PHOTO: U.S Sen. Charles Schumer (l., red tie) last week listened as Mayor de Blasio held court on the 7 train. Photo Courtesy of Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Unit
It seems that even a long-awaited, highly anticipated ribbon-cutting couldn’t inspire a truce between Mayor Bill de Blasio and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Tom Prendergast.
Neither side this week applied the brakes on their very public clash over funding—not even at the grand opening of the new $2.4-billion 7 train station at 34th Street-Hudson Yards in Manhattan.
Addressing de Blasio during remarks at last Sunday’s ceremony, Prendergast said “We need your help… without the $3.2 billion we need from the city, we will be unable to meet the capital needs that we need desperately for the program.”
Last week, Prendergast turned up the heat on the administration in a statement he issued after a subway train derailed in Brooklyn.
“Make no mistake: The MTA is fully responsible for the safe and reliable operation of the New York region’s mass transit system, and an incident of this magnitude is unacceptable,” Prendergast said. “The MTA and its regional funding partners have invested more than $100 billion into rebuilding the system over the last 30 years, and our customers expect us to continually renew, enhance and expand the network.
“Unfortunately, the regional consensus that has rebuilt the MTA is fraying,” he continued. “The MTA’s proposed 2015-19 Capital Program would invest $26.8 billion to renew, enhance and expand the transit network. We asked the state of New York to invest $8.3 billion, and Gov. Cuomo agreed. But when we asked the city of New York to invest $3.2 billion, they offered only $657 million. The city’s contribution has fallen far short of the rate of inflation, much less real support for the $800 billion worth of MTA assets within the five boroughs.”
Prendergast concluded the statement by saying, “I am tired of writing letters to city officials that result only in vague calls for more conversations. The sooner we can end these games and get to work on rebuilding our transit network, the better we can serve the 8.5 million customers who rely on the MTA every day.”
De Blasio, who delivered his speech at the 7 train ribbon cutting after Prendergast, didn’t mince words.
“This city has done so much to build lives, where people were very proud of the 2.4 billion dollars we invested in this project right here—2.4 billion dollars.
“I think it’s very important we remember the facts,” he continued. “The city of New York and the people of New York are the backbone of the funding of so much of the MTA. We pay 73 percent of the MTA budget through the city government’s contribution, through the fares our people pay, the tolls our people pay, the taxes our people pay. We are doing our share. We want to see the federal government step up. We want to see the state government step up. For the good of all, let’s do this together—and we can really build the kind of future we need.”
By Michael V. Cusenza
michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
