Corey Johnson 'Let's Go' Transit Plan

LET’S
GO
A Case for Municipal Control and a Comprehensive
Transportation Vision for the Five Boroughs
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

SPEAKER COREY JOHNSON
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................................6
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 8
A Vision for Municipal Control................................................................................................................................................. 8
GOVERNANCE:..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
FINANCES:............................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Increasing Accessibility........................................................................................................................................................... 9
A Master Plan for City Streets................................................................................................................................................. 9
TO IMPROVE BUS SERVICE:............................................................................................................................................................................................... 9
TO CREATE LIVABLE STREETS:....................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
TO ENCOURAGE SAFE, SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION:...................................................................................................................................... 10
TO REDUCE CONGESTION:.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 10
TO ADDRESS CLIMATE ADAPTATION: ........................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Rethinking the BQE................................................................................................................................................................ 10
WHY TRANSPORTATION?....................................................................................................................... 11
COMMON MODES OF TRANSPORTATION IN NEW YORK CITY..................................................................................... 13
BETTER TRANSIT MEANS A BETTER NEW YORK............................................................................................................ 14
Better Transit is Better for the Economy............................................................................................................................... 14
A More Fair City...................................................................................................................................................................... 15
A Safer City............................................................................................................................................................................. 15
A Greener New York............................................................................................................................................................... 16
HOW WE GOT HERE................................................................................................................................ 17

THE SUBWAY ........................................................................................................................................................................ 18
Early Mass Transit Policy....................................................................................................................................................... 18
The Need for Great Expansion.............................................................................................................................................. 19
Completion of the Dual Systems and the Rise of the IND................................................................................................... 21
Unification of the System....................................................................................................................................................... 22
Post-World War II: Rise of the Automobile and the New York City Transit Authority......................................................... 22
Fiscal Crisis............................................................................................................................................................................. 24
A Lack of Focus and Investment........................................................................................................................................... 25
Recent History: Another Slow Decline.................................................................................................................................. 25
SUBWAY ACTION PLAN..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 26
ACCURACY OF PERFORMANCE STATISTICS ............................................................................................................................................................... 28
A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE – THE L TRAIN SHUTDOWN.............................................................................................................................................. 29
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY.................................................................................................................................... 30
A VISION FOR MUNICIPAL CONTROL...................................................................................................32

GOVERNANCE....................................................................................................................................................................... 33
Table of Contents 2
What’s Not Working................................................................................................................................................................ 33
STRUCTURE OF THE MTA................................................................................................................................................................................................. 33
MTA BOARD........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 34
Recommendation: Establish Big Apple Transit—the BAT.................................................................................................... 35
TRANSFER CONTROL OF THE SUBWAY AND BUSES TO THE CITY.......................................................................................................................... 35
BUILDING A BETTER BOARD........................................................................................................................................................................................... 35
MOBILITY CZAR................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
REGIONAL COOPERATION .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 36
OVERSIGHT......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 37
FISCAL TRANSPARENCY..................................................................................................................................................... 37
UNSUPPORTED DEBT AND CAPITAL.............................................................................................................................................................................. 37
DISTRACTED AND UNFOCUSED CAPITAL PLANNING PROCESS ............................................................................................................................. 38
Recommendation: Model BAT’s Structure on the City’s Water System............................................................................. 39
ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING........................................................................................................................................................................................ 40
OUTSIDE REVIEW OF FUNDING....................................................................................................................................................................................... 40
FINANCING AUTHORITY....................................................................................................................................................................................................41
OPERATIONS.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................41
Recommendation: Create More Transparency in Budgeting ............................................................................................. 41
CAPITAL PLANNING............................................................................................................................................................................................................41
OPEN DATA ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 42
Recommendation: Address Debt.......................................................................................................................................... 42
ADDRESSING EXISTING MTA DEBT RESPONSIBLY..................................................................................................................................................... 42
WHAT MTA DEBT SERVICE MEANS FOR BAT................................................................................................................................................................ 43
BALANCING THE BUDGET................................................................................................................................................... 43

Recommendation: Dedicate Congestion Pricing to BAT Budget........................................................................................ 44
Recommendation: Swap State Aid with State Sales Tax..................................................................................................... 45
Recommendation: Expand the City’s Revenue Authority.................................................................................................... 45
Recommendation: Potential Revenue Sources ................................................................................................................... 45
PAYROLL MOBILITY TAX ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 46
INCREASE THE CORPORATE TAX SURCHARGE IN NEW YORK CITY....................................................................................................................... 46
INCREASE CITY BUSINESS TAX RATES ........................................................................................................................................................................ 46
MILLIONAIRES TAX .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 46
INCREASE MCTD SALES TAX IN NEW YORK CITY....................................................................................................................................................... 46
REFORM THE TRANSFER TAXES.................................................................................................................................................................................... 47
COLLECT PILOTS FROM PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS AND HOSPITALS................................................................................... 47
EXTEND THE GENERAL CORPORATION TAX TO INSURANCE COMPANY BUSINESS INCOME........................................................................... 47
PARKING METER FEES .................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47
END OR AMEND INEFFICIENT TAX BREAKS................................................................................................................................................................. 47
COST SAVINGS AND CAPITAL SPENDING......................................................................................................................... 48

LABOR AND OPERATING INEFFICIENCIES ................................................................................................................................................................... 48
WORK RULES...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 48
LABOR COSTS GROWING ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 48
CONSTRUCTION AND PROCUREMENT ........................................................................................................................................................................ 49
SHAPING OF PROJECTS................................................................................................................................................................................................... 50
PROCUREMENT................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 50
SELECTION OF CONTRACTORS ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 50
CHANGE ORDERS.............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 51
SCAFFOLD LAW.................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 51
Table of Contents 3
Recommendation: Reduce Costs.......................................................................................................................................... 52
OPERATING EXPENSES.................................................................................................................................................................................................... 53
PROCUREMENT................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 53
CONCILIATORY LABOR REFORM ................................................................................................................................................................................... 54
Recommendation: Develop a Responsible Financial Plan.................................................................................................. 55
BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 55
BAT OPERATING BUDGET................................................................................................................................................................................................ 57
Recommendation: Fund the BAT’s Capital Program............................................................................................................ 57
Recommendation: Hold Commuter Railroads Harmless..................................................................................................... 58
FARES..................................................................................................................................................................................... 59
Recommendation: Reform the Fare System......................................................................................................................... 60
LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY..................................................................................................................................................... 61
THE SUBWAY DOESN’T SERVE OVER ONE MILLION NEW YORKERS....................................................................................................................... 61
COPING WITH AN INACCESSIBLE SYSTEM................................................................................................................................................................... 63
BUSES.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 63
ACCESS-A-RIDE................................................................................................................................................................................................................. 64
Recommendation: Use Zoning Tools to Improve Accessibility .......................................................................................... 65
EXISTING TOOLS................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 65
EXPANDING AND STRENGTHENING THESE TOOLS ................................................................................................................................................... 65
Recommendation: Train Bus Operators in Accessibility Annually...................................................................................... 66
A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION VISION FOR THE CITY.......................................................67

PLANNING.............................................................................................................................................................................. 68
Recommendation: Five Year Master Plan for City Streets .................................................................................................. 69
Considerations for a Master Plan under Municipal Control................................................................................................. 72
BUSES..................................................................................................................................................................................... 69
RIDERSHIP.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 70
BUS PERFORMANCE ........................................................................................................................................................................................................ 70
SLOW PROGRESS TO IMPROVE SERVICE .................................................................................................................................................................... 71
DESIGN AND ENFORCEMENT ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 73
BUS ROUTE PLANNING .....................................................................................................................................................................................................74
Recommendation: Install a Minimum of 30 Miles Of Bus Lanes Per Year...........................................................................74
Recommendation: Bring Transit Signal Priority to At Least 1,000 Intersections per Year..................................................74
Recommendation: Implement Route Redesigns and Bus Stop Upgrades Citywide By 2025 ......................................... 75
Recommendation: Install Bus Lanes, Bus Lane Cameras, and TSP on Every Single Bus Route by 2030....................... 75
Recommendation: Increase Bus Ridership to 16 percent of New Yorkers’ Trips by 2030................................................. 75
CREATING LIVABLE STREETS ............................................................................................................................................ 75
STREET REDESIGNS......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 76
PEDESTRIANIZED SPACES.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 76
PUBLIC SPACES ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 77
Recommendation: Dramatically expand the City’s Plaza Program.................................................................................... 78
Recommendation: Quadruple the Number of Shared Streets by 2025............................................................................... 78
Recommendation: Redesign and Make Every Signaled Intersection Accessible by 2030................................................ 79
BICYCLES............................................................................................................................................................................... 79
Table of Contents 4
BENEFITS OF BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE ......................................................................................................................................................................... 80
BIKE LANES........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 81
BIKE SHARE........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 82
BARRIERS TO BIKE RIDING.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 83
Recommendations: Require Minimum Design Standards for Protected Bike Lanes........................................................ 83
Recommendation: Install At Least 50 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes Per Year................................................................. 83
Recommendation: Complete a Fully Connected Bike Network By 2030............................................................................ 83
Recommendation: Increase Bike Ridership To 14 Percent of New Yorkers’ Trips By 2050............................................... 84
CONGESTION AND PRIORITIZING CARS........................................................................................................................... 84
CONGESTION...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 84
For-hire Vehicles..................................................................................................................................................................... 84
Trucks and Deliveries ............................................................................................................................................................ 85
PARKING POLICIES .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 86
Recommendation: Rein in Placard Abuse............................................................................................................................ 86
Recommendation: Overhaul Commercial Loading Zones, Truck Routes, and Parking Policies By 2025........................ 86
Recommendation: Reduce Private Car Ownership by Half By 2050................................................................................... 87
CLIMATE ADAPTATION & RESILIENCY............................................................................................................................... 87
What’s Not Working ............................................................................................................................................................... 87
GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: STREETS AND PLAZAS................................................................................................................................................... 88
CITY FLEETS....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 88
Recommendation: Prioritize Green Infrastructure in Transportation Projects................................................................... 88
Recommendation: Reduce The Size of the City’s Vehicle Fleet by At Least 20 Percent By 2025
and Transition to 100 Percent Renewable Energy Sources By 2050.................................................................................. 88
FUTURE OF THE BQE ........................................................................................................................................................... 89
RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BQE.................................................................................................................................................................................... 89
INDUCED DEMAND............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 89
Recommendation: Explore Alternatives to Reconstruction................................................................................................. 90
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................91
APPENDIX: DEDICATED TAXES IN MTA WATERFALL AND STATE/LOCAL SUBSIDIES...................94
APPENDIX: CURRENT MTA TAX AND SUBSIDY REVENUE SOURCES..............................................95
APPENDIX: CURRENT OPERATING BUDGET OF BAT COMPONENTS..............................................96

NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT AUTHORITY............................................................................................................................. 96
STATEN ISLAND RAIL ROAD................................................................................................................................................ 98
MTA BRIDGE & TUNNEL ...................................................................................................................................................... 99
MTA BUS COMPANY........................................................................................................................................................... 100
APPENDIX: CURRENT 2015-2019 CAPITAL PROGRAM..................................................................... 101
Table of Contents 5
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
Transportation is the lifeblood of New York. It’s the only governmental program most people encounter every day.
Whether riding the subway to get to work, hopping on the bus to go to the doctor, taking a car to visit family, or just
walking down the sidewalk to pick up groceries, transportation is ever-present in our lives. Smart, well-developed trans-
portation policy can significantly improve economic conditions and enhance public safety and climate outcomes. Poorly
crafted policy can be devastating.
The City’s subway and bus service—our mass transit system—is run by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (the MTA) a state
controlled entity that is overseen by the legislature. The City’s streets and sidewalks on the other hand, are largely controlled by the
City.
The City’s subway and buses are in a state of crisis. Service interruptions are common and delays are frequent. Not surprisingly, the
MTA is facing a crisis of credibility. Riders are losing faith, either spending hours each week leaving earlier and earlier just to make
sure they’re on time, or abandoning the system altogether in favor of cars.
Our streets and sidewalks are also in crisis. We have too many cars on the road causing traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, not
enough space for more environmentally safe modes of transportation such as buses and bikes, and we don’t provide anywhere
near enough opportunity for mobility impaired New Yorkers to navigate the City.
Making matters worse, the City lacks a coordinated and integrated transit strategy. The MTA and the City do not and cannot effec-
tively and comprehensively coordinate their activities. The reason is simple—they are separate systems under the control of different
entities each with its own set of priorities. For New York City, the core of this problem is that the MTA is run by the State and its
decisions are not always influenced by what’s in the City’s best interests.
It’s time for the City to take back control of the subway and buses so that we can establish and implement our own transportation
priorities. This report closely examines the problems associated with the current MTA governance structure and proposes a detailed
plan, including proposed operating and capital budgets and new revenue streams, for a City controlled entity to run our mass transit
Executive Summary 7
system. Recognizing that failures of government come from failures of accountability and responsibility, the report proposes three
key elements for the new system: accountability, transparency, and oversight.
Understanding that the subway and buses are just one part of the City’s mobility equation, we also need improvements to other
transit modes. This report examines the current state of City controlled transportation and proposes a comprehensive strategy to
improve mobility on the City’s streets and sidewalks. For decades, the City has prioritized cars over people. We need to right those
historic wrongs and bring equity to the City’s streets. Alternative transit options must be convenient, accessible, and appealing to
break the car culture, and this effort will require integrated and streamlined planning for all modes of transportation.
Finally, the report studies and outlines the benefits and opportunities inherent in a fully integrated transportation system. A unifying
policy underlying all forms of transportation under City control will allow us to make our transportation systems stronger and our
streets greener, improving the economic prospects, and safety of New Yorkers.
SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS
A Vision for Municipal Control
GOVERNANCE:
• A New Mass Transit System for New York City—the BAT. The State must transfer New York City Transit, the Manhattan
and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority, the MTA Bus Company, the Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority,
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, and a portion of operations at MTA Headquarters to a new entity controlled by the City—Big Apple
Transit (BAT).
• Accountable Governance. The system needs one person in charge. Under the BAT, that would be the Mayor. Riders and
taxpayers would know who controls the system and who to hold accountable.
• Create a Diverse Board. Every BAT Board Member would be a New Yorker who uses our mass transit system, and there
would be requirements that the Board be comprised of members with a diverse set of skills and expertise.
• Model BAT’s Structure on the Water Board. The BAT would resolve issues of political interference and a lack of clear
financial support by taking a page from the operations of a successful, capital-intensive municipal operation: the City’s water
system. Like that system, BAT’s operations would be part of the City’s budget and subject to the same vigorous oversight and
planning process that other City agencies currently undergo. Similarly, BAT’s financial plan would also be periodically reviewed
by a third party engineering firm to ensure that these financial plans provide sufficient resources to keep the system viable over
the long-run. These concrete steps will prevent any future backsliding in maintenance and investment to guarantee New Yorkers
a reliable transit system.
FINANCES:
• Address Existing MTA Debt Service. Recent federal tax law changes make it advisable to keep the existing MTA around
long enough to finish servicing its current debt. To do that, fares, tolls, and certain dedicated taxes would first flow through the
legacy MTA to service that debt before flowing back to BAT and the commuter railroads. Going forward, BAT and the commuter
railroads would issue bonds, not the MTA. This would ensure that existing MTA debt will be responsibly addressed, while freeing
the new system to make desperately needed capital investments.
• Pass Congestion Pricing. The current MTA has an operating deficit that BAT will inherit. Congestion pricing represents an
obvious source of revenues for transit. Not only would it raise a substantial amount of needed revenues, but it is necessary
to control rising congestion. However, congestion pricing revenues alone will not be enough to address this inherited deficit.
Including $1.1 billion in congestion revenues and assuming a 10 year capital plan that funds the FastForward plan, BAT will start
out with annual budget deficits of just under $600 million. If the State Legislature fails to pass an acceptable congestion pricing
plan in 2019, the Council can and should pass its own plan.
• End Inefficient Procurement. Cost savings should be central to any effort to fill that gap. The MTA’s procurement process
is inefficient and drives up the cost and length of time it takes to execute a capital project. BAT should receive many of the
same advantages that the City’s School Construction Authority enjoys, including an exemption from Wicks Law, which requires
building projects to be subdivided into smaller, more inefficient contracts; design-build authority which combines design and
construction contracting to remove bottlenecks when redesigns are needed; the ability to qualify the lowest bidder on a project
to ensure BAT gets not just fair prices, but also a contractor who can successfully execute an on-time job; and other contracting
improvements.
Executive Summary 8
• Address Labor Costs. The MTA is also faced with growing labor costs. BAT would follow the City’s example in its recent
work with labor unions to address health care costs. BAT would partner with labor to identify cost savings targets in work rules,
health care, overtime, and other specific areas and share a portion of those savings with the workers.
• Provide Local Taxing Authority. Even if cost savings are enough to fill the inherited gap, successful municipal control of the
system would require the State to delegate an enhanced degree of taxing authority to the City and BAT. Otherwise, the only
available revenue source would be to raise fares, which puts a disproportionate burden on working families. Considering how
important physical mobility is to economic mobility, fares should not become the first stop to filling a revenue need—it should be
the very last stop.
• Increase Revenues That Are Fully Deductible. The best place to start the search for revenues is with those taxes that
remain fully deductible from Federal taxes. While recent federal tax reform largely limited the ability of individuals to deduct
state and local taxes, it has largely left corporations with much of their ability intact. This means that the Federal government
will effectively subsidize about 20 percent of City tax increases. Considering the Federal government’s failure to invest in major
infrastructure needs in the City and around the country, it only seems fair to focus on taxes that force the federal government
to contribute, albeit indirectly. Therefore, taxes like the existing MTA payroll mobility tax, the MTA corporate tax surcharge, and
the City’s two business taxes should be the first taxes considered to fill the gap. We should have a broader discussion of other
potential taxes to consider, some of which are presented in the report.
• Continue to Support Commuter Railroads. Municipal control cannot be done by short-changing the commuter railroads.
In fact, the initial proposed BAT model shows that the railroads could end up with $200 million more in annual revenues, though
exactly how existing MTA funding streams are shared between BAT and the commuter railroads should be subject to further
research and negotiation. In addition, regional cooperation should continue through a new organization.
• Reform the Regressive Fare System. Municipal control of the subway and buses includes a commitment to ending the
practice of funding transit on backs of our most vulnerable populations through regular fare hikes. With expanded revenue au-
thority, the City would be able establish a sustainable and progressive funding scheme to ensure our transit system is available
to all.
• Improve the Capital Budget Process. Under BAT, the capital budget would follow the City’s process, including a lengthy
public review period and multiple public hearings. This would provide an opportunity for real scrutiny and actual debate about
the best ways to invest in the system. In addition, as the capital budget includes major projects with long-term completion dates
the budget should crafted to look ten years out—not the current five.
Increasing Accessibility
Despite the urgent moral imperative to upgrade stations so that all New Yorkers can safely access the subway, zoning tools to
require or incentivize new construction next to subway stations to include new station entrances and elevators are available only in
select areas of the city. We must expand and strengthen zoning for station accessibility so that every development site by a subway
station is evaluated for this potential and allowed a density bonus for including access improvements. This zoning action could ac-
celerate the cost-effective implementation of ADA accessibility at dozens of stations across New York and help us finally deliver on
the promise of transit equity for our most vulnerable.”
A Master Plan for City Streets

