The New York City transit agency wants the New York Road Runners to make up $750,000 in revenues lost on the marathon.

Chances are, if you are in the New York City area and ask people about the Metropolitan Transit Authority or the MTA, you are going to get a negative response about the public agency. The MTA is responsible for seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City, as well as subway and bus service in New York City. Additionally, it runs two commuter train services, the Long Island Railroad and Metro North Railroad. None of the agency’s properties are cheap to use and there seems to be a fare hike always looming. The MTA has a public relations problem because it is so unpopular. So what does the MTA want to do during one of New York City’s showcase events, the New York Marathon? According to reports, the MTA wanted $750,000 from the New York Road Runners club to make up from lost revenue as the agency has to close the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn, for the start of the race where runners gather.

The New York City Marathon brings money into the city as the costs to the city are not much in the overall scheme of things. First responders get overtime while a good many people come to New York and New Jersey and use hotel rooms, dine out and go to museums and other cultural activities. There is no money allotted to build a sports venue. No worry about not getting property tax from a facility like Madison Square Garden in midtown Manhattan. New York’s Governor Kathy Hochul has told the agency to back off and the Road Runners to make up the difference by buying advertising on buses and subways. Hochul wants the public transit agency and the New York Road Runners to work out their differences. The MTA has a public relations problem.

The MTA is quite unpopular in New York City.

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