Second Avenue Subway expansion is a mindless waste – Latest News
Woe to the common-or-garden subway rider: On Monday, the MTA board OK’d a $1.9 billion contract as half of Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway expansion — whereas the remainder of the system crumbles.
The vote means tunneling and construction for 2 new Q line stations in Harlem can begin subsequent yr.
Guess who’s operating for re-election in 2026? Why, Gov. Kathy Hochul — who was pointedly current on the board vote, and controls the board.
That is: This isn’t about making the best use of restricted money to serve the public, however to serve Hochul.
Who plainly assumes straphangers gained’t discover as funds that would go to repair the crumbling MTA infrastructure that’s turning their commutes into a day by day nightmare are as an alternative going to supply fodder for the gov’s future marketing campaign advertisements.
Hochul and her MTA minions declare they’ve cut prices for Phase 2 down to “just” $7 billion complete, or a mere $233 million a block to increase the road from 96th Street to one hundred and twenty fifth.
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The closing invoice will certainly be larger, because it all the time is for public works in these components, to not point out the MTA’s dismal observe report for retaining tasks on-budget.
To add insult to damage, Hochul’s workplace gleefully defined some funds for the project come from the $9 congestion toll that’s fleecing New York drivers.
Expanding the subway to higher service neighborhoods like East Harlem could be improbable — if the MTA had ample “expansion” money.
It doesn’t; certainly, because the company’s leaders have been loudly asserting for years, it doesn’t even have the money to take care of the prevailing system, even because it plans to hike fares to $3 a pop subsequent yr.
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In March, the MTA threatened one other “Summer of Hell” if town didn’t cough up its ever-growing portion of the company’s ever-growing funds — $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 opposite week, a energy outage at West Fourth Street introduced the entire system to its knees, inflicting long delays and leaving rush-hour commuters stranded and trying to find alternate routes — twice in a single week.
But the MTA needed to order money for Hochul’s Second Avenue desires, so Patel held straphangers as hostages whereas he demanded ransom
Then again, his boss units the usual for conceitedness: Asked Monday why the company is spending huge on the Second Avenue scheme when it has a lot unfunded restore and upkeep work, MTA CEO Janno Lieber sniffed: “I reject the premise of the question.”
“Public servant” doesn’t imply “served by the public,” Janno.
It means you’re speculated to do proper by the people of New York, not divert billions to fulfill your political boss.