Establishing a five-year integrated plan for bicycle, bus, vehicle, ferry, and pedestrian infrastructure informed by a robust public en-
gagement process would bring cohesion to what is now a patchwork system of upgrades. Improving the City’s streetscape not only
helps support mass transit by making sure buses can run more efficiently, but it also encourages the use of transportation alter-
natives that make our streets safer and neighborhoods greener. In order to achieve these goals, we need to set aggressive bench-
marks for success. As part of the Master Plan, we must:
TO IMPROVE BUS SERVICE:

• Install of at least 30 miles of bus lanes per year. Every new bus lane should be camera enforced and physically separated
from traffic along appropriate corridors where camera enforcement proves ineffective.
• Bring Transit Signal Priority (TSP) to at least 1,000 intersections per year. The City must speed the activation of TSP
across the entire bus system, to ensure the bus network takes full advantage of the proven benefits of TSP wherever feasible.
• Install bus lanes, bus lane cameras, and TSP on every single bus route by 2030. Every redesigned bus route must
feature a combination of bus lanes, bus cameras, and TSP by 2030 to ensure that no riders are left behind.
• Implementation of route redesigns and bus stop upgrades citywide by 2025. We must double the pace at which NYCT
is currently running the redesign process to fully complete and implement new routes and upgrades, including bus shelters,
Executive Summary 9
benches and Real Time Passenger Information (RTPI), by 2025. In the absence of municipal control, the City must partner with
NYCT to achieve these goals.
TO CREATE LIVABLE STREETS:

• Dramatically expand the City’s Plaza Program. Expanding the program to consider all publicly owned land has the poten-
tial to dramatically expand the amount of safe, pedestrian-only public spaces throughout the City, foster and cultivate interest
in public space investments, and create opportunities for the installation of green infrastructure to improve air quality and public
health outcomes, among other benefits.
• Quadruple the number of Shared Streets by 2025. The City should prioritize and dramatically expand its Shared Streets
program to increase the number of pedestrianized streets that restrict vehicle access to at least a dozen corridors by 2025.
• Redesign and make every signaled intersection accessible by 2030. DOT should install Vision Zero safety and accessi-
bility features—including pedestrian islands, signal-protected crossings, wider sidewalks, accessible pedestrian signals (APS),
detectable warnings, curb ramps, and bus and bike lanes—to improve intersection design and make every single intersection
with a pedestrian signal accessible to seniors and people with disabilities by 2030.
TO ENCOURAGE SAFE, SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION:

• Require minimum design standards for protected bike lanes. Nearly a quarter of the City’s “protected” bike lanes in-
stalled in 2018 reportedly lacked a physical barrier, offering cyclists “just green paint and prayer.” Without clear design standards
and minimum thresholds for a “protected” lane that include physical barriers to protect riders from vehicles, we cannot hold the
City accountable to meet bike infrastructure goals.
• Install at least 50 miles of protected bike lanes per year. Informed by new design standards for true protected lanes, the
City should significantly increase the installation of this critical, life-saving infrastructure to at least 50 miles per year.
• Complete a fully connected bike network by 2030. Annual goals for protected bike lanes must all contribute to the
achievement of this long-term goal to serve every square mile of the City’s street grid with bike infrastructure by 2030.
• Increase bike ridership to 14 percent of trips by 2050. We can make significant strides in reducing emissions through
investments in bike infrastructure.
TO REDUCE CONGESTION:
• Rein in placard abuse. Legislation currently before the Council would help to reduce the number of placards, bring order and
accountability to the system, increase enforcement, and target the most dangerous parking practices by requiring enforcement
officers to call for towing of any vehicle blocking a bike lane, bus lane, crosswalk, or fire hydrant.
• Overhaul commercial loading zones, truck routes, and parking policies by 2025. A failure to sufficiently address the
commercial loading zones, truck routes, and parking policies that help keep our City running will only foster chaos on our
streets and frustration among businesses and residents.
• Reduce private car ownership by half by 2050. Reducing the share of car trips should remain the City’s central goal when
it comes to managing vehicle traffic and reducing emissions.
TO ADDRESS CLIMATE ADAPTATION:

• Reduce the size of the City’s vehicle fleet by at least 20 percent by 2025 and transition to 100 percent renewable
energy sources by 2050. Aiming to bring the entirety of the City’s fleet to 100 percent renewable energy sources and reduce
the overall number of fleet vehicles on the road over the next few decades will help the City “lead by example” as the Clean Fleet
plan suggests.
• Prioritize green infrastructure in transportation projects. The City should be required to test and study the feasibility of
permeable pavements, as outlined in DOT’s 2016 Strategic Plan, and consider the installation of green infrastructure in every
single capital project it pursues, particularly in communities of color.
Rethinking the BQE

Before spending $4 billion to reconstruct a 1.5 mile stretch of highway, the City should study alternatives to the reconstruction of this
Robert Moses-era six lane road, including the removal of the BQE in its entirety. A study and planning effort to overhaul the BQE
should start with public engagement and be accompanied by sufficient plans to improve public transit options and mitigate the im-
pacts of truck traffic in each scenario, particularly in environmental justice communities throughout the City. The reimagining of the
BQE should be coupled with a truck route redesign initiative.
Executive Summary 10
WHY
TRANSPORTATION?
Transportation isn’t just the way we get
around, it’s the way we live. The average
one-way commute in New York is almost
36 minutes.1 That’s 12.5 days a year we
can’t spend relaxing, earning money, learn-
ing, or with loved ones.2 Over 750,000 City
residents commute over an hour each way
to work.3 If you live in the outer boroughs,
your commute can easily run 90 minutes
each way. That’s over 31 days—an entire
month—each year spent in transit.
And that’s just getting to and from work.
Living in the City—from seeing a doctor
to shopping to visiting friends and fami-
ly—means being on the move. Our trans-
portation policies impact virtually all New
Yorkers, and if we get it right, those policies
can significantly improve economic, safety,
and climate outcomes for our City.
However, right now, almost nothing related
to transportation in the City is working. Ve-
hicle ownership rates are rising. Uber and
Lyft trips are skyrocketing. Subway and
bus trips are declining. Our streets remain
crowded and dangerous, prioritizing cars
over people and public transit to every-
one’s detriment. The City has failed to put
forth a comprehensive, long-term vision
for our streetscapes, which has resulted in
slow and piecemeal progress toward build-
ing out a safe, equitable and sustainable
City.
Political accountability at the MTA is
non-existent. This simply isn’t working. But
there is a better way. We can get New York
moving again with municipal control of the
subway and buses and a comprehensive
transportation vision for the City.
This report details the ways in which
transportation impacts our lives, the history
of transportation policy in New York City, why State control of
the subways and buses isn’t working, how municipal control
will create a better system for riders, and how we can improve
local transportation planning.
1 Michael Kolomatsky, Think Your Commute is Bad? N.Y. Times, Feb. 22, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/realestate/commuting-best-worst-cities.html.
2 Assuming five days a week, 50 weeks a year.
3 Pratt Center for Community Development, Bus Rapid Transit, available at https://prattcenter.net/projects/transportation-equity/bus-rapid-transit (last accessed Feb. 8, 2019).
Why Transportation? 12
COMMON MODES OF TRANSPORTATION IN NEW YORK CITY
Annual Ridership by Mode, New York City, 2012 to 2017 (in millions)4
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Subway 1,655 1,708 1,751 1,763 1,757 1,727
Bus 788 803 793 777 764 725
Taxis/For-Hire Vehicles 429 426 432 450 480 543
Bike 107 127 141 152 159 164
Ferry 31 31 31 32 34 35
Total 3,009 3,095 3,149 3,173 3,194 3,195
4 Bruce Schaller, Making Congestion Pricing Work for Traffic and Transit in New York City (Mar. 7, 2018), available at http://www.schallerconsult.com/rideservices/makingpricingwork.pdf.
Increased public transit ridership will result in greater trans-
portation efficiency for everyone. Road space is constrained
by the physical limitations of geography, and generating more
road space via expensive new construction does little to
improve the situation because those new roads will be quick-
ly filled with additional drivers.6 To make matters worse, the
reality of congestion is that when you add more drivers to the
road, the situation worsens for everyone as traffic backs up in
bottlenecks, parking spots are harder to find, and noise and
pollution fill the air. Public transportation is different. The more
people that use public transportation the better it gets, so long
as we make a commitment to serving those new passengers.7
Better Transit is Better for the Economy

Public transportation is an economic multiplier that creates
jobs, enhances the tax base, and improves the functioning of
businesses across the City. Mobility creates opportunity and
more efficient economic growth. While job creation and eco-
nomic returns on infrastructure spending and public services
BETTER TRANSIT MEANS are not unique to investments in public transportation, public
A BETTER NEW YORK transportation stands apart in several important ways. Invest-
ment in public transportation creates more jobs than other
Better, smarter transit policy has far reaching implications. A kinds of spending, it equalizes access to opportunity and
commitment to rebuilding a modern efficient public transporta- success, gives employers access to a larger labor pool, and
tion network would enable travel to be:5 it fuels the dense economic engine that makes New York City
the one-of-a-kind city that it is. A 2014 study by the American
• Faster. Improvements to public transportation networks
Public Transportation Association lays out the multi-pronged
can save passengers time via increased frequency and/
benefits of investment in transportation infrastructure and op-
or travel time, which in turn improves the travel time of
erations for each $1 billion spent on public transportation.
drivers who suffer lower amounts of congestion on the
roads. This time savings produces economic benefits for
employers and workers as commuters spend less time
Economic Per $ Billion Per $ Per $ Billion
in traffic and more time engaged in productive activities.
Impact of Capital Billion of of Average
It also allows for even greater flexibility for workers to find
Investment Operations Investment
and keep jobs.
Investment
• More reliable. Better on-time rates for subway and bus- Output (Busi- $2.9 billion $3.1 billion $3.0 billion
es enable passengers to reduce the “buffer time” in their ness Sales)
travel schedules, further improving the effective speed of
transportation. As improved public transportation reduc- GDP (Value $1.3 billion $2.0 billion $1.7 billion
es congestion on the roads, this benefit also spills over Added)
to drivers who will suffer fewer delays due to collisions or Labor $0.9 billion $1.4 billion $1.3 billion
backups. This increased transit consistency can lead to Income
improved productivity, reliability, and logistics manage- Tax Revenue $266 million $500 million $432 million
ment for businesses. (Federal,
• Cheaper. Investment in public transportation reduces State, Local)
reliance on personal automobile ownership, and all its Jobs 15,900 24,200 21,800
attendant costs, including the cost of car ownership, fuel,
parking, and road wear and tear.
Like most types of infrastructure spending, investment in our
• Safer. Using mass transit is safer for passengers and it makes
public transportation network provides extensive economic
the streets safer for other vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists.
stimuli in the form of direct, indirect, and induced job creation.
5 American Public Transportation Association, Economic Impact of Public Transportation Investment (May 2014), pages 4-8, available at https://www.apta.com/resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/Eco-
nomic-Impact-Public-Transportation-Investment-APTA.pdf.
6 Eric Jaffe, Public Transportation Does Relieve Traffic Congestion, Just Not Everywhere, CityLab, April 1, 2013, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2013/04/public-transportation-does-relieve-traf-
fic-congestion-just-not-everywhere/5149/.
7 Herbert Mohring, Optimization and Scale Economies in Urban Bus Transportation, American Economic Review, pages 591-604 (1972).
These benefits run the gamut from direct hires for operations, nomic Future Rides on Its Subways,” makes the case for a
management, and maintenance; to supporting downstream transportation-equity imperative, not only to make life better
contractors and suppliers; and ultimately, to further economic for the people who need the system, and to bring more people
multipliers as consumer retail spending is improved by the into the fold, but because our economic future depends on
supported wages. it. New York City’s path out of the fiscal crisis of the 1970s
Unlike and above other types of infrastructure spending, was built on subway tracks. The City’s population grew, and
improvements to our subway and buses serve double duty by employment with it, as part of the City’s climb out of economic
making the rest of the City run more smoothly. New York City’s stagnation. All of this was enabled by a transportation network
mass transit systems are what enable us to exist as a global that could connect people with opportunity.15 The work is
metropolis. Our subway and buses provide mobility and mar- not done. Thirty years ago, investment into the subways set
ket access—businesses have access to a region-defining, di- the stage for decades of growth, but we must continue that
verse, and skilled workforce, in addition to a massive customer investment and increase the system’s reach, reliability, capaci-
base. Our transit system also enables spatial agglomeration ty, and affordability for all New Yorkers in order to secure those
economies—which allows businesses to cluster together in gains and more going into the next thirty years.16
high enough concentrations to achieve increased efficiencies
and economies of scale. A Safer City
Investment into public transportation’s core function—moving Vehicles seriously injure or kill a New Yorker every two hours.17
people—further stimulates economic growth by reducing the That means nearly 4,000 New Yorkers are seriously injured
frictions that would otherwise depress personal and business and more than 250 are killed each year in traffic crashes. The
activity.8 dangers are particularly stark for children and seniors. Being
struck by a vehicle is the leading cause of injury-related death
A More Fair City for children under the age of 14, and the second leading cause
for seniors.18
The past few decades have given New York City a first-hand
look at the boons public transportation can deliver to our We’ve made significant progress under Vision Zero, with a 28
lower-income communities, and the economic growth the City percent decline in traffic fatalities and a 45 percent decline in
receives in return.9 Neighborhoods with efficient transportation pedestrian fatalities as of March 2018.19 Traffic deaths dropped
are a lifeline for lower income communities and are one of the to 200 in 2018, a record low.20 Yet pedestrian deaths increased
strongest contributing factors to an escape from poverty.10 It is last year to 114, from 107 in 2017.21
a complex relationship with significantly more at play than sim- It doesn’t have to be this way. Every traffic death is prevent-
ply getting people to their jobs faster.11 Reliable public trans- able. By breaking the car culture, getting more people onto
portation brings together workers with the jobs that best suit mass transit, and improving transit planning, we can save lives
their abilities, a matching that benefits everyone.12 It provides and make the City a better, healthier, safer place to call home.
access to the healthcare, schooling, food, and goods neces- Mass transit is one of the safest modes of urban transpor-
sary to maintain a life in the City;13 and in its absence, when tation. Heavy rail, such as subways, and transit buses have
public transportation becomes erratic, it’s the lower income approximately half the fatality rate for their users and bystand-
populations that feel the brunt of the loss in the form of lost ers per passenger mile compared to automobiles.22 And in
wages, forgone opportunities, and more severe consequenc- addition to the straight-forward benefit of giving more residents
es at work.14 better access to a safer mode of transportation, increased
An issue brief by the Manhattan Institute, “New York’s Eco- occupancy of mass transit (filling empty seats) tends to further
8 Economic Impact of Public Transportation (May 2014), Exhibit A-2, at page 68.
9 Nicole Gelinas, New York’s Economic Future Rides on Its Subways, Manhattan Institute Issue Brief (July 2018), available at https://media4.manhattan-institute.org/sites/default/files/IB-NG-0718.pdf.
10 Mikayla Bouchard, Transportation Emerges as Crucial to Escaping Poverty, N.Y. Times, May 7, 2015, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/07/upshot/transportation-emerges-as-crucial-to-escaping-pov-
erty.html.
11 Raj Cjetty and Nathaniel Hendren, The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility: Childhood Exposure Effects and County-Level Estimates, Harvard University and the National Bureau of Economic
Research (May 2015), page 70, available at https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/hendren/files/nbhds_paper.pdf.
12 The mobility provided by public transportation gives employers access to “a broader and more diverse labor market, offering better fit between desired and available worker skills.” American Public Transportation
Association, Economic Impact of Public Transportation (May 2014) at page 9.
13 Pedro Nicolaci da Costa, There’s a Major Hurdle to Employment that Many Americans Don’t Even Think About – and It’s Holding the Economy Back, Business Insider, January 27, 2018, available at https://www.
businessinsider.com/lack-of-transport-is-a-major-obstacle-to-employment-for-americas-poor-2018-1; Gillian B. White, Stranded: How America’s Failing Public Transportation Increases Inequality, The Atlantic, May 16,
2015, available at https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/stranded-how-americas-failing-public-transportation-increases-inequality/393419/.
14 New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer, The Human Cost of Subway Delays: A Survey of New York City Riders (July 8, 2017), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/the-human-cost-of-subway-de-
lays-a-survey-of-new-york-city-riders/.
15 Gelinas (July 2018) at pages 4-5.
16 Id. at page 10.
17 City of New York, Vision Zero, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
18 Id.
19 City of New York, Vision Zero: Four Year Report (Mar. 2018), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/visionzero/downloads/pdf/vision-zero-year-4-report.pdf.
20 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Traffic Deaths in New York City Drop to 200, a Record Low, N.Y. Times, Jan. 1, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/nyregion/traffic-deaths-decrease-nyc.html.
21 Id.
22 Litman, Evaluating Public Transit Benefits and Costs, Victoria Transport Policy Institute (July 24, 2018), pages 42-44; Steer Davies Gleave, What Light Rail Can Do For Cities, Passenger Transport Executive Group,
February 2005, pages 77-79, available at http://www.urbantransportgroup.org/system/files/general-docs/WhatLightRailCanDoforCitiesMainText_0218.pdf.
reduce the average injury to bystanders
per passenger-mile because a full bus
is just as safe as an empty one.23 The
positive safety benefits of increased mass
transit use is well established by studies
demonstrating a strong inverse correlation
between transit ridership and traffic deaths
(per capita), particularly in large cities.24
One estimate is that each ten percent in-
crease in public transit’s share of passen-
ger miles traveled is accompanied by a 1.5
percent reduction in traffic fatalities.25
A Greener New York

When it comes to the City’s public trans-
portation and streets, we cannot afford to
let our sustainability, resilience, and climate
justice goals remain an afterthought. Since
the City committed to reduce greenhouse
gas emissions by at least 80 percent by
2050 (80 x 50), we have made virtually
zero progress in reducing transportation
emissions, which account for nearly a third
of the City’s greenhouse gases.
Between 2005 and 2015, the City re-
duced transportation emissions by just fully occupied bus is six times greater than that of the aver-
five percent, accounting for an overall 1.2 percent reduction age single-occupant vehicle—but even a bus with as few as
in emissions.26 Despite our City’s world famous subway seven passengers is more fuel efficient than a private car.31
system, a slightly larger share of our City’s emissions comes Buses, at an average of about a quarter full, emit 33 percent
from transportation—30 percent—than the national average.27 lower greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than the
Private vehicles also account for a higher share of our trans- average single occupancy vehicle; that savings increases to 82
portation emissions—83 percent—than the national average of percent when the bus is completely full.32
60 percent.28 Overall, mass transit consumes half the energy of private
Investing in the City’s public transit infrastructure with the goal transportation, and emits only five percent of the carbon mon-
of increasing the use of public transportation will significantly oxide, eight percent of the volatile organic compounds, and
reduce the City’s greenhouse gas emissions. According to the 50 percent the carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, per passen-
Federal Transit Administration, if just one driver per household ger-mile.33 These benefits exist on a life-cycle scale—manu-
switched to taking public transportation for a daily commute, facturing, maintenance, infrastructure construction, and fuel
it would reduce each household’s annual carbon footprint by production—as well as on an operational timeline.34 Increased
over eight percent.29 Subways produce less than a quarter of mass transit ridership is also associated with lower urban
the greenhouse gas emissions per passenger mile than an noise and water pollution, improving quality of life for everyone
average single-occupancy vehicle.30 The fuel efficiency of a in the city.35
23 Litman (July 24, 2018) at page 42.
24 Id. at page 44.
25 Jim P. Stimpson, et al., Share of Mass Transit Miles Traveled and Reduced Motor Vehicle Fatalities in Major Cities of the United States, Journal of Urban Health: Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, Vol.
91, No. 6 (2014), page 1139, available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4242857/pdf/11524_2014_Article_9880.pdf.
26 Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2015 (April 2017), available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/nycghg.pdf.
27 N.Y.C. Sustainability, Transportation, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/sustainability/codes/transportation.page (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019); United States Environmental Protection Agency, Fast Facts on
Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions, available at https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/fast-facts-transportation-greenhouse-gas-emissions (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
28 N.Y.C. Sustainability, Transportation; United States Environmental Protection Agency, Fast Facts on Transportation Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
29 Aaron Gordon, New York’s Transit Woes and the Looming Climate Crisis are Inextricably Linked, Curbed NY, Oct. 8, 2019, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2018/10/8/17952564/un-climate-change-report-new-
york-transportation.
30 U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration, Public Transportation’s Role in Responding to Climate Change (Jan. 2010) available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/docs/
PublicTransportationsRoleInRespondingToClimateChange2010.pdf.
31 Id.
32 Id.
33 Robert J. Shapiro, et al., Conserving Energy and Preserving the Environment: The Role of Public Transportation, American Public Transportation Association (July 2002), page 9, available at https://www.apta.com/
resources/reportsandpublications/Documents/shapiro.pdf.
34 Mikhail V. Chester, Life-cycle Environmental Inventory of Passenger Transportation in the United States, Institute of Transportation Studies (2008), pages 256-59, available at https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7n-
29n303#page-36.
35 Litman (July 24, 2018) at page 54.
move the population around, but were
HOW WE woefully insufficient to handle massive

growth. The late 1860s saw the es- 1904
tablishment of the City Department of FIRST SUBWAY
GOT HERE Health to help combat the spread of

disease and passage of building reg-
ulations, but as the population density
LINE OPENS
did not wane, problems continued.43

