By Nicole Breskin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN - The MTA broke the law by shuttering subway token booths without consulting straphangers, a judge has ruled.
The Daily News reported that Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Saliann Scarpulla ordered Friday that the authority not close any more kiosks without holding public hearings.
The decision was hailed as a victory by Transport Workers Local Union 100 and ACORN, which jointly filed a lawsuit challenging the closures. They claimed the booth agents were essential for passenger safety.
But the ruling does not mean that closed booths will be reopened or laid off workers will be back on the job.
The cash-strapped transit agency laid off more than 200 agents in February, and issued a statement on Friday saying it intends to close 42 more booths. It said it planned to appeal the judge's decision.
The MTA had held hearings in early 2009 on closing more than 150 kiosks and token boths.
But the judge ruled that too much time had passed since the last hearing to warrant a whole new slew of closures, according to the Daily News.
The news comes as the MTA ushered in an employee-friendly website that allows straphangers to ask the authority for notes they can give their bosses to explain why they're late to work.
According to the New York Post, the website emails a form within 15 business days with a detailed description of dealyed trips.
