Mayor releases 5-point subway system improvement plan, Lhota fires back

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The subway funding feud is reaching yet another level. There was another back and forth on Monday between the mayor and the MTA.

Releasing his plan for improving the subway system, Mayor Bill de Blasio posted on medium.com a five point plan, his latest volley aimed at the MTA's funding of the subway system.

"We need to make sure that the dollars that the city taxpayers put into the system is used efficiently and effectively," said Anthony Shorris, First Deputy Mayor.

Shorris also hosted a conference call emphasizing the mayor's talking points.

The mayor wants:

1) Immediate relief for riders, improving service and reliability.

2) He thinks the MTA should have public performance goals and standards.

3) Clear accountability for continual improvement.

4) An efficient and fair MTA budget and a reallocation of resources towards core needs.

5) A meaningful state commitment to the needs of subway riders.

"The first priority should be making sure that the money that the city has already put up gets used for the purposes for which it was intended," Shorris said.

The mayor laid out his plan a day after riding the F-train and saying Governor Cuomo should take responsibility for subway conditions.

"The political posturing and photo opps are getting silly," said Joe Lhota, MTA Chairman.

The MTA is getting ready to present its 30-day overhaul plan this week.

"The mayor's solution is to rob Peter to pay Paul and take away capital funding that's already been earmarked for badly needed projects like expanding the Second Avenue Subway into Harlem," Lhota said.