Reformers did propose rapid transit as
1913
a solution, but while advances were CITY SIGNS THE
DUAL CONTRACTS
bogged by technological and financial
Before discussing the problems we face today and potential problems, the real hurdle was politics.44
solutions, it is important to understand where we’ve been. The
history of transportation policy in New York City is a history of
the City itself—great highs, incredible challenges, reformers
Both State and City approval was
needed to build new rapid transit 1925
lines.45 Yet, innovation was feared by 95% OF CITY LIVES
fighting those with misplaced priorities, and plenty of struggles politicians invested in surface level WITHIN 1/2 MILE
with the State for control of our own destiny. transit companies, so much so that the
OF THE SUBWAY
first underground project was done in

THE SUBWAY
Early Mass Transit Policy

secret, with Alfred Beach using a permit
to design a pneumatic mail tube to build
the City’s first underground transit line,
1932
CITY-OWNED IND
with City and State leaders completely SUBWAY OPENS
In 1800s, New York’s economy boomed and the population
unaware of its true scope.46 The tube
soared, but development was generally limited to small areas
ran under Broadway between Murray
Manhattan, the South Bronx, and parts of Brooklyn.36 These
areas had elevated trains or surface transit, allowing residents
to commute to jobs in Manhattan.37 Many simply lived within
and Warren, literally right beneath the
same politicians Beach feared would
1940
shut him down.47 Pneumatics proved CITY BUYS
walking in order to avoid commuting. This left more than 75 PRIVATELY-
too difficult to scale, but elected officials
percent of the City’s land space underutilized while the rest RUN SUBWAYS,
putting self-interest above the needs of UNIFYING SYSTEM
was dangerously overpopulated.38
the City also helped to kill any chance
Early advances in transit—such as omnibuses and horse of expansion.
cars—allowed more affluent New Yorkers to move further
north in Manhattan, leaving new immigrants and the working The next few decades saw many failed
proposals for a subway system, so the
1953
class in ever deteriorating conditions in lower Manhattan39 Om- STATE CREATES
City turned away from underground
nibuses were large horse drawn carriages that charged a set THE NEW YORK
transit to elevated lines and streetcars.48 CITY TRANSIT
fee and operated along set routes.40 As the omnibuses simply
Again, these improvements did help AUTHORITY
ran directly on City streets, which were generally not paved
somewhat to alleviate overcrowding;
and did not have traffic lanes, they were later displaced by
but they simply did not open up enough
horse cars, which ran on steel rails, allowing for a better, faster
right of way and the ability to carry more passengers.41 land for development.49 Further, the
elevated lines created a great deal of
1968
As the population boomed, it was becoming clear that hous- STATE CREATES
blight where they ran, splattering oil on
ing significant percentages of new immigrants into tenement THE METROPOLITAN
passersby and causing deafening noise TRANSPORTATION
buildings in downtown Manhattan was not just unwise, but it for up to 19 hours a day.50 AUTHORITY
was threatening the future of the City.42 Moderate advances
in transportation did help to improve the ability of the City to
36 Peter Derrick, Tunneling to the Future – The Story of the Great Subway Expansion that Saved New York (2001), page 2.
37 Id.
38 Id.
39 Id. at pages 16-17.
40 Clifton Hood, 722 Miles – The Building of the Subways and How They Transformed New York (Centennial Edition 2004), page 38.
42 Derrick (2001) at pages 17-20.
44 Id. at page 24.
45 Id. at page 24.
46 Hood (2004) at pages 42-46.
49 Id. at page 32.
50 Hood (2004) at pages 54-55.
How We Got Here 18

After the business community began supporting subway pro- residents took day trips there to spend time “in the country.”61
posals in the 1890s, the necessary interests briefly aligned to Residents could visit farms in Woodside and Corona62 and go
allow for construction of a subway line.51 In 1900, after receiv- bird hunting right off Thomson Avenue.63 Jackson Heights still
ing State authorization to allow municipal funding to go toward mainly had dirt roads.64 Queens held enormous potential as a
development of the system, the City offered to finance con- new residential base for New York, but getting to Manhattan
struction of a system that would be built, managed, and oper- from areas like Jackson Heights took an hour to an hour and a
ated by privately owned companies.52 This proposal garnered half.65 Once the subway was built, a trip to Grand Central took
attention from the private sector and the first line, operated 22 minutes.66
by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), opened in The original subway system was a great advancement, but
October 1904, less than five years after breaking ground.53 was overcrowded from the first day of operations and it only
The scope of the original subway lines, running through got worse as the years went by.67 As bad as the subway be-
Manhattan into a handful of stops in Brooklyn and the Bronx, came, it was nothing compared to the living conditions of the
was narrow as the State limited the City’s borrowing capacity City’s working class. In the early 1900s, over two-thirds of New
and few companies were interested in taking on the financial York City’s population lived in tenements.68 The Lower East
risks of running a new enterprise.54 While the subways proved Side was the most densely populated neighborhood in the
incredibly popular, once again, politics stalled expansion. Cor- world.69 Three room, not three bedroom, apartments would
ruption, competing interests, and conflicting views on how the often house up to 10 people.70
government and the private sector should interact in the realm The City was evolving. Skyscrapers were rising as the econo-
of transit, including the belief amongst some that competition my became less dependent on manual labor. One third of the
was the best way to get a fulsome transit system, prevented City’s jobs were white collar.71 But manufacturing jobs were still
any real progress for years. the most common, particularly for new immigrants.72 To ac-
cess these manufacturing jobs, workers needed to live nearby,
The Need for Great Expansion which generally meant living in a tenement. Tenement living
By 1910, New York was the most crowded city in the world.55 was bleak. Sunshine and fresh air were nonexistent inside.73
More people lived in Manhattan than in 33 of the 46 states.56 Twenty people could share a single toilet.74 Baths were a
The borough had an average density of 161 people per acre luxury.75 Crime was rampant and families struggled to maintain
while Queens had just 3.8, barely ahead of Staten Island at close bonds due to the lack of privacy.76 Outside, it was almost
2.2.57 As Manhattan was bursting at the seams, thousands of as bad. Trees and public parks were for the affluent and were
acres sat undeveloped in the outer boroughs.58 rarely sited near tenements.77 Kids played on crowded, dan-
gerous streets, not in playgrounds.78
At the turn of the century, Queens was mostly rural.59 There
were a few manufacturing areas and markets, but the vast The impact on health was tremendous. Contagious disease
majority of the borough was undeveloped.60 Queens was so and illness from poor sanitation was rampant.79 Rates of
far removed from the hustle and bustle of Manhattan that tuberculosis in Manhattan were rising rapidly at the turn of the

52 Id.
54 Id. at pages 37, 45.
55 Id. at page 90.
56 Hood (2004) at page 135.
57 Id.
58 Id. at page 136.
59 Id. at page 168.
60 Id. at page 169.
61 Id.
62 Id.
63 Id.
64 Id. at page 173.
65 Id. at pages 174-75.
66 Id. at page 175.
67 Derrick (2001) at page 91.
68 Id. at page 3.
69 Id.
70 Id.
71 Id. at page 94.
72 Id.
74 Id.
75 Id. at pages 98-100.
76 Id. at pages 105-06.
77 Id. at page 98.
78 Id.
79 Id. at pages 100-01.
How We Got Here 19

century. The disease was
highly communicable, and
so tenements became a
breeding ground.80 Those
afflicted suffered for years
and could rarely afford
to leave home, so fellow
residents were continually
put at risk.81 These condi-
tions hit children particularly
hard. Jacob Riis found that
in some buildings, the infant
death rate was one in ten.82
As more New Yorkers be-
came aware of the situation
in tenements, overcrowding
began to be seen as “a
menace to our civilization.”83
To improve conditions for
those in tenements, the City
tried public health measures,
improved public education,
and reformed housing.84 But
it eventually become clear
they were “stemming the tide
with a broom.”85
Reformers began calling
for rapid transit lines to be
simultaneously constructed
further into the Bronx and
Brooklyn and to Queens in
order to open up more of
the City for housing.86 Similar The path to simultaneous, significant expansion was rocky.91
proposals had been around since the 1860s, but by the early Those supporting a plan felt deeply that better transit was the
1900s the City realized that improving living conditions through key to a better city and thus civic leaders underwent years
expansion was the responsibility of government and could not of planning and painstaking negotiations, defended against
be left to private corporations.87 This viewpoint borrowed from full-fledged public relations campaigns by the private opera-
thinkers like Charles Cooley, whose “theory of transportation” tors of the existing system, waged battles with political rivals,
stated that transit underlies social development and is at the and survived legal challenges before new lines, known as the
same time determined by development.88 He believed trans- Dual Systems (also referred to as the Dual Contracts) could be
portation had to be conducted according to a comprehensive built.92 The City and the State-created Public Service Com-
plan and by unified methods. Planning had to be done by a mission approved the Dual System plan in 1913.93 Under the
public body for the good of society as a whole.89 Cooley also plan, the City financed construction of the lines and turned
believed that mass transit had to be affordable for the working over operations to two private companies—the IRT and the
class.90 Brooklyn Rapid Transit Company (BRT), who controlled much
80 Id. at pages 103.

81 Id. at pages 103-04.
82 Jacob Riis, How the Other Half Lives (Project Gutenberg Edition 2014), pages 61-64.
83 Derrick (2001) at page 102.
84 Id. at page 91.
85 Id. at page 112.
86 Id. at page 92.
87 Id. at page 91.
88 Id. at page 107.
89 Id. at page 108.
90 Id. at page 109.
91 Id. at pages 118, 122-23.
92 Id. at pages 186-21.
93 Id. at pages 220-21.
How We Got Here 20

of Brooklyn’s elevated lines.94 grand plans for a municipal system and did not truly accept
With this expansion, the City more than doubled existing the Transit Commission’s authority.107 Intent on pursing his
track mileage from 296 to 621.95 The New York City subway own agenda, Mayor Hylan did everything in his power to block
system became bigger than all other rapid transit systems in planned expansion projects by private operators.108
the world combined.96 Not only was mileage doubled, service During Hylan’s second term, he again put forth plans for a new
capacity tripled.97 New York City, barely a collection of loosely municipal subway.109 The stage for a City-owned and operated
related lands just decades before, was now fully unified by the subway was set when New York State Senator James Walker
subway.98 sponsored legislation to abolish the Transit Commission and
The new lines opened up what came to be known as the put forth another bill to permit the City to borrow addition-
“subway suburbs,” bringing rapid transit service to Queens al funds for subway construction. Despite the fact that the
for the first time and thus allowing for direct, fast commutes to legislation was controversial, a compromise was reached to
Manhattan from Long Island City, Astoria, Corona, Flushing, adjust the mission of the State Transit Commission, leading
and Jamaica.99 This allowed working class families to have to the creation of the Independent Subway System (IND).110
housing with light and ventilation and separate bathrooms, Under this compromise, the State required that the existing
bedrooms, and kitchens.100 systems be overseen by the Transit Commission and that
the new City-owned and operated lines would be under the
The new system, which was almost entirely finished by 1920, supervision of the New York City Board of Transportation.111 In
was a wild success in terms of improving the lives of millions addition, Mayor Hylan could not absorb any existing lines for
of New Yorkers. By 1925, 91 percent of City residents lived his new system—it would have to co-exist with the BMT and
within half a mile of a subway line.101 However, neither the City IRT lines.112 Finally, the State required that the City system be
nor the private operators of the lines saw the anticipated fiscal self-sustaining, meaning that eventually the IND would have to
boom. The financial assumptions underlying the contracts charge a six, seven, even a ten-cent fare to break even.113
were upended as World War I caused sharp increases in cost
of labor and construction materials.102 Politicians who blocked The political struggle between the State and City over the
any attempts to raise the five-cent fare further complicated the subways continued into 1925, when Governor Alfred E. Smith,
situation.103 who also sought greater control of the subway system through
the Transit Commision, launched an investigation of the IRT and
BMT due to the poor quality of the systems.114 The investigation
Completion of the Dual Systems and the Rise
found that Hylan and the Board of Estimate had repeatedly
of the IND
refused to adopt proposals for new routes.115 During Hylan’s
By 1920, even after tremendous expansion, the subway was term, he was frustrated with the Transit Commission and was
facing overcrowding and delays, yet strategies about how to critical of both the BMT and IRT, frequently chastising them for
oversee the IRT and the Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit (BMT) bad service, unbuilt lines, and overcrowding, that he himself was
Corporation, formerly the BRT, differed.104 At the time, newly responsible for thwarting.116 The public grew tired of the politics
elected Governor Nathan Miller wanted the State to oversee and ultimately, State Senator Walker defeated Hylan later that
transit policies.105 In 1921, the State created the Transit Com- year in his re-election bid.117 But the IND lived on.
mission to develop a plan to resolve the operational issues of
The IND drew criticism from the start given the financial
the systems.106 However, at the time, Mayor John Hylan had
94 Subway FAQ: A Brief History of the Subway, available at https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Subway_FAQ:_A_Brief_History_of_the_Subway (last accessed Mar. 1, 2019).
95 Derrick (2001) at pages 221, 233.
96 Id. at page 221.
97 Id. at page 222.
98 Id.
99 Id. at page 176.
100 Id. at pages 231-32.
101 Hood (2004) at page 179.
103 Id. at pages 235-37.
104 Joseph B. Raskin, The Routes Not Taken: A Trip Through New York City’s Unbuilt Subway System, Fordham University Press (2013). ProQuest Ebook Central.
105 Id.
106 Id.
107 Roger P. Roess and Gene Sansone, The Wheels that Drove New York: A History of the New York City Transit System (2013).
108 Raskin (2013) at page 71.
109 Vivian Heller, The City Beneath Us: Building the New York City Subways, New York Transit Museum (2004), page 43.
110 Raskin (2013).
111 Id.
112 Roess and Sansone (2013) at page 211.
113 Raskin (2013).
114 Id.
115 Id.
116 Id.
117 Id.
How We Got Here 21

problems facing the City during the Great Depression.118 opposed by the public and retaining the nickel fare had been a
After receiving assistance from the federal government, the key selling point for the public in supporting unification.131
Board of Transportation was able to forge ahead and the IND State politics also disrupted the unification even before it was
expanded into Queens, the Bronx, and Brooklyn in the early to finalized. In anticipation of potential consolidation, Senator
mid-1930s.119 While the IND’s expansion plans included many Arthur Wicks of Kingston proposed a law that would eliminate
significant improvements, the Board of Transportation strug- any existing seniority for IRT and BMT workers and prohibit the
gled financially, and by the late 1930s began to scale back hiring of workers who weren’t U.S. citizens.132 While a weaker
on projects.120 The City’s other financial obligations, including version was later passed, it still caused great consternation for
rising costs of social services, raised questions of the merits the Transportation Workers Union (TWU) and further compli-
of more spending on the IND.121 By the end of 1940, the IND cated labor negotiations.133
system was complete, but the era of mass transit expansion
was essentially over.122 Initially, the consolidation appeared to be a financial success.
During World War II, ridership rose due to increased employ-
Unification of the System ment and restrictions on private automobile use due to fuel ra-
tioning.134 The war created a brief spike in operating revenues
By 1940, the financial model of the private and City subway that distorted the financial situation.135 During the Board’s first
lines had collapsed. The IRT and BMT were struggling due in full year operating the system, it generated a surplus of $27.4
part to the low fare and increased competition from the IND. million, which was used to pay off interest on the bonds used
The City’s own deficit climbed as it was forced to use its tax for the BMT and IRT. However, by 1946, post-war inflation and
dollars to make bond interest payments that should have been changing demographics would force the City to increase the
covered by fares on the IRT and BMT lines.123 Consolidation fare and grapple with long term funding.136
seemed to be the logical answer, so the City purchased the
failing IRT and BMT for $326 million, which was financed by Post-World War II: Rise of the Automobile and the
municipal bonds at three percent interest rate, and consol- New York City Transit Authority
idated their operations with the IND into the newly formed
New York City Transit System.124 The Board of Transportation, In the post-war era, the automobile began to supplant mass
under the control of then-Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia, oversaw transit as the preferred mode of transportation, due in no
the Transit System, along with the City’s buses and streetcar small part to a shift in federal, state, and local policies.137 For
services125 The Board thus became the largest publicly owned example, in 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal
mass transit system in North America.126 Highway Act, which dedicated $25 billion to build more than
40,000 miles of limited access highways across the nation.138
By inheriting the subways along with the BMT’s large surface No comparable investment was made in mass transit. The
transportation system—which included routes that ran through interstate program funded 90 percent of urban expressway
all of Brooklyn, extended into Queens and touched on Man- costs and public transit was largely left out of the picture.139
hattan—the City took on immense operational and financial The post-war era also saw the rise of Robert Moses, who
challenges.127 There weren’t any free transfers between the di- strongly favored personal vehicles and believed that pub-
visions.128 Many routes, particularly on the elevated lines, were lic transit was for the poor.140 By the 1950s, subways were
redundant.129 Streetcar service was expensive and disliked considered outdated and highways seen as the glamorous,
by Mayor LaGuardia, who required a complete conversion of modern way to get around.141
streetcar operations by 1960.130 Fare increases were strongly
118 Andrew J. Sparberg, From a Nickel to a Token: The Journey from Board of Transportation to MTA (2015 Print).
119 Raskin (2013).
120 Roess and Sansone (2013).
121 Sparberg (2015 Print).
122 Id. at page 218.
123 Id.
124 Id. at page 1.
126 Id. at page 2.
127 Id. at page 6.
129 Id.
130 Id.
131 Id.
132 Id.
133 Id.
134 Id.
135 Id.
136 Id. at pages 11-12.
137 Michael N. Danielson and Jameson W. Doig, New York: Politics of Urban Regional Development (1982), pages 205-06.
138 Jay Young, Infrastructure: Mass Transit in 19th and 20th Century Urban America (March 2015).
139 Id.
140 Id.
141 Emily Nonko, Robert Moses and the decline of the NYC Subway System, Curbed New York, Jul. 27, 2017, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2017/7/27/15985648/nyc-subway-robert-moses-power-broker.
How We Got Here 22

