Instead of providing hard cash, in 2019, 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. Orange and Rockland Metro-North commuters should not be surprised when Governor Kathy Hochul and the state Legislature do the same next year with the proposed MTA $68 billion 2025-2029 Five-Year Capital Plan. Congestion pricing, currently on pause, was supposed to raise $15 billion toward the $51 billion MTA 2020-2024 Five-Year Capital Plan. Governor 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 proposed MTA $68 billion 2025-2029 Five-Year 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 over several programs, including Congestion Mitigation Air Quality, Surface Transportation Program and others which 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 Five-Year Capital Plan. Past governors and state legislatures have never provided any hard cash close to $48 billion in paying for previous MTA Five-Year Capital Plan shortfalls. Don’t be surprised in 2025 when both the governor and state Legislature reduce the proposed $68 billion plan by billions to some amount in the 50 billion range.
When it comes to MTA financing, Governor 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
Great Neck
Larry Penner is a transportation advocate, historian and writer who previously served as a former Director for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office of Operations and Program Management.