Tax revenues are down; construction costs are up; and all of a sudden, the MTA is facing a potential $3-billion budget gap in funding for its current capital plan. Could this spell the temporary lessening of weekend service changes?
amNew York’s Matthew Sweeney has more on this tale of financial woe:
Rising construction costs have eaten away at the MTA’s current capital budget, leaving a gap of up to $3 billion for basic repairs and service, officials said Wednesday.
“The program has some shortfalls in it,” Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Elliot Sander said at an agency board meeting. “We will not be able to fund all projects in it.”
The MTA is currently working out details on the amount of the shortfall and where potential cuts will come, Sander said. While mega-projects like the Second Avenue subway are not affected, the “nitty-gritty” work of station repairs and upgrades, signal replacements, or purchase of new cars could suffer, said MTA spokesman Jeremy Soffin. Nothing will be impacted before summer.
On top of this bad news, real estate tax revenues were lower than expected for the third straight month. The MTA, to put it bluntly, is on the precipice of financial trouble. I hope Sheldon Silver is happy.
Meanwhile, weekend work continues apace until the money dries up.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, uptown 1 and 2 trains skip 79th and 86th Streets due to station rehabilitation at 96th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, Manhattan-bound 2 and 5 trains run express from East 180th Street to 3rd Avenue-149th Street due to track replacement at East 180th Street station.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, downtown 2 trains replace the 5 from 149th Street-Grand Concourse to Nevins Street and downtown 5 trains replace the 2 from 149th Street to Chambers Street. These changes are due to several projects, including station rehab work at Chambers Street and Wall Street and tunnel lighting work in the Clark Street tunnel.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, there are no 3 trains running between 14th Street and New Lots Avenue due to tunnel lighting work in the Clark Street tunnel. Customers should take the 4 train between Nevins Street and New Lots Avenue and the downtown 5 or uptown 2 between 14th Street and Nevins Street.
From 4 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 10 p.m. Sunday, May 4, Bronx-bound 6 trains run express from Parkchester to Pelham Bay Park due to switch replacement south of Pelham Bay Park station. The last stop for some Pelham Bay Park-bound trains is 3rd Avenue.
From 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, May 3, Flushing-bound 7 trains run express from Queensboro Plaza to Willets Point due to track panel installation near 74th Street station.
From 11 p.m. Friday, May 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, free shuttle buses replace A trains between Far Rockaway and Beach 90th Street due to track panel installation between Beach 67th Street and Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue stations.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, there are no C trains running. A trains run local between 168th Street and Euclid Avenue. However, note that Manhattan-bound A trains run express from Utica Avenue to Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. Free shuttle buses replace A trains between 168th Street and 207th Street. Customers may transfer between the Broadway or Ft. Washington Avenue shuttle buses and the A train at 168th Street. These changes are due to several projects including electrical work, track panel work south of Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts., tunnel lighting between 168th and 207th Sts. and roadbed replacement at 175th Street.
From 12:01 a.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday, May 4, Queens-bound trains run express from Roosevelt to 71-Continental Aves.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, Brooklyn-bound F trains run on the A line from West 4th Street to Jay Street due to electrical work.
From 8:30 a.m. Friday, May 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, there are no G trains between Forest Hills-71st Avenue and Court Square due to track panel work between Bergen and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. Customers should take the E or R trains instead.
From 11 p.m. Friday, May 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, there are no G trains between Hoyt-Schermerhorn and Smith-9th Sts. due to track panel work between Bergen and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts. Customers should take the A to Jay Street and transfer to the F.
From 11 p.m. Friday, May 2 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, G trains run in two sections due to track panel work between Bergen and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts.:
– Between Court Square and Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and
– Between Bedford-Nostrand Avenues and Hoyt-Schermerhorn Sts
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, Jamaica-bound J trains skip Kosciuszko Street, Gates Avenue, Halsey Street and Chauncey Street due to track panel work between Myrtle Avenue and Broadway Junction.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, there are no L trains between 8th Avenue and Union Square due to concrete chip-out between 3rd Avenue and Bedford Avenue stations. Customers should take the M14 bus instead.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, L trains run in two sections due to concrete chip-out between 3rd Avenue and Bedford Avenue stations:
– Between Union Square and Bedford Avenue every 16 minutes, skipping 3rd Avenue in both directions and
– Between Bedford Avenue and Rockaway Parkway every 8 minutes (except from 11:25 p.m. Friday to 1 a.m. Saturday when they will run every 30 minutes.)
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, Manhattan-bound NR trains are rerouted over the Manhattan Bridge from DeKalb Avenue to Canal Street due to subway tunnel lighting between Whitehall and DeKalb Avenue.
From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, May 3 to 5 a.m. Monday, May 5, downtown trains skip 28, 23, 8, and Prince Sts.
From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 3, trains run in two sections:
– Between 57 St and Brighton Beach
– Between Brighton Beach and Stillwell Ave.
2 comments
I can’t come up with anything witty because I’m still choking on that number. THREE BILLION?!
[…] to find and present the various ways through which the MTA can find the money it needs for both the $3-billion gap in its current capital plan and the $17-billion abyss in its next five-year construction […]