A glimmer of hope for a capital plan as Cuomo dashes Move New York dreams

The latest MTA budget includes significant savings down the road.

Are New York City streets and, by extension, the MTA’s capital plan on the verge of becoming another victim of the ongoing soap opera/war of words between New York’s stubborn and intransigent governor and New York City’s neophyte and naive mayor? As political maneuverings and a rosier MTA financial picture make a deal more likely, the Move New York Plan, a key center piece to a comprehensive solution for NYC’s congestion woes that may finally have Gracie Mansion’s support, could be DOA if the Governor gets his way — and the Governor is going to get his way.

First, the good news. As part of its new financial plan released yesterday, the MTA has closed the gap in the 2015-2019 capital plan to a mere $12.8 billion. They’ve achieved these savings of $2.4 billion through what the agency has termed “unanticipated revenues, greater cost savings and more efficient operations.” Some of the money will go toward service enhancements; some will go toward the capital plan; and none will go toward averting biennial fare hikes.

As the MTA detailed, these savings are not reliable year-over-year sources of revenue and are derived largely from a strong economy. The agency drew in $401 million more than expected in real estate transaction taxes and cut pension expenses by $348 million. Fare and toll revenues were up while energy costs were down. “The additional funding we have announced today is a significant self-funded contribution to our extensive capital needs, but it still falls well short of what is necessary to keep our network in a state of good repair, much less to improve its operations and expand its reach,” MTA CEO and Chair Tom Prendergast said yesterday. “We hope our careful budgeting and innovative planning show our commitment to our Capital Program as we work with our city, state and federal funding partners to fully fund those needs.”

Facing an MTA with a smaller gap, though one still in need of a large sum of money, and battling concerns that Uber’s popularity, among other causes, has led to an increase in congestion in the Manhattan Central Business District, the de Blasio administration may finally be coming around on the Move New York fair tolling and traffic pricing plan. In a letter to Prendergast [PDF], Deputy Mayor Anthony Shorris recognized the need to find funding for the MTA capital plan and expressed interest in the Move New York plan. Without funding, Shorris wrote, “the negative impact on the state economy will be substantial…we cannot go back to the days of infrastructure neglect and declining service from which it took us a generation to recover.”

Recognizing that more debt and higher fares will overburden riders, Shorris noted that a the solutions on the table will “demand financial sacrifice and political leadership.” He listed Move New York first and noted other plans to increase taxes and fees that support the MTA, but Shorris also noted that, while NYC residents bear the bulk of MTA funding, the state has ultimate control. Still, he issued an olive branch to Albany. “The City is ready and willing to work with the State to develop sound, long-term solutions,” he said. “We are ready to sit down today and have a full and frank discussion about comprehensive funding options for this essential engine of the State’s economy.”

In an alternate universe, Albany responded with a wide-open embrace of Shorris’ position, noting that city residents have always supported congestion pricing if revenue is dedicated to transit improvements, but this is Cuomo’s New York. The governor’s response was nearly immediate. “Been there done that…I don’t see how it would ever pass,” he said in response to the Move New York plan. In subsequent comments, he threw more cold water on the idea. “If you think that’s going to close the gap and that’s going to pass, then I think you’re going to be sorely disappointed once again,” he said.

This is of course a self-fulfilling prophecy from Cuomo. He has the political capital and the political will to see that a Move New York plan — one that would alleviate the environmental and economic destruction wrought by congestion while funding transit — would pass Albany, and the city wants it to happen. But what de Blasio proposes, Cuomo shoots down. That’s just the way of things these days, and the dysfunctional city/state relationship has the MTA in its cross-hairs.

So what’s the state’s solution? It’s not entirely clear yet, but in a letter sent this week to the MTA [pdf], Mary Beth Labate of the New York State Division of the Budget hinted at a solution. The state is concerned that the MTA is asking for too much since they usually do not spend all of the capital money collected within the five-year plan as originally budgeted, and she suggested design-build as a way to cut costs. So the path to a deal is set: The MTA will trim some spending and projects from this five-year plan, and the state will move on….something. What that something will be isn’t clear right now, but it seems unlikely to be the Move New York plan. For that, we all suffer.