To keep it rolling

To the editor:

Instead of providing hard cash, in 2019, then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state legislature gave the MTA congestion pricing to help pay for the $51 billion 2020-2024 five-year capital plan. 

Red Hook commuters should not be surprised when Governor Kathy Hochul and the legislature do the same next year with the proposed MTA $68 billion 2025-2029 five-year plan. Congestion pricing, currently on pause, was supposed to raise $15 billion toward the MTA’s 2020-2024 plan.

Hochul claims she can find additional state and federal funding to make up for the missing $15 billion. She promises the same for making up the $33 billion shortfall in the MTA’s proposed 2025-2029 capital plan.

The MTA will receive $1.8 billion in annual formula grants supplemented by competitive discretionary grant program allocations from the Federal Transit Administration in federal Fiscal Year 2024. This might grow by several hundred million annually over the next five years.

The Federal Highway Administration has funding for several programs, including Congestion Mitigation Air Quality, Surface Transportation Program and others that can be transferred to FTA to finance MTA capital projects. 

There are no other federal pots of gold to cover the missing $48 billion shortfall between congestion pricing and the 2025-2029 plan.

Past governors and legislatures have never provided any hard cash close to $48 billion to pay for previous capital plan shortfalls. Don't be surprised in 2025 when both Hochul and lawmakers reduce the proposed $68 billion plan by billions to some amount in the $50 billion range.

When it comes to MTA financing, Hochul reminds me of the old cartoon character Wimpy. He was fond of saying, "I'll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today," or in this case $48 billion worth of MTA capital transportation projects.

Larry Penner