By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — Straphangers welcomed new MTA chairman Jay Walder outside the transit authority's headquarters Wednesday with Halloween costumes and candy meant to illustrate the scariest aspect of public transportaton for New Yorkers — bad service.
An official with Transport Workers Local 100 complained to Walder and fellow board members about staffing cuts in subway stations and called the MTA "doody-heads," the New York Post reported.
"I think you people are so detached from reality because you don't use the system," Andreeva Pinder said from the public-speaking podium. "You guys are just a bunch of doody-heads."
Complaints weren't limited to verbal comments. Each member of the board was given a trick or treat bag with six Straphanger themed candies, including "Milky MTA," "Reese's Labor Peaces" and "Good and Plenty Service."
"On the operating side, subway riders now pay more than 70 percent of the costs of their ride, by far the highest fare box burden in the nation," said Gene Russianoff, staff attorney and spokesman for the Straphangers. "You need to set as a goal keeping fares affordable and not hitting riders too hard."
The candy illustrated the main concerns of the Straphangers including labor relations with the Transit Workers Union, board transparency, better service and funding for capital projects such as the Second Avenue subway line.
"The longer these projects don't get funded, the more expensive they become," said Jason Chin-Fatt, a field organizer for the campaign who dressed as a jail bird for the occasion.
After the treats, Walder announced the board would make its agenda public on the Internet beginning next month in a drive for transparency in the system.
"The single most consistent message is that people want more from the MTA," Walder said. "In short, they are asking all of us to take the MTA to the next level. That's a good goal and we should be able to do that."
Russianoff said he was encouraged by Walder's action so far and hoped bolder moves will come in the future.
In a sign that maybe the MTA board and riders are after the same thing, the "Good & Plenty Service" bags were the first candies to run out.
