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Woe to the humble subway rider: On Monday, the MTA board OK’d a $1.9 billion contract as part of Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway expansion — while the rest of the system crumbles.
The vote means tunneling and construction for three new Q line stations in Harlem can start next year.
Guess who’s running for re-election in 2026? Why, Gov. Kathy Hochul — who was pointedly present at the board vote, and controls the board.
That is: This isn’t about making the best use of limited cash to serve the public, but to serve Hochul.
Who plainly assumes straphangers won’t notice as funds that could go to fix the crumbling MTA infrastructure that’s turning their commutes into a daily nightmare are instead going to provide fodder for the gov’s future campaign ads.
Hochul and her MTA minions claim they’ve cut costs for Phase 2 down to “just” $7 billion total, or a mere $233 million a block to extend the line from 96th Street to 125th.
The final bill will surely be higher, as it always is for public works in these parts, not to mention the MTA’s dismal track record for keeping projects on-budget.
To add insult to injury, Hochul’s office gleefully explained some funds for the project come from the $9 congestion toll that’s fleecing New York drivers.
Expanding the subway to better service neighborhoods like East Harlem would be fantastic — if the MTA had ample “expansion” money.
It doesn’t; indeed, as the agency’s leaders have been loudly announcing for years, it doesn’t even have the cash to take care of the existing system, even as it plans to hike fares to $3 a pop next year.
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In March, the MTA threatened another “Summer of Hell” if the city didn’t cough up its ever-growing portion of the agency’s ever-growing budget — $4 billion for 2025 – 2029 — with MTA Chief Financial Officer Jai Patel telling City Council members: “Many components are falling apart and need to be replaced or preserved.”
Indeed: Just the other week, a power outage at West Fourth Street brought the whole system to its knees, causing long delays and leaving rush-hour commuters stranded and searching for alternate routes — twice in one week.
But the MTA needed to reserve cash for Hochul’s Second Avenue dreams, so Patel held straphangers as hostages while he demanded ransom
Then again, her boss sets the standard for arrogance: Asked Monday why the agency is spending big on the Second Avenue scheme when it has so much unfunded repair and maintenance work, MTA CEO Janno Lieber sniffed: “I reject the premise of the question.”
“Public servant” doesn’t mean “served by the public,” Janno.
It means you’re supposed to do right by the people of New York, not divert billions to satisfy your political boss.