Almost 1,000 MTA employees raked in additional time beyond regulation than they did from their base salaries final yr, information confirmed — because the company has already overspent this yr’s OT price range by a whopping $176 million.
The cash-hungry Metropolitan Transportation Authority spent almost $764 million on time beyond regulation within the first six months of the yr, placing it on tempo to interrupt the time beyond regulation document of almost $1.5 billion set in 2025, in keeping with finance paperwork offered at a committee assembly Monday.
Time beyond regulation turned such a burden on the transit company’s spending that it climbed to about 23% of MTA salaries by means of the primary three months of the yr.
MTA officers blamed the runaway spending on unfilled jobs and the necessity for staffing backup, the paperwork confirmed.
“Time beyond regulation can typically be cheaper than having a better headcount – for instance for responding to excessive climate occasions – however that’s not at all times the case,” a spokesperson for the MTA mentioned.
MTA subsidiary New York Metropolis Transit saved $97 million on salaries due to unfilled jobs — then spent $141 million greater than deliberate on time beyond regulation.
The transit company had 2,868 unfilled jobs by the tip of June. Its whole working price range for 2026 is $21.3 billion.
“That’s mismanagement to the very best diploma,” Zilvinas Silenas, president of Empire Public Coverage Middle, instructed The Submit. “I don’t imagine in a metropolis of 10 million folks they’ll’t discover sufficient folks to work on the MTA.”
The MTA is a government-created public profit company supported by taxes and its personal income streams.
Spending information present Luis Miranda, a Bridges and Tunnels lieutenant, collected $89,560 in time beyond regulation within the first three months of 2026 — greater than another MTA worker — on prime of $36,193 he earned in common pay.
Miranda’s pay reached $128,644 by March 31, placing him on tempo to beat his 2025 earnings of $382,583, when he raked in $219,064 in time beyond regulation.
John Anastasatos, a Bridges and Tunnels sergeant, earned $78,520 in time beyond regulation over the identical three months, on prime of $29,107 in common pay.
Anastasatos collected $304,167 in time beyond regulation final yr, almost two and a half occasions his $123,102 wage, bringing his whole earnings to $438,586.
Miranda and Anastasatos work in the identical Bridges and Tunnels unit.
At Bridges and Tunnels, the division that runs the town’s tolled bridges and tunnels, time beyond regulation has run 50% of normal pay within the first three months of the yr, the very best charge of any MTA division, in keeping with state payroll information.
Neither Miranda nor Anastasatos responded to inquiries from The Submit.
Stilwell Manriquez, a New York Metropolis Transit senior stationary engineer, is already operating forward of his earnings from final yr.
Manriquez collected $79,695 in time beyond regulation within the first three months of 2026.
Final yr his time beyond regulation reached $276,898, a part of a $549,122 whole that made him the highest-paid worker on the MTA — forward of the company’s chairman.
Six workers out-earned Lieber final yr, regardless that Lieber, because the chairman of the MTA, took in almost $470,000.
Manriquez is on monitor for the second yr in a row to earn greater than Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who’s paid $250,000 a yr.
Manriquez didn’t reply to an inquiry from The Submit.
“Managing time beyond regulation is a precedence, which implies working to vary work guidelines that incentivize time beyond regulation; it additionally means higher and extra aggressive supervision,” the MTA spokesperson mentioned.
Silenas mentioned union work guidelines might be burdensome and typically have “no logic.”
“They’ve all kinds of loopy guidelines like for those who start work at one depot and finish work at a unique depot you receives a commission double,” Silenas mentioned.
The MTA’s personal monetary statements listed a smaller time beyond regulation whole in 2025 than what state payroll information confirmed.
The MTA listed its time beyond regulation spending at $1.15 billion. This might be as a result of the company counts time beyond regulation charged to development tasks as a separate capital value moderately than an working expense.
A spokesperson didn’t reply to an inquiry concerning the discrepancy from The Submit.
The revelation comes because the MTA continues to cope with rampant time beyond regulation abuse.
Three dozen Lengthy Island Railroad workers had been caught by the MTA Inspector Normal final yr utilizing pretend swipe playing cards to clock out and in even after they weren’t really working, permitting them to gather time beyond regulation pay at ranges far above their coworkers — in some circumstances, as much as 3 times as a lot.
Three Staten Island bus maintainers repeatedly left the depot throughout time beyond regulation shifts in 2023, typically for hours at a time, whereas nonetheless claiming time beyond regulation pay, in keeping with a report from the MTA Inspector Normal.
Inspectors mentioned surveillance confirmed the employees weren’t at work whereas clocking hundreds of {dollars} in time beyond regulation.
Regardless of these high-profile breaches, Janno Lieber mentioned at an Albany price range listening to in February that he was “proud” of the MTA’s excessive time beyond regulation as a result of it confirmed workers had been working nights and weekends.
The MTA tasks deficits of $160 million in 2027, $243 million in 2028 and $306 million in 2029 — even after hauling in $562 million final yr from a new congestion pricing toll for drivers getting into Midtown Manhattan.
The company plans to make use of congestion toll cash to fund development tasks in its capital price range, separate from its fundamental working price range.
Silenas referred to as the congestion tax “infuriating.”
“Congestion pricing is a tax on individuals who don’t use MTA to pay for MTA’s money shortfall,” Silenas mentioned, “which is infuriating,” he added.
“In a nutshell, no matter MTA does flawed politicians impose a tax on another person to pay for MTA.”
The MTA has deliberate fare and toll will increase for March 2027 and March 2029.