Against this backdrop, the Board of Transportation continued instead supporting a new, State-created entity that would man-
to face issues of funding overall system maintenance. By 1948, date that the fare be set to cover all operating costs.146
a fare increase to ten cents was necessary yet highly unpop- On June 15, 1953, the State Legislature abolished the Board
ular, but it did not resolve the system’s financial trouble. Fares of Transportation and created the New York City Transit
were raised again in 1950, from seven to ten cents for buses Authority (NYCT) as a public benefit corporation to manage
and 12 to 15 cents for the subway.142 and operate all City-owned bus, trolley, and subway routes.147
None of the measures instituted by the Board of Transportation NYCT created a structure of diffuse accountability—with two
served as long-term funding solutions.143 Labor, material, and members appointed by the Governor, two by the Mayor,
energy costs for the transit system continued to rise and the and one selected by the other four members.148 Later, these
capital needs of the aging system remained underfunded. The members were replaced by three full-time, salaried members,
system was overcrowded and plagued with poor service, which though the ratio of mayoral and gubernatorial appointees
caused ridership to decline.144 City leaders opposed raising remained.149
fares again. Instead, many hoped to use revenues from the By lease agreement,150 the City transferred all the transit facil-
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) or to increase ities owned by the City at the time to the NYCT.151 The lease
taxes.145 Governor Thomas Dewey opposed both measures, agreement authorized the NYCT “to take jurisdiction, control,
142 Sparberg (2015 Print) at page 63.
143 Id. at page 80.
144 Id.
145 Danielson and Doig (1982).
147 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, supra note 15; see Title 9 of Article 5 of the N.Y. Public Authorities Law.
149 Id.
150 The lease agreement has since been amended and renewed on April 19, 1960; March 6, 1962; March 20, 1962; October 5, 1962; April 7, 1965; March 31, 1982; and April 11, 1995.
151 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1203.
How We Got Here 23

possession and supervision of such transit facilities, materials, Ronan, who would become the first chief of the MTA, first took
supplies and property.”152 The master lease states that the ownership of the bankrupt commuter railroads serving West-
amount of capital costs incurred by NYCT that the City has to chester and Long Island.163 Ronan then devised a plan to take
provide cannot exceed $5 million per year unless otherwise over NYCTA and use TBTA revenues to repair and expand the
authorized by the Mayor. Furthermore, State law specifically system. They succeeded and pursuant to State law, on March
authorizes NYCT to incur capital costs in its own name which 1, 1968, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) was
“shall not be payable by the city.”153 Under the law, every born.164 Rockefeller successfully commandeered some of the
individual capital project of more than $1 million be presented City’s most valuable assets and in return, granted the City just
to the Mayor and the Board of Estimate (whose duties and three out of nine seats on MTA’s Board.165
powers have now largely been absorbed by the Council) for
their determination as to the project’s compatibility with “sound Fiscal Crisis
planning for the development or redevelopment of the city.”
The State’s capture of the subways and TBTA did deliver
After signing the lease, NYCT quickly raised fares to 15 cents some new funding, along with a commitment to reserve “thirty
and introduced the token as the form of payment.154 In 1966, years of do-nothingism.”166 Ronan announced a “Program
fares were raised again, to 20 cents.155 Under the Authority, the for Action,” also known as the “Grand Design,” that called
system remained fairly stable; however, the State’s intervention for dramatic expansion of the subway system, including the
did not address growing deficits from a lack of investment, long-promised Second Avenue line.167 However, once again,
leaving the system in a precarious position. the State’s solution did not address the long-term financial
The issues facing the NYCT came to a head during the very first health of the subway. The system’s deficit rose from $70 mil-
moments of Mayor John Lindsay’s first term. On January 1, 1966, lion in 1969 to $120 million the next year.168 Ronan’s plans for
after negotiations regarding a new contract stalled, TWU went on expansion largely faltered as financial reality began to set in.169
strike, stopping all subway and bus service in the City.156 Lindsay In the early 1970s, New York was entering a period of falling
was intent on challenging what he believed to be undue influence tax receipts, and declining manufacturing and flight of the
of municipal unions, but eventually settled with TWU for nearly middle class to the suburbs disrupted the economy. The State
the same amount the union initially demanded.157 In addition to had to borrow to fill budget gaps.170 The assumption at the
unions, Lindsay was keen to take on Robert Moses and orient time was that this would be temporary, but by 1975, the U.S.
the City away from cars and back to mass transit.158 He cam- economy was in a recession and banks grew concerned by
paigned on taking money from the TBTA to fund the subway.159 the amount of debt the State had accrued.171
Soon after taking office, he proposed merging the NYCTA and
At the City level, Lindsay continued to advocate for mass
the TBTA into a new entity, the City Transportation Administra-
transit to no avail. He proposed a regional transit district in the
tion.160 Moses bashed the plan as an illegal raid that would hurt
tristate area that would utilize federal money and funds from
drivers and bondholders.161 He organized supporters, including
a new payroll tax.172 Ronan’s successor at the MTA echoed
former Mayor Robert Wagner, former Governor Dewey, and union
Lindsay’s call three years later, but neither gained traction.173
leaders, leaving Lindsay with few allies.162
By the mid-1970s, the City was in dire straits and had little
Despite Moses’ ability to rally support, his power paled in
ability to support transit. Mayor Abe Beame was warned that
comparison to Governor Nelson Rockefeller, who also had
“managers” would have to take over the budget if the City
designs on TBTA’s funds and wanted to establish a regional
was unable to cut spending, and the City was no longer able
transportation entity. Governor Rockefeller, along with William
152 Id.
153 Id.
155 Id.
156 Vincent Cannato, The Ungovernable City (2002 Print), Chapter 3.
157 Id.
158 Id.
159 Id.
160 Id.
161 Id.
162 Id.
163 Nicole Gelinas, Savior of the Subways, City Journal, Oct. 23, 2014, available at https://www.city-journal.org/html/savior-subways-11450.html.
164 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, supra note 15; see Title 11 of Article 5 of N.Y. Public Authorities Law.
165 N.Y. Laws 1967, c. 717.
166 Sydney H. Schanberg, Ronan Lays Transit Crisis to a 30-Year Lag in City, N.Y. Times, Aug. 25, 1968, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1968/08/25/archives/ronan-lays-transit-crisis-to-a-30year-lag-in-city-
ronan-lays.html.
167 Danielson and Doig (1982) at pages 235-36.
169 Id. at pages 237-38.
170 Kim Philips-Fein, The Legacy of the 1970s Fiscal Crisis, The Nation, Apr. 16, 2013, available at https://www.thenation.com/article/legacy-1970s-fiscal-crisis/ (last accessed February 12, 2019).
171 Id.
172 Danielson and Doig (1982) at pages page 240.
173 Id.
How We Got Here 24

to bond.174 Unable to borrow, the City struggled to pay em- Republicans and Democrats alike have slashed MTA budgets
ployees, which caused unions to organize strikes. Sanitation or co-opted money earmarked for critical maintenance and
workers were laid off and garbage collection lagged.175 investments for their own pet projects and political priorities.186
As the decade wore on, years of underfunding and deferred Governor George Pataki eliminated State subsidies for the
maintenance began to take its toll on the system.176 Weaker system, ended state funding for capital work, and required the
finances meant less capital investment and, in the City, much MTA to rely entirely on fares, tolls and revenue from taxes and
of that investment was spent on expansion projects that were fees earmarked for transit.187 As a result, the subway’s farebox
never completed, rather than maintenance.177 The result was recovery rate is higher than most other transit systems in North
that the subway was depreciating at more than four times America.188 Making matters even worse, in 1995, Governor
the rate of capital replenishment.178 By some calculations, the Pataki also began to cut taxes and redirect revenues, pulling
subway alone had an estimated value of $40 billion in 1980, more than $200 million in funds earmarked for transporta-
yet it was receiving less than $140 million annually for capital tion.189 In 2000, Pataki also authorized the refinancing of $12
maintenance (in current dollars).179 billion in debt, which earned bankers and bond underwriters
Consequently, in May 1981, MTA Chairman Richard Ravitch an estimated $85 million, but significantly increased the MTA’s
appealed to Governor Hugh Carey, members of the State reliance on debt-funding.190 Governors Spitzer, Paterson, and
Legislature, and Mayor Ed Koch, pleading “that prompt action Cuomo all followed suit, reportedly diverting a combined total
be taken to meet the increasingly desperate situation of public of at least $850 million in funds over the last twenty years.191
transit in New York: first, by immediately enacting the MTA’s Historically, the City funded about ten percent of the MTA’s
capital legislation; and second, by adopting a subsidy program total budget, but began to lower that percentage in the 1990s
to alleviate the impact on the fare of MTA’s spiraling deficit.”180 under Mayor Giuliani.192 Giuliani cut the City’s contribution
In June 1981, the State Legislature responded and passed to the MTA’s operating and capital budget by $400 million in
the Transportation System Assistance and Financing Act of 1994.193 Aside from an investment in Hudson Yards, Mayor
1981, which gave the MTA authority to issue bonds for needed Bloomberg kept that funding level totally stagnant.194
funding.181 The following September, the first modern five-year Mayor de Blasio has, for the most part, followed suit commit-
capital program (1982-1986) totaling $7.2 billion was approved, ting only to modest budget increases during his tenure. The
thus initiating the decades long rebuilding of the City’s pub- City committed $2.5 billion to the current 2015-2019 capital
lic transportation system.182 Soon after, capital programs for plan for long-term infrastructure projects and an additional
1987-1991, 1992-1999, 2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010- $418 million in 2018 toward the Subway Action Plan.195
2014 followed.183 Today, the MTA is implementing its seventh
iteration of the capital program, the 2015-2019 Capital Plan.184 Recent History: Another Slow Decline
Subway and bus ridership has been declining since 2016,
A Lack of Focus and Investment despite the fact the City’s population and economy are
Investments made during the Ravitch era caused notable growing. As subway performance declines, riders are leaving
improvements, but the City’s subway system remains one of the system. Between 2015 and 2018, ridership dropped five
the worst performing rapid transit system in the world, in large percent.196
part due to recent disinvestment.185 Over the few decades,
174 Philips-Fein, Apr. 16, 2013.
175 Id.
176 Mark Seaman, et al., From Rescue to Renaissance: The Achievements of the MTA Capital Program 1982–2004, NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy & Management (Dec. 2004), available at
https://wagner.nyu.edu/files/news/rescue.pdf.
177 Id.
178 Id.
179 Id.
180 Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, The Road Back: A Historic Review of the MTA Capital Program (May 2012), available at http://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/The-Road-Back.
pdf.
181 Id.
182 Id.
183 Id.
184 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Capital Program 2015-2019 Amendment No. 2 (May 2017), available at http://web.mta.info/capital/pdf/WEB2015-2019Program_reduced.pdf.
185 The Road Back: A Historic Review of the MTA Capital Program (May 2012); Brian M. Rosenthal, et al., How Politics and Bad Decisions Starved New York’s Subways, N.Y. Times, Nov. 18, 2017, available at https://
www.nytimes.com/2017/11/18/nyregion/new-york-subway-system-failure-delays.html.
186 Rosenthal, et al., Nov. 18, 2017.
187 Id.
188 Id.
189 Id.
190 Ray Rivera, M.T.A. and its Debt, and How They Got That Way, N.Y. Times, Jul. 26, 2008, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/26/nyregion/26mta.html.
192 Transportation Alternatives Magazine, Rudy’s Transit Cuts (March/April 1995), page 4, available at https://www.transalt.org/sites/default/files/news/magazine/952MarAprafp/04transit.html.
193 James McKinley Jr., Officials Fear Budget Cuts Will Slow Transit Repairs, N.Y. Times, Nov. 9, 1994, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/09/nyregion/officials-fear-budget-cuts-will-slow-transit-repairs.
html.
195 Danielle Furfaro, MTA Wants Even More Money From de Blasio, N.Y. Post, Apr. 21, 2003, available at https://nypost.com/2018/04/05/mta-wants-even-more-money-from-de-blasio/.
196 Clayton Guse, NYC bus and Subway Ridership Falling Fast, Threatening the MTA’s Budget and UpgradePlan, N.Y. Daily News, Feb. 22, 2019, available at https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-sub-
How We Got Here 25

The situation is even more dire for buses. Bus ridership contin- F train passengers stranded between the West 4th Street
ues to drop. Between 2012 and 2018, bus ridership declined and Broadway-Lafayette Street stations.203 Passengers
by nearly 15 percent.197 In the first half of 2018, ridership fell by were forced to wait in the train without air-conditioning and
another 5.36 percent.198 The MTA estimates that bus ridership lights for over 45 minutes.204
will continue to decline through at least 2022.199 • A southbound A train derailed at 125th Street during
Since 2012, subway performance has been steadily worsen- morning rush hour, filling the cars with smoke and forcing
ing, reaching a low point in 2017 when delays more than dou- hundreds of passengers to evacuate.205
bled to more than 70,000 per month.200 In 2017, the subway • A track fire near St. Nicholas Avenue during morning rush
system experienced several highly publicized incidents that hour caused injuries to nine passengers and required
created service disruptions that rippled through the system, suspension of the B and C lines.206
including:
• A southbound Q train derailed during the morning rush
• A power outage at Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street station hour, causing delays on the B and Q lines through late
in Manhattan disrupted the signal system, causing delays afternoon.207
on the B, D, F, M, A, C, E, J, Q, G, and R trains during the
morning rush hour.201
SUBWAY ACTION PLAN
• Two power outages within three days impacting the Q, B,
N, and R lines in Brooklyn.202 On June 29, 2017, Governor Andrew Cuomo declared that
the subway system was in a “State of Emergency,”208 ordering
• A summer power outage during evening rush hour that left
the MTA to prepare a reorganization plan within 30 days and a
way-bus-ridership-decline-20190222-story.html.
197 Id.
198 Bus Turnaround Coalition, Fixing NYC’s Buses: 2018 Progress Report (2018), available at http://busturnaround.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BusTurnaround-2018-Progress-Report-FINAL.pdf.
199 MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget, November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 2 MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget, November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 2 (Nov. 2018) at V.305, available at http://web.
mta.info/news/pdf/MTA-2019-Final-Proposed-Budget-Nov-Financial-Plan-2019-2022-Vol2.pdf.
200 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Subway’s Slide in Performance Leaves Straphangers Fuming, N.Y. Times, February 12, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/12/nyregion/subway-complaints-straphang-
ers-fuming.html.
201 Eli Rosenberg, Why A Midtown Power Failure Snarled Your Morning Subway Commute, N.Y. Times, Apr. 21, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/nyregion/manhattan-power-outage-sub-
way-commute.html.
202 Nicole Brown and Vincent Barone, Power Outage at DeKalb Avenue Causes Service Changes, Delays, MTA says, amNY, May 9, 2017, available at http://www.amNY.com/transit/power-outage-at-dekalb-avenue-
causes-service-changes-delays-mta-says-1.13586278.
203 Sarah Maslin Nir, A Hot Mess for F-Train Subway Riders Trapped in Cars, N.Y. Times, Jun. 6, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/nyregion/f-train-subway-no-power-panic.html.
204 Id.
205 Noah Goldberg et al., Two Subway Supervisors Suspended in Aftermath of A train Derailment, N.Y. Daily News, Jun. 28, 2017, available at http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/subway-supervisors-suspend-
ed-train-derailment-article-1.3284904.
206 Aidan Gardiner, 9 People Injured After Track Fire Suspends B and C Trains, FDNY says, DNA Info, Jul. 17, 2017, available at https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170717/inwood/b-c-train-subway-track-fire-fdny-
mta.
207 Danielle Furfaro and Natalie Musumeci, Another Subway Derails During ‘Summer of Hell’, N.Y. Post, Jul. 21, 2017, available at http://nypost.com/2017/07/21/another-subway-derails-during-summer-of-hell/.
208 Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, Exec. Order No. 168, (Jun. 29, 2017), available at https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Executive_Order_Disaster_Emergency.pdf; Emma G.
Fitzsimmons, Cuomo Declares a State of Emergency for New York City Subways, N.Y. Times, Jun. 29, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/nyregion/cuomo-declares-a-state-of-emergency-for-the-
subway.html?_r=0.
How We Got Here 26

review of its capital plan within 60 days.209
Later that summer, the MTA announced a
plan to stabilize and improve the subway
system called the “Subway Action Plan”
(SAP).210 Phase I of the Plan has focused
on the key drivers of 79 percent of “major
incidents” that cause delays in the sys-
tem. An MTA review found that signals,
tracks, or power issues caused 54 percent
of these delays; four percent by stations
issues; seven percent by medical inci-
dents; five percent by fire; five percent by
car problems; and four percent by water is-
sues.211 Thus, the review found the majority
of the causes of “major incidents” could be
attributed to issues with the MTA’s infra-
structure maintenance.212 The MTA argued
that—for a price tag of $456 million in oper-
ating costs, which would cover hiring 2,700
additional employees, and $380 million in on-time performance was 72.6 percent, a nearly ten percent
capital costs—Phase I would stabilize the system.213 The MTA increase from 62.9 percent in December 2017. The number of
called on the City to fund half of the Plan. In March 2018, after weekday trains delayed also markedly improved, with 45,418
months of reluctance, the Mayor contributed $418 million to delays, down from 61,441 in December 2017.219
fund the SAP.214
While the MTA points to the SAP as the reason for the sub-
Phase I included more than 30 action items such as repairing way’s improved performance, others argue that the improve-
cars, tracks, and signals, improving power, and working to ments in the system can be attributed to NYCT President
improve customer communication, with the goal of delivering Andy Byford’s operational reforms.220 Recently, Aaron Gordon,
progress within a year.215 However, a year after the Plan was writing for Signal Problems, argued that one of the major
implemented, results were negligible and in some months reasons the subway’s performance actually worsened over
in 2018, delays were up. For example, the number of major the years was because the agency lost focus on operational
incidents in July 2018 was higher than in July 2017.216 The MTA basics, writing “it wasn’t a maintenance problem it was a man-
argued that improvements were slow to materialize due to agement problem.”221
delays in funding the Plan.217
Andy Byford officially began his tenure as President of NYCT
However, despite the limited successes early in the SAP, some in January 2018 and quickly rolled out a series of changes.
progress is materializing. In January 2019, the MTA announced Byford found that NYCT needed to fix the operational and cul-
that, as a result of SAP being fully funded, the subway system tural practices within the agency in order to improve service.222
saw a number of notable improvements, including sealing This initiative, called Save Safe Seconds, directs employees to
more than 4,000 leaks, cleaning drains along 418 miles of un- focus on measures that safely increase train speeds.223
derground track, repairing 20,000 track defects, and repairing
Byford conducted the first system-wide test of the subway’s
and rebuilding 1,700 signal components.218 December 2018
2,000 signal timers, which automatically stops a train if it is
was the fourth month in a row with sustained improvement
going above a posted speed limit, and found that 16 percent
with the best on-time performance in four years. That month,
were miscalibrated.224 In order to avoid having the emergency
209 Emma Whitford, Cuomo Declares MTA ‘State of Emergency,’ Complains about ‘Nasty’ Tweets, Gothamist, Jun. 29, 2017, available at http://gothamist.com/2017/06/29/cuomo_mta_emergency_funds.php.
210 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC Subway Action Plan, available at http://www.mtamovingforward.com/files/NYC_Subway_Action_Plan.pdf (last accessed February 20, 2019).
211 Id.; Major incidents measure incidents that disrupt 50 trains or more, and are separated in 6 categories reported monthly in MTA Board materials and on the MTA’s data dashboard.
212 Id.
213 Id.
214 Vincent Barone, Half of MTA Subway Action Plan Funding to be Paid by NYC, de Blasio Spokesman Says, amNY, March 31, 2018, available at https://www.amNY.com/transit/mta-subway-funding-1.17789464.
215 NYC Transit Press Release, MTA New York City Transit Announces Continued Progress on Subway Action Plan, (January 20, 2019), available at http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-new-york-city-
transit-announces-continued-progress-subway-action-plan.
216 Fitzsimmons, Emma, They Vowed to Fix the Subway a Year ago. On-time Rates are Still Terrible, N.Y. Times, July 23, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/23/nyregion/nyc-subway-delays-failure.ht-
ml?smtyp=cur&smid=tw-nytimes; MTA Data Dashboard: Major Incidents available at http://dashboard.mta.info/ (Weekday Data from A and B Divisions); and data compiled from MTA Transit Committee Board Books.
217 MTA New York City Transit Announces Continued Progress on Subway Action Plan (January 20, 2019).
218 Id.
219 Id.
220 Aaron Gordon, The Subway Action Plan is not Making the Subway Better. Here’s what is, Signal Problems, January 2019, available at https://signalproblems.substack.com/p/the-subway-action-plan-is-not-whats.
221 Id.
222 Id.
223 Id.
224 Gordon, January 2019.
How We Got Here 27

