State Labor Department officials have gone ahead and fined the Metropolitan Transportation Agency more than $24,000. Why? For failing to repair cracks and potholes on the roof of a Manhattan bus depot; that is a sanction that has agency officials worried about potential violations at other bus facilities.
An August 23rd violation notice, obtained by the New York Daily News, indicated that the MTA owed $24,408 for not addressing these problems during a March 8th, 2022 Department of Labor inspection at the Michael J. Quill Bus Depot in Hell’s Kitchen.
The state fine grows by $108 each day until the issue is taken care of.
Carlos Pacheco, the chief safety officer for MTA buses, said the inspection occurred “almost a year and a half before a monetary fine was assessed,” in an email to fellow transit brass last week read by the New York Daily News.
An MTA spokesman told The New York Daily News that the depot is safe and that repairs are ongoing.
“Safety is a top priority at the MTA,” Dave Steckel said. “We have completed repairs on most of the issues raised and are on schedule to complete this project by the end of the year.”
The Department of Labor has given the MTA until January 5th to fix the roof before it will refer the matter to the Attorney General’s office for further legal action.
