Cuomo vows to fix NYC subway

Transportation issues highlight State of the State Address

January 4, 2018 By Paula Katinas Brooklyn Daily Eagle

In his State of the State Address, Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged the State Legislature to provide funding to repair New York City’s transit system, “We know how to fix the system. It’s a question of funding,” he said. Photo from Flickr

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Brooklyn residents who endure long waits for trains and then ride in subways cars that are as crowded as cattle cars might have some good news to look forward to if Gov. Andrew Cuomo follows through on a promise he made in his annual State of the State address in Albany on Wednesday.

Among the highlights of Cuomo’s speech to the state Legislature in the Empire State Convention Center was a vow by the governor to fix New York City’s deteriorating subway system.

“We must improve the New York City subway system. We’ve failed to maintain an engineering marvel that was a gift from our forefathers. Our 100-year-old system needs an overhaul. We have 40-year-old subway cars and 80-year-old electric signals,” Cuomo said.

The problem won’t be solved unless the state is willing to provide both short-term and long-term funding solutions, according to Cuomo.

“Now, there is no mystery, we have to fix the system. We know how to fix the system. It’s a question of funding. We need short-term funding this year to do emergency repairs and to install the new technology for a long-term solution. We also need long-term funding that is fair to all and also addresses the growing traffic and population problems,” the governor said in his speech.

The Fix New York Panel, a group of experts that is studying ways to fund a massive overhaul of the transit system is set to issue a series of recommendations for the legislature to consider. The choices could include congestion pricing.

First proposed during the Bloomberg administration, congestion pricing would impose a fee on motorists driving into certain sections of Manhattan.

The state Legislation must find a way to fund a subway fix-up and must find it soon, Cuomo said. “Funding must be provided in a very tight budget and funding must be provided this session because the riders have suffered for too long, politics has gone on for too long and we can’t leave our riders stranded anymore. Period,” he said.

In another transit-related development, Brooklyn residents could have a new subway line running from Manhattan to Red Hook in the future, Cuomo said. He called on the Legislature to consider opening up “our transportation deserts,” including neighborhoods like Red Hook that currently lack subway service.

The Port Authority and MTA should “explore whether Red Hook has enough transportation alternatives, or if they should study the possibility of a new subway line to stimulate Red Hook’s community-based development the way we did on the west side of Manhattan and East side line,” the governor said.

Cuomo’s promise to fix the subway system won praise from transit advocate organizations like the Riders Alliance.

But Riders Alliance Executive Director John Raskin said the governor has to put his money where his mouth is. “The governor’s words reflect the frustration and anger of transit riders who have been left behind for so many years. Desperate New Yorkers are on the edge of our subway seats waiting for the governor to follow his bold words with decisive action,” Raskin said in a statement.

Assemblymember Pamela Harris (D-Coney Island-Dyker Heights-Bay Ridge) said Cuomo should also consider making improvements to subway stations in “underserved communities like Coney Island and Bay Ridge.”

As an example, Harris said, “It is my hope that the stations currently not handicap accessible will finally be addressed.”

In addition to transportation issues, Cuomo also vowed to build a new state park in Brooklyn.

“While our federal government is deconstructing parks, we believe they are a national treasure. We are going to increase our commission to our state parks — $63 million investment in upstate parks, we’re going to build a new state park in Brooklyn, New York, 407 acres on Jamaica Bay. It’s going to be the largest park in New York City,” he said.

Here are other highlights of the State of the State address:

Cuomo proposed a middle-class tax cut. The rate would fall from 6.45 percent to 5.5 percent for New Yorkers earning between $40,000 to $150,000 a year and from 6.65 percent to 6 percent for people making $150,000 to $300,000. “My friends, this is going to be the lowest middle-class tax rate since 1947,” Cuomo said.

The governor called for an expansion of the Excelsior Free College Program, which provides free tuition to students in the State University of New York (SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY) systems.

Cuomo urged the legislature to pass the DREAM Act to protect young people who were brought into the U.S. illegally by their undocumented immigrant parents.

The governor will also push for an overhaul of the state’s bail system.

“The blunt ugly reality is that too often, if you can make bail you are set free and if you are too poor to make bail you are punished. We must reform our bail system so a person is only held if a judge finds either a significant flight risk or a real threat to public safety,” said Cuomo, who added that the state needs to move cases faster through the courts.

There was a great deal of excitement and anticipation in the Albany on the day of the State of the State address, giving the state Capitol the atmosphere akin to a Super Bowl Weekend.

Several top state officials, including Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) hosted receptions where elected officials and political movers and shakers rubbed elbows over scrambled eggs and coffee.