The MTA has “failed” the people of eastern Long Island through a combination of taxes that stifle the region's economic development and wholly inadequate transit services, according to lawmakers and others who spoke at a public hearing Monday to discuss the cash-strapped authority's proposed service cuts.

“We begin to wonder if the MTA has outlived its usefulness,” said county Legislator Ed Romaine (R-Center Moriches), whose district covers the North Fork. “You have failed as a public agency.”

“The MTA is broken and can't be fixed,” added Rebecca Molinaro, who was representing state Assemblyman Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor).

At least 55 people registered to speak during Monday night's hearing at the Suffolk County Center in Riverside, which drew a crowd of nearly 200 people. The main topic at hand: the MTA's proposed rail service cuts to the North Fork.

Read more in print and online Thursday.