brake tripped by a signal timer, many train operators overcom- what exactly they would be paying for and how they would be
pensated by slowing trains down even further.225 As transit able to measure progress.228 The MTA generally makes limited
advocates have long cited speed limits and signal timers as a data available to the public and even that information can be
cause of slow service, Byford’s commitment to removing faulty compiled in misleading ways.229 Recently, the New York City
timers and increasing speed limits holds great promise for Comptroller released a report arguing that the MTA has a
improving performance.226 history of using data to mislead the public and claiming that
“numerous internal MTA analyses concluded that the MTA’s
databases and delay tracking protocols were routinely unable
ACCURACY OF PERFORMANCE STATISTICS
to accurately identify the causes of delays and…chronically mi-
While recent improvements in service seem encouraging, it sattributed delays to “overcrowding.”230 Despite knowing that
can be difficult to accurately assess the performance of the there was no way to categorize certain delays, the MTA public-
system.227 For example, during the discussion surrounding ly promoted data that placed the blame for poor performance
funding of the SAP and the State demanding that the City on overcrowding.231 In addition, according to the report, rather
pay half, the City argued that they had little information about than indicate that they did not know the cause of particular
225 Id.
226 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Why Your Subway Train Might Start Moving Faster, N.Y. Times, Dec. 10, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/10/nyregion/new-york-subway-delay.html; Benjamin Kabak,
With signal timers in sight, Byford Set to Speed up Trains, Hopefully, 2nd Ave. Sagas, Dec. 11, 2018, available at http://secondavenuesagas.com/2018/12/11/with-signal-timers-in-sight-byford-set-to-speed-up-trains-
hopefully/.
227 Transit Center, Memo to MTA Board: You’re Measuring Performance Wrong. Here’s What to Do Instead (Nov. 1, 2016), available at http://transitcenter.org/2016/11/01/memo-to-mta-board-youre-measuring-per-
formance-wrong/.
228 Vincent Barone, Half of MTA Subway Action Plan funding to be paid by NYC, de Blasio Spokesman Says, amNY, March 31, 2018, available at https://www.amNY.com/transit/mta-subway-funding-1.17789464.
229 N.Y.C. Comptroller William C. Thompson, Off Track: A Review of NYC Transit’s Service Indicators and Recommendations for Improvement, Sept. 2009, available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/wp-content/up-
loads/documents/sept09-OffTrack.pdf.
230 NYC Comptroller, Scott Stringer, The Crisis Below: An Investigation of the Reliability and Transparency of the MTA’s Subway Performance Reporting (February 2019), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/
reports/the-crisis-below-an-investigation-of-the-reliability-and-transparency-of-the-mtas-subway-performance-reporting/.
231 Id.
How We Got Here 28

delays, the MTA would distribute delays with unknown causes MTA opted for a full closure of the L train between the Eighth
among the other fifteen delay categories.232 Avenue stop in Manhattan and the Bedford Avenue stop in
Under Byford, NYCT has committed to focusing on determin- Brooklyn beginning in April 2019.238 The MTA and the New
ing the root cause of delays and has removed “overcrowding” York City Department of Transportation (DOT) embarked on a
as a delay classification, however it was replaced by a general years-long process to coordinate on mitigation efforts to sup-
category called “operating environment.”233 For example, in port impacted riders, including increased bus service.239
December 2018, over 30 percent of delays were categorized However, in January 2019, four months before the planned
as due to “operating environment,” the largest single category shutdown, Governor Cuomo, announced that a full shutdown
of causes.234 could be averted and that the MTA could perform the repairs
While subway performance may be improving and the MTA while keeping the L train running during weekdays and only
might be learning from better data, the data still lacks trans- close one of the two tubes on nights and weekends.240 The
parency, which limits policy makers’ ability to hold the agency Governor stated that by using technology from Europe, repairs
accountable and understand how and where funds should be could be made without closing the tunnel and that the entire
appropriated. project could be completed in 12 to 15 months.241
The original shutdown would have fully rehabilitated the Ca-
narsie Tunnel, including demolition and reconstruction of duct
A CRISIS OF CONFIDENCE – THE L TRAIN SHUTDOWN
banks, track, track bed, cable ducts and associated cables,
The declines in subway service and ridership are not the only concrete lining, and installation of tunnel lighting and fire sys-
causes for alarm. In 2019, after years of planning and coor- tems.242 Plans also included the implementation of resiliency
dination with the City, the MTA reversed its decision to com- measures such as the construction of resilient cables and
pletely shut down the L train just months before the closure ducts and the installation of a new discharge line to protect
was scheduled to begin. Setting aside the fact that the City the tunnel from future storms.243 The MTA also planned to
spent millions of dollars preparing for the shutdown, the rapid implement additional station upgrades along the L train line to
about-face called into question the power structure of the MTA improve accessibility and circulation. These upgrades included
and the real role it plays in major decisions. new stairways and four ADA-compliant elevators at the First
In 2012, saltwater from Hurricane Sandy flooded the L train’s Avenue and Bedford Avenue stations; station capacity en-
Canarsie Tunnel causing extensive damage such as corrosion hancements at the Union Square station; and platform repairs,
of cables, power infrastructure, and track equipment, resulting ADA boarding areas, and repairs to track wall, columns and
in much needed repairs.235 In order to complete these repairs, floors at the Third and Sixth Avenue stations.244 In addition, the
the MTA considered two options: (1) a partial closure of one of plan included a new Avenue B substation and other infrastruc-
the L train’s tubes for a three year period, which would result in ture to allow more trains to run on the L train line.245
an eighty percent decrease in train service, (2) or a full closure As of late February 2019, few details regarding the new plan
of the entire tunnel for 18 months, which was later adjusted to have been released. During a January 15, 2019 Board meet-
15 months.236 Either option would impact the 225,000 riders ing, many Members raised questions regarding the safety,
who take the L train through the Canarsie Tunnel on an aver- longevity, and timeframe for the new approach, in addition to
age weekday.237 raising concerns as to why the Board was not consulted re-
After a lengthy public outreach campaign to gather feedback garding the decision.246 While the Board’s approval is required
from elected officials, community groups, and riders, the for “major service changes,” it appears that the change in
232 Id.
233 Dan Rivoli, NYC Transit will Stop Blaming Train Delays on “Overcrowding,” N.Y. Daily News, Jun. 17, 2018, available at https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny-metro-mta-subway-delays-andy-byford-
20180616-story.html.
234 Jose Martinez, Twitter, Jan. 18, 2019, available at https://twitter.com/JMartinezNYC/status/1086385594589167616.
235 Christopher Robbins, L Train Service Between Brooklyn & Manhattan May Be Shut Down For Years, Gothamist, Jan. 13, 2016, available at http://gothamist.com/2016/01/13/l_train_tunnel_closure_years.php; MTA
New York City Transit, Canarsie Tunnel Repairs: Planning Ahead for the Crisis, page 1, available at http://web.mta.info/sandy/pdf/Canarsie_Tunnel_Plans.pdf (last visited Feb. 20, 2019).
236 Devin Gannon, L Train Shutdown Will Be 15 Months Instead of 18 Months, 6sqft, Mar. 20, 2017, available at https://www.6sqft.com/l-train-shutdown-shortened-by-3-months/; Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Shutdown
or Less Service? M.T.A. Weighs 2 Options for L Train Project, N.Y. Times, May 5, 2016, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/05/nyregion/shutdown-or-less-service-mta-weighs-2-options-for-l-train-project.
html?_r=0.
237 MTA and DOT Presentation, Fixing the L Line’s Canarsie Tunnel (June 8, 2017), available at http://web.mta.info/sandy/pdf/Canarsie-6-08-17_website.pdf.
238 Gannon, Mar. 20, 2017.
239 Gersh Kuntzman, READ ALL ABOUT IT: Full MTA/DOT L Train Update, StreetsblogNYC, Oct. 30, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/10/30/read-all-about-it-full-mtadot-l-train-update/.
240 Aarian Marshall, New York Has Averted A Subway Line Shutdown. Now What? Wired, Jan. 4, 2019, available at https://www.wired.com/story/new-york-subway-l-train-bikes-pedestrian/; Emma G. Fitzsimmons,
Full Shutdown of L Train is Halted by Cuomo, N.Y. Times, Jan. 3, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/nyregion/l-train-shutdown.html; Spectrum News NY1, MTA Confirms L Train Shutdown to Begin
on April 27 (Oct. 30, 2018), available at https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2018/10/30/l-train-shutdown-date-for-brooklyn-manhattan-tunnel-set; Fitzsimmons, May 5, 2016.
241 Fitzsimmons, Jan. 3, 2019; Liz Robbins, The L Train Shutdown Was Just Canceled. What Exactly Does That Mean? N.Y. Times, Jan. 3, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/03/nyre-
gion/l-train-brooklyn-manhattan-shutdown.html.
242 MTA, MTA Seeks to Accelerate Canarsie Tunnel Rehabilitation and Station Improvement, Completing Work in 15 Months (Mar. 17, 2017), available at http://www.mta.info/press-release/nyc-transit/mta-seeks-ac-
celerate-canarsie-tunnel-rehabilitation-and-station.
243 Id.
244 MTA New York City Transit, Canarsie Tunnel Repairs: Planning Ahead for the Crisis, page 2, available at http://web.mta.info/sandy/pdf/Canarsie_Tunnel_Plans.pdf (last accessed Feb. 20, 2019).
245 Id.
246 Benjamin Kabak, Following Contentious Board Meeting, MTA Officials Strongly Suggest L Train Plan a Done Deal, Second Avenue Sagas, Jan. 16, 2019, available at http://secondavenuesagas.com/2019/01/16/
following-contentious-board-meeting-mta-officials-strongly-suggest-l-train-plan-a-done-deal/.
How We Got Here 29

the plans to repair the Carnasie Tunnel will not go before the and devastating low-income, immigrant neighborhoods over
Board for approval.247 wealthier whiter ones to make room for more cars.257 For
One major unanswered question concerns silica dust. In 2014, example, instead of placing the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge’s
when the MTA considered a partial shutdown with repair work exit ramp in the Upper East Side, which would have been the
to be completed on nights and weekends, the MTA concluded more efficient location given the vast majority of traffic travelled
that this option, though ideal, posed a safety risk for workers to the bridge from below 100th Street, Moses chose to build
and subway riders.248 As a result of Hurricane Sandy, the Ca- it in Harlem instead, needlessly clogging the neighborhood
narsie Tunnel’s bench wall, which holds important electric ca- with cars.258 He dug up a large swath of Red Hook’s working
bles needs to be rebuilt, but there is a dangerous dust particle class neighborhood to build the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
called silica that exists in the bench wall.249 If inhaled at certain (BQE), which now starkly divides Red Hook from Carroll Gar-
levels, silica dust can cause lung disease or lung cancer.250 dens.259 The BQE trench that slices through Cobble Hill and
The MTA decided in 2014 that a partial shutdown was impos- Carroll Gardens would have extended through Hicks Street
sible due to the special precautions it would need to take to in present-day Brooklyn Heights had it not faced opposition
mitigate the harm of silica dust being kicked up by removing from the more politically powerful residents that pushed for the
the damaged bench wall.251 While the engineering firm respon- creation of the Promenade.260 His Cross-Bronx Expressway
sible for the new plans stated that any silica dust issues will through the South Bronx displaced residents in East Tremont,
be managed under the new plan, many Board Members and which Robert Caro links to white flight and the subsequent
elected officials continue to call for more information.252 disinvestment in those neighborhoods as lower-income people
of color moved in.261
While the Board and the public await further details on the
cost, timeline, and design for a partial tunnel closure, the MTA Many of the issues the City grapples with today—inadequate
has announced that many of the original mitigation efforts— tunnel capacity under the Hudson River, bringing the Long
including shuttle buses between Brooklyn and Manhattan, a Island Rail Road to the east side of Manhattan, and the lack of
“bus way” along 14th Street, an HOV3 lane on the Williamsburg public transit to New York’s airports—were actively dismissed
Bridge, and an extended G train—would not proceed.253 In by Robert Moses in the 1950s.262 For example, when he was
addition, a new L train weeknight and weekend schedule was asked to reserve space on the Van Wyck Expressway to
released, revealing that riders will face 20-minute intervals accommodate future public transit at an extra cost of less than
between train arrivals.254 $2 million dollars, he ignored it.263 A few years later, a rail link
to serve that same corridor was priced at 150 times the initial
estimated cost.264
LOCAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY
Infamously, Moses allegedly designed Long Island’s Southern
For nearly a century, New York City has suffered from regressive State Parkway with low clearances to prevent buses from ever
transit policies. The decline of the City’s public transit system reaching Jones Beach and rejected the inclusion of mass tran-
and the car-centricity of our streets date back to Robert Mo- sit in the middle of the highway—which would have doubled
ses’s first days in public service during the 1920s.255 According the capacity of the LIRR at just a four percent increase to the
to long-time labor mediator Theodore Kheel, Moses “was hostile total project cost.265
to mass transit and hostile to poor New Yorkers.”256 New York City’s five bridges credited to Robert Moses—the
Over the course of his forty-year reign, Robert Moses built 13 Verrazano, Triborough, Henry Hudson, Bronx-Whitestone,
expressways through all five boroughs of the City, targeting and Throggs Neck—intentionally exclude opportunities for
247 Id.
248 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Cuomo Swooped in a L-Train Savior, but M.T.A. Rejected Similar Approach Over Safety Concerns, N.Y. Times, Jan. 15, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/15/nyregion/l-
train-mta-subway.html; Jake Offenhartz, Will Toxic Silica Dust Derail Cuomo’s Last Minute L Train Fix? Gothamist, Jan. 8, 2019, available at http://gothamist.com/2019/01/08/silica_dust_l_train_mta.php.
249 Offenhartz, Jan. 8, 2019.
250 Id.
251 Id.
252 Fitzsimmons, Jan. 15, 2019.
253 David Meyer, Cuomo’s New L-Train Shutdown Plan Is Basically As Bad As We Expected, StreetsblogNYC, Feb. 13, 2019, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/13/cuomos-new-l-train-shutdown-plan-
is-as-bad-as-we-expected/.
254 Id.
255 Emily Nonko, Robert Moses and the decline of the NYC Subway System, Curbed New York, July 27, 2019, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2017/7/27/15985648/nyc-subway-robert-moses-power-broker.
256 Michael Powell, A Tale of Two Cities, N.Y. Times, May 6, 2007, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/06/nyregion/thecity/06hist.html.
257 Nonko, July 27, 2019.
258 Sarah Schindler, Architectural Exclusion: Discrimination and Segregation Through Physical Design of the Built Environment (Apr. 2015), Yale L.J., available at https://www.yalelawjournal.org/article/architectural-ex-
clusion.
259 Suzanne Spellen, How Master Builder Robert Moses Transformed Brooklyn as We Know It, Brownstoner, Feb. 29, 2016, available at https://www.brownstoner.com/history/robert-moses-brooklyn-power-bro-
ker-bqe-expressway/.
260 Id.
261 Robert A. Caro, The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (Vintage Books Edition Sept. 1975), pages 860-861.
262 Nonko, July 27, 2019.
263 Caro (Vintage Books Edition Sept. 1975) at page 907.
264 Nonko, July 27, 2019.
265 Caro (Vintage Books Edition Sept. 1975) at pages 318-319; Nonko, July 27, 2019.
How We Got Here 30

mass transit.266 He redirected funds for the Second Avenue When the City lost, two members of Congress representing
Subway, which remains unfinished, to build more bridges the City overturned the plan with the Moynihan-Holztman
and highways on two separate occasions—once in 1942 and Amendment to the Clean Air Act, which allowed the Governor
again in 1954.267 Not only did Moses redirect funds that would to halt tolls if the State could show it would use all available fi-
have gone to the Second Avenue Subway, but by 1955, he nancial resources to meet basic public-transportation needs.274
controlled authorities that sat atop war chests large enough to The Reagan Administration accepted the State’s plan, allowing
completely revitalize the region’s mass transit.268 The surplus the City to drop any plan to add new tolls.275
funds from the TBTA could have paid for: In the late 1970s, Mayor Koch prioritized public transit and
• Complete modernization of the LIRR; bicycling infrastructure at the outset of his three terms in office,
• Building parking garages on top of transit facilities in building the first of the City’s bus lanes along Madison Avenue
Queens and Nassau County to encourage mass transit and the City’s first on-street protected bike lanes.276 However,
use; he too caved to political pressure. After President Jimmy Car-
ter and Governor Hugh Carey reportedly mocked the Mayor’s
• Building commuter parking terminals in Suffolk County; bicycle infrastructure, Koch tore out those protected bike lanes
• Building the Second Avenue Subway, including a branch just a month after they were installed. It took over a quarter
to Queens; century for the City to reinstate a protected bike lane.277 By the
end of his tenure, Mayor Koch had fully reversed his pro-transit
• Extending subway service to Eastern Queens;
policies, attempting to ban bikes completely along avenues in
• Extending the Nostrand Avenue subway in Brooklyn to Midtown—an effort that became tied up in litigation and was
serve Mill Basin; and never fully implemented.278
• Renovating Dekalb Avenue station to improve service In the 1990s, Mayor Giuliani cracked down on pedestrians,
between Brooklyn and Manhattan.269 increasing the penalty for jaywalking from two dollars to fifty
In his Pulitzer Prize winning biography of Robert Moses, dollars and setting up steel barriers along crosswalks on 29th
Robert Caro wrote, “[w]hen Robert Moses came to power in and 50th Streets to keep pedestrians out of the way of vehi-
New York in 1934, the city’s mass transportation system was cles.279 In 1998, Giuliani announced a broad-based “attack
probably the best in the world. When he left power in 1968, it on uncivilized drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians” in a speech
was quite possibly the worst.”270 laden with language that implied cyclists were responsible for
their own deaths through recklessness.280
Years after Robert Moses’s tenure, efforts to claw back his
car-centric vision for the City continued to face stiff headwinds Under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the City pursued a num-
at the local, state, and federal level. Under Mayor Lindsay in ber of transportation projects that prioritized pedestrians,
the early 1970s, Sam Schwartz developed the “Red Zone” bicyclists, and bus riders. During Mayor Bloomberg’s tenure,
plan to ban cars from lower Manhattan during business hours, the City added 400 miles of bike lanes, launched Select Bus
which Lindsay failed to implement.271 In 1974, Mayor Beame Service (SBS) with NYCT, brought bike share to New York, and
canceled the implementation of the City’s first attempt at redesigned Times Square with new pedestrian spaces.281
congestion pricing—a plan developed by Sam Schwartz and
supported by Mayor Lindsay to reinstate tolls on the East River
Bridges.272 The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
sued the City to enforce the plan. In response, the Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA) ordered the City to put tolls
in place by 1977, but the City fought back in federal court.273
266 Nonko, July 27, 2019.
267 Id.
268 Caro (Vintage Books Edition Sept. 1975) at page 929.
269 Id.
271 Molly McArdle, This Transportation Engineer Won’t Give Up on Moving New York City, Next City, May 2, 2016, available at https://nextcity.org/features/view/move-ny-plan-transportation-plan-gridlock-sam-
schwartz.
272 Aaron M. Renn, When New York City Tried to Ban Cars—the Extraordinary Story of “Gridlock Sam,” The Guardian, June 1, 2016, available at https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/jun/01/new-york-city-ban-
cars-gridlock-sam-schwartz-manhattan.
273 Id.
274 A. O. Sulzberger Jr., City Drops Proposal to Charge Bridge Tolls, N.Y. Times, Sept. 15, 1981, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1981/09/15/nyregion/city-drops-proposal-to-charge-bridge-tolls.html.
275 Id.
276 Ben Fried and Ed Koch, 1973: The Bicycle “Must Be Included” in NYC Transpo System, StreetsblogNYC, Feb. 1, 2013, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2013/02/01/ed-koch-1973-the-bicycle-must-be-
included-in-nyc-transpo-system/; Charles Komanoff, The Bicycle Uprising: Remembering the Midtown Bike Ban 25 Years Later, StreetsblogNYC, Aug. 7, 2012, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2012/08/07/the-
bicycle-uprising-remembering-the-midtown-bike-ban-25-years-later/.
277 Fried and Koch, Feb. 1, 2013.
278 Komanoff, Aug. 7, 2012.
279 John Kaehny, Giuliani Takes on the Pedestrian, Transportation Alternatives Magazine, Mar./Apr. 1998, available at http://transalt.org/sites/default/files/news/magazine/982MarApr/barriers/.
280 Kit. R. Roane, Fatal Bicycle Accidents Reach 10-year High, N.Y. Times, Feb. 27, 1998, available at http://transalt.org/sites/default/files/news/media/1998/980227nytimes.html.
281 Samantha Shankman, 10 Ways Michael Bloomberg Fundamentally Changed How New Yorkers Get Around, Business Insider, Aug. 7, 2013, available at https://www.businessinsider.com/how-bloomberg-
changed-nyc-transportation-2013-8.
How We Got Here 31

