Espada critical of MTA real estate, budget cuts

State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada accused the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of not being adequately transparent in its real estate holdings, in a radio interview with WNYC’s Brian Lehrer (via the Atlantic Yards Report). Espada, from the Bronx, said that he plans to take the MTA to task, exploring what property it currently controls and how it spends its funding. “What we’re going to look at is how their spending priorities are ranked,” Espada said. “We’re going to look at the vast real estate holdings that the MTA has. We did not confer upon them to be a house of real estate — a holding company for the state of New York.” Espada expressed disappointment in the recent MTA service cuts, alleging that the transit group hasn’t adequately communicated with lawmakers. Espada also talked about his opposition to the unilaterality of budget cuts Governor David Paterson has called for. The Senate, he said, “know[s]” the decision by the governor “is unconstitutional” and “there will be lawsuits in response.”