Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said they will be evaluating its planned modernization and improvement plan to the city's transit system now that Governor Kathy Hochul has halted the implementation of congestion pricing.
The governor indefinitely pausing the program on Friday has serious implications for the MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Program and likely other aspects of the agency’s financial condition, said MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens and MTA General Counsel Paige Graves in a joint statement Monday.
"The MTA cannot award contracts that do not have a committed, identified funding source," the officials said. "Until there is a commitment for funding the balance of the 2020-2024 Capital Program, the MTA will need to reorganize the Program to prioritize the most basic and urgent needs."
As such, the MTA Board will be evaluating what changes need to be made to the Capital Program in the lead-up to this month’s Board meeting. Modernization and improvement projects like electric buses, accessible (ADA) stations and new signals will likely need to be deprioritized to protect and preserve the basic operation and functionality of this 100+ year old system, the statement said.
“We're behind the 8-ball right now,” MTA Chair and CEO Janno Leiber said at a news conference on Monday, according to the Gothamist. “That's why we're taking these frankly very serious steps to carve up the capital program and make sure we don't let the system fall into disrepair — back into the 70s and 80s.”
Had the congestion pricing plan been implemented, it would have helped to finance $15 billion worth of transit upgrades and maintenance.