A VISION FOR
MUNICIPAL CONTROL
the system have conflicting political perspectives. The MTA’s
GOVERNANCE governing structure has led to this very result.
What’s Not Working The MTA’s work is carried out by a myriad of subsidiary and
affiliate entities, though the revenues from all authorities and
STRUCTURE OF THE MTA subsidiaries support the organization as a whole. The MTA
operations that represent the local transit system in New
New York City’s mass transit system suffers from a flawed York City include NYCT, which operates the subway and the
governance model and a lack of political accountability. The majority of the City’s bus network.286 Additional bus service
City’s subway and buses are part of the MTA, a public benefit is provided by NYCT’s subsidiary, the Manhattan and Bronx
corporation that is responsible for developing and implement- Surface Transit Operating Authority (MaBSTOA) and the MTA
ing a unified mass transit policy for New York City and the sev- Bus Company.287 The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating
en New York metropolitan-area counties of Dutchess, Nassau, Authority (SIRTOA) runs the Staten Island Railroad.288
Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester.282
Another affiliate of the MTA, the former Triborough Bridge and
As a public benefit corporation, the MTA functions as a qua- Tunnel Authority (TBTA), which is now called the MTA Bridges
si-private corporation with broad powers, including the ability and Tunnels (B&T), is empowered to construct and operate toll
to issue bonds and take on debt, enter into contracts and bridges and tunnels and other public facilities in New York City.
leases, create its own by-laws, and appoint officers and em- Currently, it operates and maintains seven bridges and two
ployees.283 In addition, the MTA has power
to acquire transportation facilities within
the commuter district, levy tolls and fares,
and “may do all things it deems necessary,
convenient or desirable to manage, control
and direct the maintenance and operation
of” its transportation facilities.”284 Local
governments are explicitly prohibited from
exercising jurisdiction over transportation
facilities or their activities and operations.285
By expressly constraining the ability of
New York City over the MTA’s work within
its borders, New York City residents lose
a direct lever to determine the direction
and priorities of their transit system. Rather
than having direct line between the ballot
box and the subway, the electoral power
is muddied by the structuring the system
as part of a larger regional body. While
regional transit governance does have its
advantages, it also runs the risk of diffus-
ing political will. Political paralysis, lack
of clear agenda, and finger pointing can
easily result when the powers that control
282 N.Y. Public Officers Law §§ 1263, 1264; Metropolitan Transportation Authority Description and Board Structure Covering Fiscal Year 2009, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/compliance/pdf/Description%20
and%20Board%20Structure.pdf.
283 N.Y. Public Officers Law § 1265.
285 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1266(8).
287 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1203-a.
288 Laws of 1981, Chapter 314, § 16.
A Vision for Municipal Control 33

tunnels within the City of New York.
In addition, the MTA controls the
State’s two commuter railroads, the
Long Island Rail Road Company
(LIRR) and the Metro-North Com-
muter Railroad Company (MN-
CRC).289
Finally, there are two entities that
provide overall support to the
aforementioned components. The
MTA Capital Construction Company
is a relatively new agency formed
in 2003 to manage the expansion
of mega-projects and lower Man-
hattan infrastructure projects, such
as the East Side Access Project at
Grand Central Terminal, the Second
Avenue Subway, the Fulton Tran-
sit Center, and others. The MTA
Headquarters provides consoli-
dated functions for numerous MTA
components, overall security, and
planning and operations for the
system as a whole.
MTA BOARD
four of the fourteen votes on the Board. The Governor ap-
The MTA is, ostensibly, controlled by the Board. The MTA’s
points six Members, including the Chair, and officials from
Board includes 17 voting members and six rotating non-vot-
suburban counties appoint seven Members, four of which
ing seats held by representatives of organized labor and the
cast a collective vote.294 The Chair may cast a second vote in
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee (PCAC), which serves
the case of a tie, further increasing the power of the State’s
as a voice for users of MTA transit and commuter facilities.290
appointments.295 This arrangement gives the City little power
The only non-residency requirement for voting Board Mem-
over major decisions, despite the fact that almost 90 percent
bers is that they have experience in one of the following areas:
of MTA ridership occurs on the City’s subway and buses.296
transportation, public administration, business management,
finance, accounting, law, engineering, land use, urban and The Board approves major decisions, including fare increases,
regional planning, management of large capital projects, labor service changes, and capital improvement projects.297 How-
relations, or “experience in some other area of activity central ever, the Chair wields considerable power as CEO of the MTA,
to the mission of the [MTA].”291 holding responsibility “for the discharge of the executive and
administrative functions and powers of the authority.”298 As
The composition of the Board has changed over time, but
CEO, the Chair not only supervises each of its eight subsid-
one constant is the disfavoring of the City. The MTA Board
iaries, but directly controls a management team of 14 within
was originally composed of nine Members appointed by the
MTA Headquarters—including a President, Managing Director,
Governor, three of which were recommended by the May-
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Development Officer, and Chief of
or.292 During the 1970s, the Board was expanded to include
Staff—as well as over 3,000 employees.299
representation for the surrounding counties, diluting the City’s
already limited share.293 Today, Mayoral appointees cast only
289 Laws of 1963, Chapter 324, § 1.
290 MTA Leadership, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/leadership/ (last accessed February 26, 2019).
292 N.Y. Laws of 1967, Chapter 717.
293 Danielson and Doig (1982) at page 235.
294 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1263(1). The Governor technically appoints all Members of the Board; however, appointments for the City and from suburban counties are made “on the written recommendation” of
the relevant executive.
296 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 2017 Annual Report (May 2018), available at http://web.mta.info/mta/compliance/pdf/2017_annual/SectionA-2017-Annual-Report.pdf; The MTA Network: Public Transporta-
tion for the New York Region, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/network.htm (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).
297 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Can You Name an M.T.A. Board member? No, Really. Name One, N.Y. Times, Jan. 24, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/24/nyregion/nyc-mta-board.html.
299 2017 Annual Report (May 2018); Management Team, available at https://new.mta.info/transparency/leadership/management-team (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).

Recommendation:
Establish Big Apple Transit
—the BAT
TRANSFER CONTROL OF
THE SUBWAY AND BUSES
TO THE CITY
New York City transit system must be
responsive to the residents it serves.
The best way to do this is by restor-
ing municipal control over the mass
transit facilities and their operations in
the five boroughs. The proposed Big
Apple Transit (BAT) would include City
control of NYCT and its subsidiary,
MaBSTOA, as well as SIRTOA, MTA
Bus Company, and MTA Bridges and
Tunnels. It would also assume about
two-thirds of the operations of the
MTA Headquarters to help with the
management of the BAT.
MTA Subsidiary and Affiliate

Entities
The remaining entities, including the
two commuter railroads, the subur-
ban bus system, and the MTA Capital
Construction Authority could be spun-
off into a new MTA, or be reformulat-
ed into a new structure.300 The First
Mutual Transportation Assurance
Company should also continue to
operate, but will need a reformulation
to reflect the new transit structures.301
BUILDING A BETTER BOARD

Creating a system that is responsive
to the needs of New York City means
holding one person responsible for
its success. In addition, a Board can
provide invaluable service in man- maintain their advisory positions on the BAT Board.
aging the system while having some independence from the
executive and the legislature. A potential model for governance Mass transit isn’t just about making the trains run on time, it’s
of the BAT system follows. about serving the population of the City. The membership of
the BAT Board should not only reflect the people it serves, it
The Mayor would appoint a majority of the members and the should be compromised of a diverse set of New Yorkers with
Chair to the BAT Board. The five Borough Presidents and expertise in a wide range of areas. At a minimum, all Board
the Public Advocate would each appoint one member to the Members:
Board, but these members will each have one half of a vote to
keep the size of the Board manageable. The Permanent Citi- • Must be City residents;
zens Advisory Committee (PCAC) and organized labor would • Must be regular BAT users; and
300 The Capital Construction Authority (CCA) does handle projects, like the Second Avenue Subway, that are associated with BAT. However, CCA is not included in the budgetary overviews in this report as it oper-
ates effectively like an in-house capital construction arm, where all of its expenses are paid from capital project funds. Those funds, in turn, are represented in the budgets for BAT and the legacy-MTA as debt service
that pays for those capital projects. So even though the CCA’s budget is not specifically presented here, the costs associated with its work are represented.
301 The First Mutual Transportation Assurance Company is a captive in-house insurance and reinsurance coverage for the entire MTA system. As a captive insurance company, it can only insure related entities.
Therefore, the split will require this entity to be reformed to reflect the new system.

• May not hold elected office on the City, State, or
federal level.
In addition, there should be Members with the follow-

ing qualifications:
• Transportation or transit planning;
• Urban planning, including sustainability and
resiliency;
• Advocacy for individuals with disabilities;
• Demographics, social trends, or the needs of
low-income New Yorkers;
• Capital planning or civil engineering; and
• Finance.
The Mayor’s appointees, including the Chair, would

all be subject to approval by the City Council. All ap-
pointees will serve for a three-year term and are not
subject to term limits.
In addition, BAT Board members should be subject
to the City’s conflicts of interest laws and treated as
employees with “substantial policy discretion.”302 This
means Board Members would be required to file
annual financial disclosures and would be prohibited
from: functions relating to ferry service to DOT. Providing for super-
vision of all transit modalities by the Mobility Czar would allow
• Using their position for financial gain; the City to better coordinate end-to-end services, that would
• Accepting gifts from anyone doing business with BAT; expand upon London’s model, which proved to significantly
reduce reliance on cars after the city integrated its systems.305
• Having a financial relationship with anyone doing business
with BAT;
• Soliciting donations for a candidate for public office; REGIONAL COOPERATION
• Lobbying before the BAT for one year after leaving the Commuters from outside the City are critical to New York’s
Board; and financial success. In addition to bringing in an important
segment of the City’s work force, Metro-North and LIRR’s 38
• Serving in certain political leadership positions.303 stations in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens serve many City
residents who cannot easily access the subway or buses.306
Under the BAT model, it will be critical for the City and the
MOBILITY CZAR commuter railroads to continue working together on matters
Transit is about interconnectivity. No part of the City’s transit such as station maintenance, coordination of service during
eco-system—its subway, buses, streets, sidewalks, pedestri- emergencies, any shared revenue streams, and finding ways
ans, plazas, taxis, for-hire vehicles, ferries, and bicycles—exist to support shared ridership.
in a vacuum. One of the greatest benefits of local control of the Advocates have long called for lowering fares on commuter
subway and buses is that the City can finally have a compre- rail within the five boroughs to make it a more realistic option
hensive vision for transit. The Mayor would appoint a Mobility for New Yorkers. This could leverage existing unused capacity
Czar, a Deputy Mayor level position in City Hall with a staff that to relieve pressure on the subway and bus system and give
can coordinate the various transportation policies and activi- people another option for faster commutes.
ties in the City.
The MTA currently has several subsidy programs for riders
The portfolio of the Mobility Czar should include the BAT, using both commuter railroads and the subway and buses. At
as well as DOT and TLC.304 In addition, EDC should transfer a minimum, these programs should be continued. Ideally, the
302 N.Y.C. Charter § 2603.
303 Id.
304 New York City DOT, About DOT, http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/about/about.shtml (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).
305 Nicole Badstuber, Six things other cities can learn from Transport for London’s success, The Conversation, June 16, 2015, available at http://theconversation.com/six-things-other-cities-can-learn-from-transport-
for-londons-success-42901.
306 MTA Metro-North Railroad, available at http://web.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm (last accessed Feb. 27, 2019); MTA Long Island Rail Road, available at http://web.mta.info/lirr/Timetable/lirrmap.htm (last
accessed Feb. 27, 2019).

BAT and the commuter railroads would
look for opportunities to improve and
expand these programs to facilitate easier
commutes.
• The CityTicket program charges
$4.25 on Metro North and LIRR travel
within City limits on weekends. The
limitation of the CityTicket to week-
ends means that most commuters,
whether local or from outside the
City, don’t benefit from the pro-
gram.307
• The Atlantic Ticket pilot program,
also known the Freedom Ticket,
offers a discounted fare of $5 for all
trips between southeast Queens
and Brooklyn’s Atlantic Terminal, but
does not offer a discount for Manhat-
tan-bound commuters and does not
provide free transfers to the subway
or bus except through a $60 joint
LIRR/NYCT weekly pass. Addition-
ally, it is not available for purchase
on train cars or through the MTA’s propriate level of funding needed to reliably operate the City’s
mobile ticketing app.308 transit system.
Any local governance model must include a permanent, In a very basic sense the level of service provided is a function
standing body for continued cooperation and regional plan- of two things:
ning. Transit coordination of services in the City and the
commuter rails could continue under the umbrella of the MTA 1. the costs of running that system and,
or under the New York State Department of Transportation. 2. the financial resources available.
Alternatively, the State could give a greater role in transit plan-
If costs increase, then financial resources need to increase, or
ning and more authority to the New York Metropolitan Trans-
service levels will deteriorate. This may not always be readily
portation Council—the MPO that serves most of the region
apparent. The authority’s history of meeting its capital needs
that the MTA services.309
illustrates this. Demands for capital costs were increasingly ad-
dressed by forcing the MTA to self-finance those capital costs
OVERSIGHT without actually providing long-term funding streams adequate
The City Council would establish a standing committee to to cover the debt. This gave the short-term appearance of ad-
oversee the BAT. With subpoena authority over the BAT, the dressing fiscal needs while ignoring the long-term ramifications
Council could serve as a check and ensure that the system is on service delivery.
meeting the needs of the City.
UNSUPPORTED DEBT AND CAPITAL
FISCAL TRANSPARENCY Today, 52 percent of the capital program is MTA debt-fund-
ed. Only 30 years ago, the share was less than a third.310As
What’s Not Working discussed above, the shift toward greater funding through
The City’s transit system has suffered from a lack of fiscal MTA debt began during the Pataki Administration.311 Accord-
transparency. Running one of the world’s largest and oldest ing to the State Comptroller, debt service will increase by 26
subway systems and an extensive bus system is expensive. percent between 2018 and 2022, to eventually reach $3.3
However, political pressures around taxes, fares, and vested billion.312 That means debt service payments will account for
interests have prevented honest conversations about the ap- 18.6 percent of total revenue and 36.5 percent of fare and toll
307 MTA, CityTicket, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/cityticket.htm (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).
308 MTA, Press Release, LIRR Debuts Atlantic Ticket with Brooklyn and Queens Officials,June 15, 2018, available at http://www.mta.info/news/2018/06/15/lirr-debuts-atlantic-ticket-brooklyn-and-queens-officials.
309 New York Metropolitan Transportation Council, Who We Are, available at https://www.nymtc.org/ABOUT-US/who-we-are (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).
311 Id.
312 New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Financial Outlook for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Report 8-2019 (Oct. 2018), page 2, available at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/rpt8-2019-mta-
financial-outlook.pdf.

