By Kayleigh Anderson
New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli recently released a report on the challenges the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is facing and called for the agency to be more transparent with its finances, especially now that congestion pricing is off the table.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, the MTA board voted 10-1 to place a pause on congestion pricing. This has resulted in the deferral of $15 billion in capital projects.
“The MTA’s decisions in the coming weeks and months will affect riders for years to come,” DiNapoli said. “The MTA will be forced to put off badly needed investment in expansion and improvements to the system. Those choices will directly affect riders. The situation compels the MTA to provide an honest and transparent accounting of what it can afford and which capital projects it will prioritize and why. The MTA’s decisions should ensure the basic maintenance of the system — safety, reliability and frequency — until it identifies realistic and sustainable replacement revenue.”
DiNapoli reported that there are over $21 billion in projects that will possibly suffer because of their dependence on capital funding. While reprioritizing the work that needs to get done, the work will be separated into five categories based on their purpose.
It is also estimated that $17 billion in funding will have to be removed from the current $55.4 billion capital plan to meet the loss of congestion pricing revenue, according to the report.
During the June 26 board meeting, MTA Chair Janno Lieber addressed the agency’s dire financial situation.
“it’s clear that there’s going to be a lot more than $15 billion that’s needed to address not just the state of good repair but the improvement and expansion needs of the MTA,” Lieber said. “We’re going to need Albany with the help of Washington to step up for the next MTA capital program.”