Regional Council's Revival

After several years of desuetude, the Metropolitan Regional Council is showing encouraging signs of revival. It fell victim several years ago to parochial fears and jealousy in the suburbs of New York City, which led to the defection of several of its suburban members. But, mainly as a result of the leadership provided by Mayor Lindsay, It is functioning again.

The M.R.C. now has eight committees at work on such problems as the future of the region, transportation, jet noise, air and water pollution control and law enforcement. It has a budget of $80,000, half provided by New York City, and has filed with the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development an application for a grant of $210,000.

Its goal is to enlist every county and city in the tri-state metropolitan area as an active, dues-paying member. It hopes to develop a permanent staff with a budget of $500,000, which will give local governments far more opportunity than they now have to participate with interstate and state agencies in seeking regional solutions to their problems. It could fill a serious gap in the existing machinery.