revenue.313 Outstanding debt could potentially reach $41.9 this January, the scheduled vote on the MTA fare increase
billion by 2022, which is almost an $8 billion increase in out- was delayed until late February after Cuomo again reiterated
standing debt since 2016, and this projection does not take his opposition and was joined by Lawrence Schwartz, his
into account the 2020-2024 capital program.314 appointee and the head of the MTA Finance Committee: “I
Within the last fifteen years, the MTA’s operating budget in- can never support a fare increase unless there’s some kind of
creased 64 percent, going from $9.45 billion to over $15 billion performance improvement metrics that insures the riders that
between 2002 and 2017. During this fifteen year span, debt they are going to continue to see, hopefully in the future, better
service was the highest contributing factor to the increase service and more reliability,”317 Schwartz said. This was a direct
in operating expenses, going up 192 percent between 2002 attack on the transit system’s fiscal stability.
and 2017. In 2018, the MTA released the 2019 preliminary These recent developments demonstrate how it has become
budget and operating expenses are expected to cost $16.7 too easy for those in control of the MTA to discuss fares and
billion in 2019, with debt service on bonds for capital programs tax subsidies as if they are divorced from the ability of the
accounting for 16 percent of that budget. The more that the City’s transit system to provide reliable service.
MTA’s capital plans continue to rely on debt, the more con-
strained the MTA’s future borrowing capacity may become.
DISTRACTED AND UNFOCUSED CAPITAL
Concerns relating to debt caused Standard & Poor’s, one of PLANNING PROCESS
the “Big Three” credit rating agencies, to lower its issuer credit
The bulk of the MTA’s spending is on capital projects, which
rating for the MTA twice in 2018, from AA-minus to A-plus to
include basic upkeep such as replacement of train cars and
A. Though S&P cited many offsetting factors for its rating, such
buses, as well as the construction of new transit facilities and
as complimenting MTA’s budget practices, it called for needed
lines. MTA’s five-year capital planning process is yet another
new revenue amidst rising costs and decreasing ridership. It
feature of the system that obfuscates accountability through
should be noted that MTA’s rating from the other two major
a power-sharing measure where many of the players involved
agencies, Moody’s and Fitch, remained unchanged in 2018.
have little functional power. The Governor, the Mayor, the State
S&P’s downgrade largely stems from its calculation of MTA’s Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the State Assem-
debt service coverage, which by its measure is not sufficient bly each have full veto power over the MTA’s capital spending
given current revenues. S&P does note that pledged revenue budget through the Capital Program Review Board, which was
coverage on each source of credit looks much better, and oth- created by State law in 1981.318 The MTA Board is required
er rating agencies’ calculations paint MTA’s debt affordability to submit two five-year capital program plans to the Capital
more favorably. When discussing revenue coverage on MTA’s Program Review Board.319 One plan is for the capital program
debt service, it’s important to point out that MTA’s bond cove- for New York City Transit and Staten Island Rapid Transit Op-
nants provide important protections to bondholders to ensure erating Authority, and the other plan is for the capital program
it meets its debt service obligations, and MTA still secures a
fairly healthy bond rating and is able to borrow at relatively low
cost because of that. CAPITAL PROGRAM REVIEW BOARD
The reluctance to address adequate funding is not unusual in
the State’s stewardship of the MTA. Most recently the Gover-
- Additional layer - The Mayor's
nor threatened to hold back a fare increase as punishment to that is not part of representative
the MTA’s slow movement on service improvements. The MTA the MTA board. can only weigh in
Board met on November 15, 2018 to consider a final proposed - Governor, New York on proposals that
budget for 2019-2022 which called for continued biennial 4 affect NYCT and SIR.
percent fare and toll increases to be implemented in March
City Mayor, State
2019 and warned that “[i]f projected fare and toll increases are Assembly Speaker, - Board members have
not implemented, our financial situation will quickly deteriorate and State Senate 90 days to review.
as revenue will not be able to keep pace with inflation and oth- Leader appoint - Board members may
er cost growth.”315 Cuomo argued against such fare increase: representatives.
“I’m against the fare increase,” he said. “The MTA’s first job is reject a plan but not
to look within. There is waste. There is inefficiency that cur- make amendments.
rently goes on at the MTA that has to end. Period.”316 Then,
313 Id.
314 Id. at page 15; MTA, Finance Year End Report Final, pages 1-2, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/news/books/docs/FinanceYearEndReportFinal0117.pdf (last visited Feb. 22, 2019).
315 MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget, November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 1 MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget, November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 1 (Nov. 2018) at I.6, available at http://web.mta.
info/news/pdf/MTA-2019-Final-Proposed-Budget-Nov-Financial-Plan-2019-2022-Vol1.pdf.
316 Governor Andrew Cuomo on WNYC Brian Lehrer Show, Nov. 19, 2018, available at: https://www.wnyc.org/story/the-brian-lehrer-show-2018-11-19.
317 Jenna DeAngelis and Lawerence Schwartz, MTA Delays Vote On Fare Hikes Until February, CBS New York, Jan. 24. 2019, available at https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/01/24/mta-fare-hike-vote/.
318 Transportation System Assistance and Financing Act of 1981, 1981 N.Y. Laws 1396; Robin Herman, Assembly Passes $5.6 Billion Plan for M.T.A. Aid, N.Y. Times, June 23, 1981, available at https://www.nytimes.
com/1981/06/23/nyregion/assembly-passes-5.6-billion-plan-for-mta-aid.html.
319 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1269-b.

for the other commuter rails. The Mayor’s veto extends only to • In 2014, Governor Cuomo’s appointee formally vetoed the
the portion of the plan relating to New York City Transit and the $32 billion plan, saying the decision was “made with-
Staten Island Railway.320 out prejudice to any particular element or project that is
There is no option to modify the Plan, only to reject it outright. contained in the proposal.”329 The plan included a large
Unless one member of the Capital Program Review Board funding gap, which was believed to be the reason for the
vetoes it within 90 days, the capital budget is approved; veto.330
however, the Board has no authority to make changes to the While some Mayors have attempted to use the Review
budget.321 This “all of nothing” approach combined with the Board to influence spending, a Mayor has never wielded
fact that the City has no authority to shape the development his veto to block a capital spending plan. In February 2004,
of the Capital Plan, from its overall size down to the individual Mayor Bloomberg objected to the MTA changing the spend-
projects and priorities included, illustrates the limitations of the ing formula in favor of the commuter rails. However, as the
Review Board approach. Mayor only has a veto of the City portion, he resorted to
Further, instead of providing elected officials with the ability to other avenues to assert influence. First, Bloomberg explored
provide true oversight to the capital spending process and to legal avenues to argue that the City has a financial interest in
share in accountability for the MTA’s spending, the Board has suburban projects, so it should have an effective veto of all
provided a venue allowing politicians to advance other funding capital spending plans.331 Next, Bloomberg lobbied Assem-
priorities and pet projects. bly Speaker Silver to use his veto over the plan. Ultimately,
Bloomberg dropped his legal threats and opposition to the
• In 1987, Norman J. Levy, a Nassau County Republican suburban-friendly spending plan after the MTA agreed to take
and the Review Board representative for the Senate ma- over the private bus system, which the City was subsidizing at
jority leader, vetoed the plan because he favored a greater $150 million a year.332
funding allocation to the commuter rail lines.322
• In 1996, Assemblywoman Catherine T. Nolan, represent- Recommendation: Model BAT’s Structure on the
ing Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, vetoed changes City’s Water System
to the plan. At the heart of the dispute was an effort by The City’s transit system must be funded at a level that guar-
Assembly Democrats to force MTA Chairman, E. Virgil antees reliable and efficient service that reflects the demands
Conway to negotiate with them over the contents of a of the City’s residents. This requires an open, transparent,
future capital program.323 and responsive budget process that puts service provision as
• In 1999, Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos vetoed bedrock budgeting principle that cannot be easily overturned.
the first budget proposal for the 2000-2004 capital plan The City’s water system provides a model of how this could be
because a comparable plan for funding highways had not achieved.
been proposed yet.324 BAT could be incorporated into the City’s overall structure
• In 2005, both State Legislature Review Board members similar to the way the City’s water system works. In that sys-
vetoed the plan. Reports suggested that dissatisfaction tem, there are three key entities: the Water Board, the New
with the spending plan had nothing to do with the MTA, York City Municipal Water Finance Authority (MWFA), and the
but instead centered on whether to pay union-rate wages Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
to nonunion workers on other State-funded projects.325 The water system is self-funded by revenue collected through
• In 2008, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sent a letter water and sewer rates. The Water Board sets rates annually
to the MTA threatening to veto the plan if the Fulton Street and is responsible for ensuring that the operating and capital
Transit Center was not included.326 A month later, the MTA needs of the system can be met. The MWFA provides funding
released its 2008-2013 Capital Plan,327 including funding through the issuance of bonds and other debt instruments
for the project Fulton Street.328 to finance the capital projects required to keep the system
320 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1269-a(2).

321 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1269-b.
322 State Senate Republicans Assail Transit Aid Plan, N.Y. Times, Jan. 22, 1987, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1987/01/22/nyregion/state-senate-republicans-assail-transit-aid-plan.html.
323 Senate Republicans Block Transit Plan, N.Y. Times, Dec. 22, 1999, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/22/nyregion/senate-republicans-block-transit-plan.html..
324 Id.
325 Sewell Chan, Veto of M.T.A. Capital Plan Stalls Repairs and Construction, N.Y. Times, July 2, 2005, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/02/nyregion/veto-of-mta-capital-plan-stalls-repairs-and-con-
struction.html.
326 Letter from Sheldon Silver, Speaker of the New York State Assembly, to Elliot Sander, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Jan. 30, 2008), available at
https://nyassembly.gov/Press/20080130/letter.pdf.
327 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, MTA Capital Plan 2008-2013 (Feb. 2008), available at http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/pdf/2008-2013%20Capital%20Plan.pdf.
329 Jorteh Senah, State Review Board Nixes MTA Capital Program, N.Y. Public Radio, Oct. 3, 2014, available at https://www.wnyc.org/story/state-transportation-department-pulls-stop-sign-mta-capital-program/.
330 Benjamin Kabak, Capital Program 2015-2019: City Council Talks as CPRB Rejects, for Now, 2nd Ave. Sagas, Oct. 7, 2014, available at http://secondavenuesagas.com/2014/10/07/capital-program-2015-2019-city-
council-talks-as-cprb-rejects-for-now/.
331 Mike McIntire, City Weighs Going to Court Over New Metro-North Cars, N.Y. Times, Feb. 26, 2004, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/26/nyregion/city-weighs-going-to-court-over-new-metro-north-
cars.html.
332 Corey Kilgannon, Private Buses Pose Challenge For the M.T.A., N.Y. Times, Apr. 26, 2004, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/26/nyregion/private-buses-pose-challenge-for-the-mta.html.

running. The MWFA’s borrowing is backed by water and sewer Tax revenues could be appropriated by the City in its budget
charges. DEP, a City agency, bills and collects on the approxi- process, or the taxes could be directly paid to BAT. By appro-
mately 835,000 water accounts on behalf of the Water Board. priating the City tax levy dollars through the budget process,
DEP also operates and maintains the water and sewer system the City would have a direct method to control the fares. If
on behalf of the Board.333 the City were to decide to lower fares, they could allocate
This potential model would have the advantage of creating increased City-tax levy dollars to reduce the need for fares to
a transparent budgetary and oversight process, allow for a cover the operations and debt service of the system. The ap-
stand-alone bonding process, and ensure that the system re- propriation method has the advantage that it considers transit
mains self-funded through fares, dedicated tax subsidies, and fares and the subsidy to the system in the context of all other
available federal, and state-aid. budget priorities facing the City and its residents. Converse-
ly, this becomes yet one more (large) item that is part of the
budget process.
ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING
Alternatively, taxes could be directly allocated to BAT. Assum-
BAT could also follow the water system’s structure for deter- ing the State provided for local authority, the City could control
mining fares. In the water system, rates are set by an inde- whether to raise or lower the tax rates as a way to adjust the
pendent board, but for BAT this function could be taken over tax subsidies to the system. These dedicated taxes would not
by the BAT Board. In the water system, the Water Board sets flow into the City’s general fund but rather a fund that could
the water rates so that they cover the operating costs and the only be used by BAT. This would still allow the City to have
debt service costs associated with the water system’s capital a say in the fare level but would do so outside of the regular
program.334 This allows for a clear method for setting water budget process. It could be timed to occur at a separate point
rates that ensure the financial viability of the water system:335 in the calendar year so as to allow greater oversight of the
1. The Authority projects the annual debt service for bonds appropriate revenue mix of subsidy and transit fares. This may
issued to finance capital projects and certifies the annual also provide a better bonding rating to the system as direct-
debt service expense to the board; ly dedicated revenues will likely be viewed as a more stable
source than those subject to annual appropriations.
2. OMB projects the system’s operating expenses and certi-
fies that amount to the board; Whichever method is chosen, the net result is the same: a
system where the City can still directly control the fares, but is
3. The System’s consulting engineer certifies that the annual also required to do so in a fiscally responsible way. It removes
expenses and capital investments are appropriate to fare discussions from one of political pandering, to become a
maintain the viability of the system; more serious policy discussion of what is the appropriate fare
4. The board adopts an annual budget based on the certified and tax subsidy mix to fund the operations of the system.
expenses and adopts a rate that will produce sufficient
revenues to fund the System.
OUTSIDE REVIEW OF FUNDING
BAT could adopt a version of this, with several modifications,
Another key feature of the water system model is an outside
to reflect that the transit system receives dedicated tax subsi-
review of the adequacy of expenses and capital investments.
dies. In step three, OMB could include any revenues dedicated
This serves as a backstop to prevent future decisions to short-
or allocated to the new transit system and thereby certify a net
change capital investment as a method to hold down rates.
operating expense. Then in step four, the BAT Board would
However, unlike the current water system model, the con-
adopt fares that, including any tax revenue, provide sufficient
sulting engineer could be chosen by a third party not directly
revenues to fund the system.
involved with the governance of BAT.
This mirrors the function that the City’s property tax plays in the
Oversight by a third party would follow the model of the City’s
City’s budgeting process and how the City continually adopts a
pension fund as a technique to guarantee independent and
balanced budget. In that process,336 the City is required to set
rigorous oversight. The City’s pension funds are financed
the property tax rates to a level to raise the difference between
through a contribution of their members, the participating
the expense budget and all other tax revenues as forecast by
employers (e.g. the City), and investment earnings of the
the Mayor.337 In practice, the City assumes a property tax rev-
funds. The Actuary, a position appointed by the Mayor and
enue based on an average rate that has remained unchanged
approved by the pension boards, plays a key role in ensuring
since January 1, 2009,338 and limits the City’s expense budget
the pensions are adequately funded. This office produces a
to that revenue estimate plus all other revenues. Similarly, the
set of demographic and economic assumptions that underpin
fares for BAT would be required to be set at a level that balanc-
how much interest the current funds can safely be expected to
es BAT’s operating budget with all its other revenues.
333 New York City Water & Sewer System, Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 2018, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nyw/downloads/pdf/nyw-annual-report-18.pdf.
334 New York Water Board, New York City Water and Wastewater Rate Report – FY 2019, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/nycwaterboard/downloads/pdf/blue_book/nyc_rate_report_fy19.pdf.
335 Id.
336 N.Y.C. Charter § 1516.
337 N.Y.C. Charter § 1515(a)
338 City Council Resolution 408 of 2019, Report of the Committee on Finance, Exhibit C.

earn, as well as the future demand on the pension funds. The OPERATIONS
Actuary periodically reviews these assumptions and meth- Since DEP, a City agency, operates the water system, the
ods used to determine employer contributions, recommends operations and maintenance of the system are embedded in
changes, and the Boards of Trustees of the five funds must the City’s budget process. These operations, which amount to
adopt any changes. These changes can result in gaps or approximately $1.4 billion in spending annually, are identified
surpluses that, in turn, directly impact the City’s required con- in eight different units of appropriation (U/A), the basic building
tribution to those funds. This opens the possibility of a conflict blocks of the City’s budget. In order to provide transparency
between the long-term needs of the pension funds and the and accountability, BAT will require even more units of appro-
short-term demands on the City’s budget. priation due to its much larger size. The Administration should
Therefore, to ensure that the assumptions are appropriate determine the necessary units of appropriation jointly with the
and sufficient over the long-term, the City’s Charter mandates Council, and commit to including additional units of appropri-
the Comptroller select an independent actuary “to review and ation as appropriate in the future, to ensure adherence to the
comment upon the financial soundness and probity of the Charter-mandate for narrow, programmatic units of appropri-
actuarial assumptions employed by the city to calculate con- ation.
tributions to the city pension funds.”339 Following this model These DEP operations are then analyzed and discussed as
for independent engineering oversight by an independent third part of the regular budget hearing process, including two pro-
party would help ensure that assumptions in BAT’s financial posed budgets by the executive branch which are followed up
plan are sufficiently focused on long-term viability and not just by oversight hearings prior to any adopted budget.341
the short-term needs.
These operating costs are funded by a lease payment made
by the Water Board to the City. Costs associated with DEP’s
FINANCING AUTHORITY work but not related to the water and sewer system, such as
The MWFA is the entity that issues bonds and other debt air and noise monitoring or hazardous material emergency
instruments to cover the capital work needed to support the response, are not funded by Water Board payments, but are
water system. Revenues from the operation of the system are paid with City tax-levy funding. This means that all this work
obligated first to the MWFA to cover the debt service and its exists in DEP’s budget, but the funding streams and opera-
operating expenses. tions remain separate fiscally. This allows detailed oversight of
the City’s water system but while keeping it in the context of
This allows for dedicated revenues, in this case water and
DEP’s larger mission of environmental protection and public
sewer charges, to back the bonds making it easier to finance
health.
the system. If bondholders know the revenue stream that is to
pay the bonds is obligated to them, they will view those bonds The three water system entities also publish a combined com-
as less risky. That will lower the cost of the bond financing. prehensive annual financial report (CAFR), which includes anal-
Indeed, the original rationale for the current water system was ysis and discussion of the system, financial statements and
to provide a lower cost of capital for the City’s water system.340 schedules, and an independent auditors report. BAT could
follow a similar model, allowing fiscal monitors and oversight
Similarly, BAT could have an arm called the Big Apple Transit
bodies the ability to examine the system’s overall finances
Capital Construction Authority (BAT-C) that would fulfill a simi-
together.
lar purpose. BAT-C would issue bonds backed by transit fares
and/or tax subsidies.
Recommendation: Create More Transparency in
While all State public authorities have to submit project-related Budgeting
financings for review by the Public Authorities Control Board,
most local public authorities are not subject to PACB (including CAPITAL PLANNING
the Housing Development Corporation, the Municipal Water A budget is a statement of priorities. The public and elected
Finance Authority, the Transitional Finance Agency, and the officials need a better sense of the needs of the system than is
Health and Hospitals Corporation, all of which issue revenue currently provided by the MTA and how we can best improve
bonds and only sometimes receive voluntary subsidy by City it. Since the capital budget includes major projects with long
or State). Similarly, BAT-C should not be subject to PACB term completion dates the budget should crafted to look ten
review. years out—not the current five.342 Further, priorities must be
outlined through a transparent process that should explained
to the public so they know how their tax dollars will be spent.
Under municipal control, BAT’s capital budget would be incor-
porated into New York City’s budget process, which already
339 N.Y.C. Charter § 96.

