State Senate GOP to MTA: We Don't Live in NYC, So Why Should We Care?

Senate Republicans in Albany voted on Monday to defund the State’s $770 million investment in New York City’s Mass Transit Authority capital plan.

Although the public transit plan had been included in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s budget, GOP representatives rejected it in a voice vote, including a second proposal to increase the MTA’s bond cap by $7 billion.

If the Senate’s version of the budget passes, work on construction projects will come to a halt, leaving thousands more people unemployed, and likely causing New Yorkers longer and more crowded commutes.

State Senator Velmanette Montgomery, D-Bed-Stuy, said the GOP’s current budget as it is, seems designed to inflict as much pain on New York City as possible.

“And their actions in regard to the MTA, which will cripple ongoing projects here and cancel contracts with companies in their own districts, show they are willing to hurt their own people as well just to score petty political points,” Montgomery said.

The MTA Capital Plan accounts for one-third of construction jobs in the downstate region, and the 2005-2009 MTA Capital Plan helped create 79,869 jobs in upstate New York. The current MTA Capital Plan will generate $14.7 billion in business and create 350,000 jobs in New York.

“The Senate GOP talks about bringing more jobs to New York and then they vote to defund a proven job-creator: public transit,” said Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives.

“Last night’s vote is the clearest sign yet that public transit in New York needs a new source of investment that sustainably supports and expands the service that makes us the most competitive city in the world."

“The session is not yet over and there will have to be a conference with the Assembly, but the threat is very serious,” said Montgomery. “I urge everyone to call Governor Cuomo's office and let him know we are depending on him for justice and sense, and will hold him accountable if these ridiculous cuts are enacted."