moons over my brooklyn

The MTA (that would be Metropolitan Transit Authority, the be-all-end-all of subway systems) just announced yesterday that it will be offering reduced fares during the holiday season this year, from Thanksgiving through to the New Year. This is unprecedented. Not that I'm complaining, really, but it does seem just a little bit sketchy. Not too long ago the fare was raised from $1.50 to $2.00 because the MTA said the system was broke. A judge threatened to reverse it when it came out that the MTA had been cooking their books, and in fact had "hidden" money. Then the judge backed down, the fare increase remained, and the MTA started complaining that it can't afford sufficient security for the transit system because the Feds haven't given NYC the promised funds after 9/11 four years ago. And now the MTA's boat has apparently come in, as it's got an "unforseen" surplus this year of $928 million. Go figure.

On another note, this picture above is a newly renovated public plaza (Goldman Sachs was kind enough to fork over the funding) on the roof of a building at the southern tip of Manhattan. Pretty snazzy, eh?