irked Transit Leader Who Is Leaving’ on July 29, 2011. We believe Jay H Walder is like a spoiled rich kid who complains and leaves if he does not get his way. He had no vision for New York City or New York State and his big selling point that got him appointed as the MTA head was his willingness to kick the blue collar employees out of their jobs which as a result ruined their families’ livelihood.

Now this article clearly reveals how ungrateful he is to the New York State Governor Andrew M Cuomo. We here in why did you join the union are very happy that he is leaving and this article will not fade possibly Mr. Cuomo will not forget that - we love it. If Jay H Walder believes that Governor Cuomo owes him anything then he is wrong. Jay H Walder when he became the head of the MTA he did not make life easier for New Yorkers to get around. He slashed the services, he attacked the students by threatening the elimination of free rides for school kids and held their parents to pay up. He eliminated bus and train routes, cut late night service. New Yorkers felt paralyzed and no one liked it. The bottom line is he has done nothing good for the average New Yorker or the employees at the MTA - he was insensitive to both. ‘Mr. Walder was meeting the governor’s staff at the Capitol when Mr. Cuomo walked in. The governor greeted Mr. Walder, then promptly turned his attention to his chief of staff, Howard Glaser, with whom he spoke for several moments before departing, said two people familiar with the meeting’. If Jay H Walder felt slighted then maybe he should take a minute to reflect what the average New Yorker or the employees who have scorn and contempt about him felt - we believe what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

If Jay H Walder came with a vision to enhance mass transportation to the benefit of New Yorkers or caring for the employees of the MTA then he would have been welcomed. However he will be remembered in history annals of New York City as a failure (just as the NY Mets under the Wilpons) who piggy back on the projects of others who had the gumption of hard work who made mass transportation a success story for New Yorkers. Obviously he is not Robert Moses - while the overall impact of many of Moses's projects continues to be debated, their sheer scale across the urban landscape is indisputable. The peak of Moses’s construction occurred during the economic duress of the Great Depression and despite that era’s woes, Moses’s projects were completed in a timely fashion. We believe the MTA may fare better with a leader who is sensitive to the needs of New Yorkers and its employees.