What ever happened to the promised New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2020 - 2040 Twenty Year Long Range Capital Needs Plan? New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the MTA pledged that it would be released by December 2019. It is now 15 months late. Are Gov. Cuomo's ongoing nursing home and sexual harassment scandals diverting his attention from approving the release of this critical document?
The plan explains how much money and years or decades will be required before each MTA operating agency, including New York City Transit bus, subway and Staten Island Railway, MTA bus*, Long Island Rail Road and Metro North Rail Road have reached a state of good repair.
Categories for each agency include such assets as existing bus, subway and commuter rail fleet, stations including elevators to meet Americans with Disabilities Act and escalators, track including switches, signals and interlockings, communications, line structures including painting, protective netting on elevated structures and bridges, line equipment including tunnel lighting and pump rooms, traction power including power substations, yards and shops and supervisory vehicles.
It is supposed to be the basis for the justification of NY MTA Five Year Capital Plans prior to their release. In this case, the $51 billion 2020 - 2024 Five Year Capital Plan was released and adopted before anyone could receive and review the updated Twenty Year Capital Needs Plan. The new 2020 - 2040 Twenty Year Plan should update the previous 2014 - 2034 Twenty Year Plan. This is inconsistent with both Gov. Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's respective promises to conduct the most open and transparent administrations in the history of state and municipal government. This was suppose to have included independent authorities such as the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Taxpayers, commuters, transit advocates, transit funding agencies and elected officials deserve to see this document today.
*In 2005, New York City transferred management of buses, facilities and routes for the seven private franchised bus operators - Command Bus, Green Lines, Jamaica Bus, Triboro Coach, Queens Surface, NY Bus and Liberty Lines Bronx Express - to the MTA. The MTA subsequently created MTA Bus, which is a separate division from NYC Transit Bus and Manhattan Bronx Surface Bus Operating Authority.
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Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in grants which provided funding for capital projects and programs to the NY MTA, NYC Transit, Long Island and Metro North Rail Roads, MTA Bus, NYC DOT, NJ Transit and more than 30 transit agencies in New York and New Jersey.
