The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has canceled construction projects on two train stations in Queens to pressure Governor Kathy Hawkle after she rejected unpopular congestion pricing, according to sources.
The MTA has sent a letter ordering contractors to immediately halt work to make Long Island Railroad stations in Forest Hills and Hollis more accessible to passengers with disabilities. – Some see the move as a push for Hawkle to either reinstate council pricing or find alternative sources of revenue for its capital expenditure plans.
“I am directing that all construction associated with the Forest Hills and Hollis stations be halted,” Steven Leidner, CEO of MTA Capital Construction, said in a June 17 letter to the head of Forte Construction obtained by The Post.
The MTA expects to generate $1 billion in annual revenue from congestion pricing, which will help fund $15 billion in capital repairs, maintenance, and system expansions.
The controversial $15 “traffic jam” fee for drivers entering Midtown south of 60th Street was set to go into effect June 30th. – However, Governor Hawke shelved the program before it could be implemented, citing concerns about its impact on New York’s post-COVID economy.
Construction company Forte was unhappy that it had to stop work on the LIRR project to comply with federal Disability Services Act.
“The stop work order is understood to be the result of a funding shortfall resulting from the suspension of the congestion charge,” Forte spokesman Tom Butler said.
“This decision not only delays necessary station upgrades but also puts at risk many of the construction jobs that depend on this project.”
But opponents say the MTA’s efforts to put the brakes on the project show it’s in it to make money, not ease traffic congestion.
“The MTA is an organization that’s not accountable to anyone. The transit authority thinks it’s in charge of its own fiefdom,” said Katherine Freed, a former judge and city council member from the Lower East Side and co-founder of Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free.
Freed, one of the plaintiffs in several lawsuits challenging congestion pricing, said the MTA’s problem is skyrocketing spending and that the transit agency should stop blaming others for its financial woes.
The agency faces ongoing scrutiny over billions of dollars in cost overruns to build new subway lines. – And fare cuts caused annual losses of $700 million.
“Why do so many transit agencies around the world operate more efficiently? Why isn’t the MTA more efficient?”
“Now is the time to reflect,” said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, an opponent of congestion pricing. “Instead of thinking we’re going to get a blank check, are there ways to reduce the cost of capital projects?”
City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) said the MTA should stop “playing games.”
“The governor should tell them to do as they’re told,” Borrelli said, noting that Gov. Hookl appointed Janno Lieber as MTA CEO.
MTA officials are expected to outline “cuts” to the capital plan at a meeting this week and say projects cannot move forward without additional funding.
“We have halted construction on the Second Avenue Subway,” Jamie Torres-Springer, the MTA’s president of construction and development, said last week. [expansion]. “
The $7.7 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 will add three new stations and extend the Q line to East Harlem, connecting with Metro-North and the 4, 5 and 6 lines.
“There are a lot of projects that we can’t build,” Torres-Springer said, stressing that the agency would focus on the basics of keeping the current system “in good condition,” not on expansion.
“In some cases, we have issued stop-work orders on projects that did not strictly meet the ‘good repair’ requirements.
“It’s going to impact the entire capital plan,” he said.
Transit sources said the MTA’s decision to spell out the cuts before Mr. Hawkle and the Legislature have had a chance to agree on alternative funding for the agency or identify savings for the agency amounted to a mutiny.
“Governor Hockle has repeatedly stated he is committed to funding the MTA and is working with partners across his administration on a funding structure while congestion pricing is paused,” said Hockle spokesman Anthony Hogrebe.
Another source in Albany said the MTA should stop its hysterics.
“The MTA knows the Governor and Legislature are not going to let them fund the capital plan, and most of these projects are years away from being started, let alone completed,” the source said.
“They’re just playing games and trying to scare New Yorkers to pressure them into implementing a congestion charge, rather than coming up with alternative ideas and finding ways to save money.”
Transit advocates sided with the MTA, arguing that Hoekl had caused the confusion by “pausing” congestion pricing.
“This is a man-made crisis that we don’t need to go through,” said Lisa Daglian, chair of the MTA’s Permanent Resident Advisory Committee.
She said “passenger safety must come first” in scaling back construction plans.
