Biden: $20B for ‘Hardest Hit’ Public Transit Agencies
President-elect Joe Biden unveiled a $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan on Jan. 14 that includes a $20 billion investment to “protect the future of transit.”
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority
USDOT Awards $40.26MM for Commuter Rail Grade Crossing Improvements
Five commuter rail agencies will receive a total of $40.26 million in grants for highway/rail grade crossing improvements from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), in coordination with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA). The awards are part of round one of the Commuter Authority Rail Safety Improvement (CARSI) Grants Program.
LIRR Expansion Project Moving Forward
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) reported that five railroad crossings were eliminated and bridge and station upgrade work continued in 2020, as part of its LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) Expansion Project. The project will add a third, 9.8-mile track from Floral Park to Hicksville, N.Y., to reduce train congestion and delays.
Congress: $900B COVID Relief Agreement; $15B For Rail
Congress reached an agreement Dec. 20 on a nearly $900 billion pandemic relief package, and approved a one-day stop-gap bill to avoid a government shutdown and allow time for a vote, expected Dec. 21. It’s anticipated that the package will be combined with a $1.4 trillion omnibus spending bill that will fund the government for the rest of the fiscal year. The bill includes $14 billion for transit and $1 billion for Amtrak.
NYMTA Adopts 2021 Budget— Assuming Federal Relief
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board on Dec. 16 agreed on a 2021 budget and 2021-24 financial plan that assumes federal relief will arrive—despite Congress’ continuing debate on the next COVID-19 relief package. Officials said the budget assumes MTA will receive $4.5 billion as part of that package.
One Vanderbilt Avenue: TOD For GCT
The $3.3 billion One Vanderbilt Avenue skyscraper, at 1,401 feet New York City’s second-tallest office tower after One World Trade Center, is home to a $220 million TOD (transit-oriented development) project benefiting adjacent Grand Central Terminal and the forthcoming MTA Long Island Rail Road East Side Access project. Designed by Stantec, the TOD project is a P3 (public-private partnership) of the New York MTA and developer SL Green Realty designed to improve rail transit access and use for some 750,000 (pre-pandemic) daily Metro-North commuter rail and NYC Transit subway riders, as well as future LIRR riders.
Watch: NYMTA Holds Virtual Rally for Federal Relief
The New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) held a virtual rally Dec. 9 with eight other transit agencies calling on Congress to “urgently deliver significant and immediate federal aid to public transportation systems nationwide” to stave off severe pandemic-related cutbacks.
NYMTA to “Supplier’s 11”: You’re “In Jeopardy”
New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye sent warning letters to MTA’s 11 largest suppliers on Sept. 17. “The COVID-19 pandemic has exacted a horrific toll in human, social and economic terms across the nation,” he noted in the letters. “I am writing to alert you that because of this financial devastation, many current and all future contracts are in jeopardy without an injection of $12 billion in emergency federal aid.”
Cuomo: No Mask? It’ll Cost You
Starting Monday, Sept. 14, New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) will issue a $50 fine to any rider who refuses to wear a mask on New York City subways and buses, Metro-North Railroad (MNR), and the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR). This follows New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s executive order on Thursday, Sept. 10, directing the MTA to develop a plan to increase mask compliance.
Commentary
“The Subways Are Facing a Five-Alarm Fire”
“New York City cannot recover without a robust transit system, and the country cannot rebound without New York,” New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Patrick J. Foye and Transport Workers Union International President John Samuelsen wrote in a Sept. 1 op-ed published in the New York Times on what they say is “the MTA’s dire fiscal crisis.” The MTA released the op-ed to media outlets. We reproduce it here.