NY transit official says talks end ahead of threatened rail strike

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The head of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said on Monday a "big gulf" between union and management proposals has scuttled contract talks ahead of a possible July 20 Long Island Rail Road strike. "We’ve done the giving. They've done the taking," MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast told a news conference after the unions representing 5,400 workers said negotiations had broken down. A strike by the nation's largest commuter railroad would leave some 300,000 daily commuters from New York's suburbs on Long Island scrambling for alternative transportation. (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)