NEW YORK - Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday declared a state of emergency for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority following a recent series of incidents on the subway.
Cuomo has ordered MTA chairman Joe Lhota to conduct a review of capital needs in the transit system within 60 days.
This comes just days after the A-train derailment in Harlem.
Cuomo made this announcement at the conference for the MTA Genius transit challenge in Manhattan.
The contest invites people and organizations to suggest ways to improve and modernize the subway.
He and Lhota say the agency badly needs fresh perspectives to make dramatic progress.
"We need ideas outside the box, because frankly the box is broken," Cuomo said.
"The challenges that we faces, years of underinvestment combined with an ever-growing ridership have left the system in dire straits. New Yorkers expect better and they are rightfully frustrated and they are disappointed," Lhota said.
Investigators say Tuesday's derailment was caused by a piece of unsecured rail that was being stored next to the tracks.
Extra rail is often stored nearby to speed up repairs.
Two MTA supervisors were suspended without pay over the incident.