Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled New York’s fiscal year 2019 budget on Tuesday, at last offering insight into how the state will begin to fund dire upgrades to the ailing New York City subway system.
The 2019 executive budget allots $429 million towards the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $836 action plan that’s aimed at addressing both immediate and long-term issues with the subway, such as signal malfunctions and track maintenance.
Of the funds committed by the state, $254 million will go towards operating aid to fund half of the subway action plan’s effort to address system failures, breakdowns, and delays. Those funds will also go towards positioning the subway for its modernization (though, to be real, that’s a long way off.) Those funds will come from financial settlements and refining the payout of a payroll tax in the counties the MTA operates in.
The state budget also allocates $175 million in new capital funding for the MTA’s action plan.
The city, however, has yet to address how it will fund its part of the action plan. Mayor de Blasio continues to dispute the city’s obligation to commit funds to the MTA, a state-run agency.
MTA board members appealed to the city in October, stating that unless City Hall contributes funding, the plan will be drastically impacted.
The jab is part of an ongoing feud between Governor Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio over who is responsible for the MTA and its funding needs. Despite Governor Cuomo declaring a state of emergency for the ailing system and acknowledging control over the transit agency, he continues to turn toward the city for funding to carry out repairs.
Governor Cuomo also announced on Tuesday that his office will release its “Fix NYC” plan this week, which will detail the proposal for congestion pricing in parts of New York City.
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