Deal reached on $US 26.1bn New York MTA capital programme

The MTA board is slated to meet on October 28 to approve a capital plan, and new projects wouldn’t have been approved without the funding agreement.

John Minchillo/AP The cash-strapped MTA will finally get state and city funds to improve the transit system.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo & Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed over the weekend on effortless methods to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 5 yr capital plan.

The Cuomo administration is considering borrowing to cover at least a few of the $8.3 billion state commitment the governor has made to the cash-strapped MTA, sources said.

The largest investment in MTA infrastructure in history, the capital plan outlines the next five years’ worth of investments for renewing, enhancing and expanding the agency’s network, MTA officials said in a news release.

“I don’t blame any New Yorker who doesn’t spend all day focused on the governmental operations”, Mr.de Blasio said, when asked if it was frustrating City Hall often takes the blame for bad commutes even though he doesn’t set MTA policy. A report from the Independent Budget Office said the city’s contribution to the plan had not kept up with inflation. “It shows they are both concerned about saving face or the government wonks – not two trusted and very capable but political aides – would have put this deal together”, said Thies.

The negotiations remained tense and included calls between de Blasio and Cuomo, a rarity in recent months as their feud has intensified. “We’ve had a great legislative session working with organized labor”.

The state will contribute a little more than $8 billion.

“Public transportation ridership is growing throughout the region, and since the most intense pressure is felt in the city where 90 percent of the MTA’s customers are, it’s only fair that the city help pay to keep the subways and buses moving”, said Simon, general chairman of the Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Union.

The city’s growth and success has always been linked to transportation infrastructure, from its position beside New York harbor to the Erie Canal to the subway system, according to Lucius Riccio, a former city transportation commissioner and past MTA board member who’s now a senior lecturer at Columbia University and New York University. “It will be a more pleasant experience for the rider, and also it will be better for the economy”. She said the money isn’t a cure-all but “stops the hemorrhaging of a system that without this investment would see continued deterioration”.

A source close to the process said in-person talks involving city, state and MTA principals and staffers went on for weeks, and that a deal appeared within reach earlier this past week. “And we said enough is enough, we wanted to do the investment that we needed to do”, Mr. Cuomo said. “The bad news is we need to replace our infrastructure”.