By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN EAST — The MTA will hold a series of public hearings about the closure of token booths throughout the subway system and layoffs for 210 station agents, the authority said Wednesday.
Retaining the 210 positions the MTA had planned to cut during the hearing process will cost the agency $40,000 a day, said MTA Chairman Jay Walder. The cash-strapped agency was ordered last month by a Manhattan Supreme Court judge to hold the hearings before any more layoffs or closures could proceed.
"This is very clearly a matter of process," Walder said Wednesday of the judge's decision. "Nevertheless, we will take the public hearing process seriously."
Walder added that the MTA's financial situation has not changed since the decision to close booths was first made.
While the MTA appeals the judge's decision, it will move forward with scheduling the hearings.
They will be held in mid-July in the four boroughs affected by the booth closures, Walder said.
