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Elected officials: Give MTA $20B in federal help
Elected officials yesterday pleaded with Washington for a $20 billion injection to help the debt-wracked MTA.
Already, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s money problems have led to delays on the construction of the Second Avenue subway and the rehabilitation of some two dozen stations.
With a boost from President-elect Barack Obama’s hefty economic stimulus plan, these infrastructure needs could be addressed, said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY).
The elected officials yesterday said the funds also would help alleviate the MTA’s $1.2 billion budget deficit. The agency has been considering a fare hike on single train and bus rides that, in the “worst-case scenario,” would increase the cost to $3 from $2.
Federal help would not only dig the MTA out of its ditch, it would create tens of thousands of jobs and boost the “greening” of New York City, said Schumer, who made the plea alongside Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan/Brooklyn), of the House’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.Obama’s staff and Congressional leaders are still hammering out the details of the president-elect’s rescue program.
The purchase of 1,575 hybrid buses, the Tenth Avenue station for the No. 7 train and the completion of the Fulton Transit Center in its original scope are other projects that could use a hand from Obama, Schumer and Nadler said.
“This stimulus could be a life-saver for New York’s mass transit system,” Nadler said.
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