Funding for the 2025-2029 MTA capital plan, which supports major infrastructure improvements to the country’s largest public transportation system, remains in a state of limbo in the state capitol.
After a state review board rejected the $68.4 billion plan on Dec. 24, 2024, the MTA has advocated for its approval in Albany. The agency’s capital plan is separate from its operating budget. Funding in the capital plan covers big infrastructure projects, such as power and substations, and even the planned Interborough Express construction, which would create a train connection between Brooklyn and Queens.
The plan was rejected due to a funding shortfall — about $35 billion— that has yet to be solidified.
Although the state legislature has not yet committed to filling the gap, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber doubled down on the importance of funding the plan for New Yorkers.
“All three parties—the state senate, assembly and most of all governor—understand that you must fully fund the MTA capital program,” he said during an unrelated March 11 press conference at Penn Station. “It is a minimal program. It is a program that makes sure that we can make progress so that the power system, and the structure and the railroad cars don’t erode, and the system becomes worse.”
At stake is whether the agency can preserve the transit system and make it better—or let it decline, Lieber said.
“We already tried that once. It resulted in the ‘summer of hell, ‘and riders paid the price,” he said. Lieber was referring to the summer of 2017, when the agency’s funding was up in the air. A series of train incidents, including an A train derailment in Manhattan, led to then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo declaring a state of emergency for the MTA.
The CEO remains optimistic about the funding, as the state legislature must review and approve New York’s budget by April 1.
“I am confident that Albany is not going to let us down,” he said.
Legislature budgets
Meanwhile, the state Senate and Assembly published their one-house budgets on Tuesday. From here, the two houses and Gov. Kathy Hochul will have to hammer out their proposed differences within the plan before an April 1 budget deadline.
“Governor Hochul remains committed to making the investments necessary to immediately improve public transportation and provide long-term stability for the MTA,” a spokesperson for the governor said. “The legislature vetoed the 2025-29 capital plan and said they wanted to address funding concerns in the context of the state budget, and now that the budget process is underway, these conversations are ongoing.”
The one-house budgets mentioned the need to fund the capital plan. Lisa Daglian, executive director of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC), said increasing equitable access to affordable transit is a “cornerstone” of the committee’s Rider-First Fare Agenda.
“With the recent implementation of congestion pricing and prior to the MTA’s planned fare increases later this year, the senate’s detailed support for the hundreds of thousands of riders who stand to benefit from these modestly priced investments could not be more timely,” Daglian said. “The assembly also makes clear their commitment to exploring opportunities for improving discount programs to make riding more affordable.
Although PCAC applauded the provisions for increasing transparency for the capital program, the lack of funding identified for it has “potentially devastating consequences for riders and the entire region,” Daglian explained.
“The plan is almost fully comprised of essential state-of-good-repair projects necessary to keep the system running safely and reliably and it deserves a long-term dedicated funding stream that will help the agency smartly plan for the future,” she said. “We urge the legislature and governor to examine the dozens of options available for funding the plan to help keep MTA riders and the New York City region moving forward.”