340 Laws of New York, 1984 Chapter 513.
341 N.Y.C. Charter §§ 246, 253.
342 Metropolitan Transportation Sustainability Advisory Workgroup, Report (Dec. 2018), available at https://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-12-Metropolitan-Transportation-Sustainability-Advisory-Work-
group-Report.pdf

achieves these outcomes. The City’s system—which currently transfer of additional funds to the MTA, with no net change in
includes a lengthy public review process and multiple public the fare charged to the rider.
hearings—would provide real scrutiny and actual debate about MTA-pledged revenues, along with farebox and toll revenues,
the best ways to invest in the system. would need to flow first through the legacy MTA (to pay the
debt service on its existing debt), and only then down to the
OPEN DATA new transit authorities. Those “waterfall” revenues should be
split between BAT and the commuter railroads based on a
In order to regain trust from the public, BAT would comport
pre-defined formula. That formula should take into account
with best practices on sharing data and information. All financial
a diverse number of factors, such as history, fare revenues,
documents and data regarding system performance would be
operating and capital needs, among others that require a
available in machine-readable formats. FOIL requests would
level of analysis beyond the scope of this report. As such, it
be accepted by email, not simply through an online portal that
is suggested that the exact split be the subject of negotia-
makes tracking difficult. In addition, all Board materials would be
tions as part of the larger split of the MTA. Indeed, as part of
posted online no less than 24 hours before a meeting.
a negotiated settlement for this plan, the existing fares could
be lowered by the MTA to level that ensures adequate debt
Recommendation: Address Debt coverage but no more. This would be matched with corre-
ADDRESSING EXISTING MTA DEBT RESPONSIBLY sponding increases by BAT and the commuter railroads on
fare surcharges. The resultant net fare paid by the rider would
The proposed breakup of the existing MTA structure necessi- not change, but more of the fares would go directly to the
tates a plan for servicing the MTA’s outstanding debt. administering entity, and only a portion of the fare necessary to
Given the covenants governing pledged revenues for that debt service debt would go through the legacy MTA.
and the recent end of tax-exempt advanced bond refunding,343 While this analysis assumes that the MTA would continue to
it is not possible to simply transfer MTA debt to new authori- issue the approximately $12 billion necessary to close out the
ties—the BAT or a potential new commuter rail authority. While current MTA 2015-2019 Capital Plan, we would expect subse-
the proposed new authorities would be able to issue new debt quent borrowing to be issued by the new authority under local
going forward, a legacy MTA institution would need to remain control. We would also expect any revenue pledged directly
for as long as is needed to complete servicing its existing debt. to BAT, combined with any remaining MTA-pledged revenue,
This legacy MTA would have no operational purpose other to fund BAT’s operating budget and service its debt. As it
than paying its debt service. pertains to current MTA-pledged revenues and toll and farebox
This institutional framework would affect the flow of funds from revenues, any borrowing undertaken by the new authority
current MTA-pledged revenues to the new transit authorities. would be subordinate to existing MTA debt. This arrangement
MTA’s bond covenants necessitate that farebox revenues, points to the need for new funding sources to be at sufficient
along with all other revenues pledged or made available to the levels and reasonable stability to provide adequate revenue
MTA, are sufficient to first pay its debt service, and second coverage on new debt service to satisfy bondholders and
its operating expenses. While the bond covenants require credit rating agencies. Without this, the new authority’s credit
the generation of sufficient revenue from all sources, they are rating would suffer and borrowing costs would grow.
backstopped by specified revenues. In particular, the bond The relationship between the New York Local Government
covenants are structured so that the MTA is required, in the Assistance Corporation (LGAC) and the Sales Tax Asset Re-
absence of sufficient revenue from other sources, to raise ceivable Corporation (STAR) is one model for a cascading flow
farebox and toll revenues to a level sufficient to meet these of funds that first services the debt of a state public authority
needs.344 Because of this requirement, it is not a simple task to and then the debt of a local entity. The state established LGAC
divorce the MTA’s revenues from its outstanding bonds. in 1990 under the Public Authorities Law as a public benefit
Therefore, the current MTA should remain solely to service corporation to issue bonds or notes to make payments to
existing MTA bonds,345 with all other activities being transferred local governments and school districts to help them smooth
to the newly spun-off entities. The MTA could retain extremely cash flow. The bonds are backed by a one percent rate of the
limited powers of setting fares that would allow them to do so State’s sales tax, which flows through the Local Government
only in the case that dedicated revenues were insufficient to Assistance Tax Fund, with any remainder going to the state
cover debt service.346 While this power would remain on the treasury. The City established STAR in 2004 as a local devel-
books, it need never be used, so long as BAT and the com- opment corporation under the Not-For-Profit Corporation Law
muter railroads ensure adequate coverage to existing MTA to retire debt by issuing bonds backed by annual payments
debt. Moreover, BAT could offset any fare increases by pro- by LGAC. While LGAC’s annual payment to STAR is subject to
viding an equivalent credit to riders. The net result would be a annual appropriation by the State, failure by the State to make
343 See Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Public Law 115-97, 115th Congress § 13532 (2017). The MTA took advantage of advanced refunding to substantially restructure its debt service and achieving savings in 2002, 2012,
and 2017.
344 See, e.g., 2002 MTA General Resolution Authorizing Transportation Revenue Obligations § 610, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/investor/pdf/TRBRES2002.pdf.
345 Including MTA bonds that will be issued to cover the 2015-2019 capital plan.
346 Since these revenues more than cover debt service, it is doubtful this power would ever be used. It would exist simply to address bond covenants.

the appropriation “traps” both the
payment and any remaining sales tax
in the Local Government Assistance
Tax Fund. While the purpose of the
LGAC–STAR arrangement is different
from the MTA–BAT arrangement, it
shows that cascading flows of funds
can be designed with close coopera-
tion between the City and the State.
New York Sales Tax Revenue Bonds
provide a simpler example of state
bonds serviced by pledged reve-
nues in excess of debt service, with
excess spilling over and flowing to
other sources. Here too the State
created bonding authority based on a
one percent rate of the State’s sales
tax, with sales tax receipts in excess
of debt service flowing to the state
treasury.347
WHAT MTA DEBT SERVICE

MEANS FOR BAT
As discussed earlier, MTA’s spending
on debt service has been highlighted
as an issue by fiscal monitors; how-
ever the plan presented in this report
should address those concerns. With
the creation of BAT, the MTA will live
on solely to service its outstanding
debt, with this legacy MTA having first
claim to farebox revenues as mandat-
ed by its bond covenants. Since fare-
box revenue on its own is more than
sufficient to meet MTA debt service
requirements until the remainder of its
debt is retired, this should assuage
any current bondholder concerns over
MTA debt service coverage would no
longer be applicable.
In addition, the plan for municipal control contains solutions
to most of the concerns posed by rating agencies that could
BALANCING THE BUDGET
bolster the reputation of BAT in the eyes of bondholders and
rating agencies. While S&P’s rating outlook for the MTA is What’s Not Working
currently negative, what it calls for in order to improve it—that The current transit crisis in the City is in part a budgetary one
the MTA secure additional sustainable funding for operations caused by a dysfunctional governance structure without ac-
and capital—is something the plan for municipal control pro- countability or transparency. Thus far, this report has outlined
vides, for example, S&P specifically cites congestion pricing steps to address the root cause of the budgetary crisis. This
as a possibility, which in addition to providing funding, would section will outline steps that can be taken to directly address
incentivize increased ridership, offsetting some of the decline it. Cost savings should be an initial step in closing that gap, but
noted by S&P. Additional savings, as called for in this plan, flexibility in raising additional revenues if cost savings do not
would also lower the borrowing requirements and operating fill that gap are critical to the long-term success of the City’s
costs of BAT. transit system.
347 N.Y. Finance Law § 92-h(2).

This crisis is a result of growing costs not matching up with As most parties agree that congestion pricing is a critical
available resources. As shown earlier, State and City financial potential revenue source for City’s transit system, it is therefore
support for the MTA has not kept pace with the need. The included in the financial plan to help fill the gap. Though we
MTA consistently publishes capital plans with insufficient iden- assume that revenues associated with that option are included,
tified revenue streams. Funding those plans becomes a tug of the exact revenues from this plan will depend on the specific
war between the State, who in recent years has been reluc- structure of the pricing scheme. For the purposes of the bud-
tant to create new funding streams, and the City, who while geting exercise, this report assumes the $1.1 billion revenues
demonstrating the political appetite to create new revenue estimated by the Fix NYC Advisory Panel and also cited in other
streams, lacks the legal authority to do so. congestion pricing proposals. This does not include the $400
Fares cannot remain the sole source of easily accessible million in revenues from increased charges on for-hire vehicles,
revenue for the transit system. Other sources must be readily which is already accounted for in the source MTA figures. For
accessible to the system ensure a flexibility to meet demands. purposes of this report, it is assumed that build out will take 1.5
Initial sources of revenues should be those that have other years, resulting in half of the revenue impact in 2021, with 2022
positive impacts on the City. being the first year of the full $1.1 billion in revenues.
It should be noted that the congestion pricing proposal includ-
Recommendation: Dedicate Congestion Pricing to ed in the Governor’s 2019 proposed budget would take away
BAT Budget home rule authority from New York City, use the City’s roads
and bridges to generate revenues that could be used to pay
The City needs congestion pricing plan that will both reduce
for projects that may not reflect the City’s priorities. Instead the
traffic congestion and generate much-needed funding to fix
Legislature should respect the City’s home rule authority to
our mass transit system. In addition to environmental and
establish a congestion pricing program that meets the City’s
safety benefits, reduced congestion would allow buses to
needs.
move faster and goods to be delivered more efficiently. Any
new funding generated through congestion pricing must be Congestion pricing is key to both the future of the mass transit
dedicated solely to New York City’s transportation system, as and to combat harmful traffic trends. If the State Legislature
well as other projects supporting the City’s transportation-re- fails to pass an acceptable congestion pricing plan in 2019,
lated priorities. the Council should exercise its home rule authority and pass
its own.

Recommendation: Swap State Aid with State tiatives that contributed to the subsequent decline of the City’s
Sales Tax then high crime rate.351
The MTA’s capital plan has historically involved direct State This is not a blanket call to simply raise or lower taxes in New
aid. Since this State aid is subject to appropriation via the York City, though that power is vital. Rather, it is a recognition
State budget process, it is subject to political pressures and that assuming the enormous responsibility of not just running,
gamesmanship at the State level, something that would likely but also fixing, the New York City transit system will require the
increase if the City took over parts of the system. Therefore, ability by the City to flexibly mix and match funding streams
to remove this political football, and ensure a more stable to address specific needs or garner efficiencies from bringing
funding source, the BAT could swap out future State Aid with control locally.
taking over part of the State’s sales tax authority within the five For example, the City could assign some of its sales tax to
boroughs. Currently, the State charges a four percent tax on BAT in return for taking over some of BAT’s highly volatile
sales transactions throughout the State, including the City. The mortgage recording tax (MRT).352 The City is better able to
State could lower this within the City of New York, while the plan around volatile revenue streams because its property
BAT’s sales tax authority would be raised by a commensurate tax tends to be counter-cyclical to economic cycles. The
amount. This would not impact the sales tax rate charged City could also assign some of its sales tax revenue in lieu of
within the five boroughs, but would divert more of it directly to financial support via budgetary appropriation. Assignment has
transit operations. This mirrors the idea presented earlier in this advantages over appropriation, as it recognized as a more sta-
report to swap out City aid with some of the City’s own taxing ble funding stream by bond-holders, thereby reducing BAT’s
authority. debt service.
Therefore, to avoid mistakes of the past, local control of the
Recommendation: Expand the City’s
transit system must be accompanied by delegation of taxing
Revenue Authority
power to the City.
A critical aspect to successful municipal control of the City’s
transit system will be the flexibility to tap a diverse set of Recommendation: Potential Revenue Sources
funding streams to repair and maintain the system. That entails
an ability to directly adjust that mix of revenues as need and The exact amount of cost savings achievable with municipal
economic circumstances warrant. Indeed, a major cause for control is difficult to discern, particularly without direct ac-
the current crisis in the City’s transit system stems from a cess to MTA files. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that BAT’s
historic mismatch between the resources needed to maintain operating gap will be filled simply by cost savings, and new
a viable system, and the resources available to it. Taking mu- or expanded revenues may be needed. The following options
nicipal control of transit without some sort of municipal control provide a list of some, but not all, ideas of how the gap could
of revenues would set the system up for failure. Congestion be filled. Besides the adequacy of resources, the economic
pricing alone may not be sufficient over the long-run. There- and political stability of such resources needs to be con-
fore, municipal control of the City’s transit system must also sidered. As noted above, these revenue sources should be
include direct municipal control over a larger share of the City’s accompanied by local authority to implement and adjust these
revenue base. taxes as needed. The following proposals represent some
ideas on how additional revenues could be raised for BAT.
Currently the City has extremely limited ability to directly raise
and lower any tax rate without express State authorization.348 Preferred options have a common feature; they retain full de-
Similarly, it does not have the ability to create, amend, or even ductibility under the Federal tax code. The Federal government
end exemptions to any tax without State authorization, a pow- is not doing its job supporting infrastructure in this country.
er that can be useful in offsetting negative impacts of tax rate BAT’s problems are part of a national $2 trillion funding gap
changes. This stems from the fact that taxing authority is not for infrastructure through 2025.353 Additional funding out of the
considered a home rule power under the State constitution.349 expense side of the Federal budget is unlikely with this Pres-
ident and Senate. However, we can get support from the tax
As a result, the City must lobby the State for authorization side of the Federal budget by choosing taxes that are still fully
anytime it wants to raise tax revenues to pay for increased deductible. We could raise the payroll mobility tax, the corpo-
City services or investments, or to provide targeted tax relief rate franchise tax surcharge, or some of the City’s business
within its taxes. For example, in 1991 then Mayor Dinkins had taxes. Because of deductibility, more than one-fifth of the cost
to convince Albany (and not easily)350 to allow the City to raise of these taxes will be picked up by the Federal government.
its personal income tax to pay for anti-crime initiatives such as
additional police officers and an expanded youth program. Ini-
348 N.Y. Const. art. XVI, § 1; even with the Property Tax which the City has control over the exact levy to be raised, the City does not have direct control over the rates charged (see NYS RPT Article 18).
349 See Richard Briffault, Local Government and the New York State Constitution, 1 Hofstra L. & Pol’y Symp. 79, 102 (1996).
350 Ralph Blumenthal, Dinkins on Crime; Dinking Proposes Record Expansion of Police Forces, N.Y. Times, Oct. 11, 1990, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/03/nyregion/dinkins-on-crime-dinkins-pro-
poses-record-expansion-of-police-forces.html.
351 Michael Powel, Another Look at the Dinkins Administration, and Not by Giuliani, N.Y. Times, Oct. 25, 2009, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/26/nyregion/26dinkins.html.
352 In Fiscal 2007, the MRT generated over $1.5 billion for the City. Three years later, it generated only $386 million – a decline of 77 percent.
353 American Society of Civil Engineers “Infrastructure Report Card 2017” https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/the-impact/economic-impact/

INCREASE CITY BUSINESS TAX RATES
Summary of Preferred Tax Revenue Options
The City’s business taxes, the General Corporation Tax (GCT)
Payroll Mobility Tax $1 billion and the Unincorporated Business Tax (UBT) together bring in
Corporate Tax Surcharge $1 billion over $6 billion to the City each year. To raise an additional bil-
lion dollars from these taxes, the City would need to raise rates
NYC Business Taxes $1 billion by 17 percent. The GCT Tax rate would have to be raised from
8.85 percent to 10.35 percent.356 The UBT rate would have to
be raised from 4 percent to 4.68 percent.357
PAYROLL MOBILITY TAX
This tax is currently imposed on employers and self-employed
individuals doing business in the metropolitan commuter Summary of Other Revenue Options
transportation district (MCTD). Only employers with payroll Millionaires Tax $600 million
expense exceeding $312,500 and self-employed individuals Sales Tax $1 billion
with net earnings of $50,000, for the tax year, are subject to
the mobility tax. The rates currently range from 0.11 percent Transfer Tax Reform $400 million to
to 0.34 percent of payroll. Increasing the tax rates, within New $1 billion
York City, to between 0.22 percent and 0.67 percent would PILOTs from Private Higher Ed $147 million
raise an additional $1 billion in revenues. & Hospitals
Tax Insurance Companies $150 million
INCREASE THE CORPORATE TAX SURCHARGE IN Parking Meters $117 million to
NEW YORK CITY $234 million
The MTA surcharge is applied to the portion of a company’s End or Amend Inefficient Unknown
corporate franchise tax attributable to its business activity in Tax Breaks
the MCTD.354 The surcharge rate is set by the Commissioner
of the Department of Taxation and Finance as necessary, to
enable the state to meet or exceed its financial projection for MILLIONAIRES TAX
the surcharge. The rate has increased gradually since 2014
(17 percent), and is currently set at 28.9 percent for 2019. The Currently, the City’s top personal income tax (PIT) bracket
State projects that the surcharge would yield $1.23 billion starts at $90,000 for married couples filing jointly, $60,000 for
in 2019, $1.28 billion in 2020, $1.33 billion in 2021, and $1.4 head of households, and $50,000 for single filers. This means
billion in 2022. Using the average growth rate of the State’s that teachers, police officers, and other middle-income filers
forecast, the Finance Division projects revenues from the are in the same 3.876 percent bracket as hedge fund man-
surcharge to be $1.46 billion in 2023 and $1.53 billion in 2024. agers and top executives of Fortune 500 firms. This proposal
The Finance Division estimates that about 75 percent of the would increase the City’s PIT rate from 3.876 percent to 4.41
surcharge revenues are collected from C Corporations in the percent for individuals with incomes over $500,000, head of
City, which are generally larger businesses. 355 households with income over $750,000, and married couples
with combined incomes over $1 million. OMB estimates a Mil-
This proposal would delegate the power to the implement this lionaires Tax would generate $700 million to $800 million. City
surcharge in New York City to the City’s Finance Commission- Council’s Finance Division believes it would generate slightly
er. It would then require the City to increase its target projec- less, approximately $600 million.
tion of the MTA Surcharge revenues by $1 billion annually from
2020 through 2024. The additional $1 billion would be raised
from corporations in New York City that are subject to the INCREASE MCTD SALES TAX IN NEW YORK CITY
surcharge. This means that a corporation in Nassau County, The sales tax paid in New York City is comprised of three
for example, paying the MTA surcharge would not be subject parts: a City Sales Tax rate of 4.5 percent, a State Sales Tax
to this additional $1 billion. Raising an additional $1 billion in rate of 4 percent, and a 0.375 percent surcharge levied in the
revenue from corporations in the City would require the Com- MCTD dedicated to supporting the MTA. Increasing the MCTD
missioner to increase the surcharge rate for those corpora- sales tax in New York City from 0.375 percent to 0.75 percent,
tions from 28.9 percent to reach 61.4 percent. Meanwhile, the and limiting the increase to just New York City, would raise
corporations that are not in the City would only see their rate approximately $1 billion in additional revenue. The total sales
increase five percent in 2020. tax in the City would go from 8.875 percent to 9.25 percent.
354 The MCTD includes New York City, Dutchess County, Nassau County, Orange County, Putnam County, Rockland County, Suffolk County, and Westchester County.
355 Estimated using NYC’s gross city product as a share of the gross domestic product of the MCTD.
356 Currently, the GCT has progressive rates ranging from 4.425 percent to nine percent, depending on the type and size of the corporation. However, majority of the corporations pay a GCT rate of 8.85 percent.
357 See appendix for full rate changes.

REFORM THE TRANSFER TAXES was originally based on the premiums earned by insurance
The City and State currently levy taxes on the transfer of real companies within the City, but was eliminated in 1974. IBO
property as well as on the value of a mortgage whenever it estimates this exemption cost the City $510 million in Fiscal
is recorded with the City. The City’s Comptroller has pro- 2018.360
posed eliminating the Mortgage Recording Tax (MRT), which The one concern with this tax is that many other states with in-
generates around $400 million a year, and replacing it with surance taxes reserve the ability to implement retaliatory taxa-
a progressively structured Transfer Tax, that goes up to as tion. That means that if New York raises its taxes on insurance
much as 8 percent on the high end,358 but would result in companies, which would include those based in other states,
lower transfer tax rates for many residential properties below those states could in turn raise taxes on insurance companies
$5 million in value. However, this proposal is limited to res- based in New York City that do business in those states. That
idential properties, which for these taxes are limited to one could cause insurance companies to relocate outside of the
to three family homes, individual residential condominium City to avoid the retaliatory taxes, which in turn could under-
units, and individual cooperative units and does not include mine the revenues raised by this tax, and reduce other taxes
large residential properties such as rental buildings, which are that those companies generate through their operations in
considered commercial. Therefore, this proposal would result New York City.
in commercial transactions having a lower rate than residen-
tial ones for properties over $5 million in value. The proposed
PARKING METER FEES
reform could be extended to address that discrepancy by
mimicking the reform for commercial properties (eliminate the The City anticipates revenue of $229 million in Fiscal 2019
MRT and adjust the RPTT), which would raise an additional and $234 million in the outyears from the collection of parking
$400 million. Another option would be to increase RPTT on meter fees. If the City were to increase parking meter fees by
properties with transaction values of over $5 million so that 100 percent, it could generate an additional $229 million in
their combined MRT and RPTT rates would not be lower than Fiscal 2019 and $234 million in the outyears and if it were to
those for residential properties. This would raise roughly $600 increase fees by 50 percent, it could generate an additional
million, which combined with the original proposal could result $114 million in Fiscal 2019 and $117 million in the outyears.
in up to $1 billion in additional revenues. However, it should be noted that parking meter revenue may
not necessarily increase in tandem with meter increases, as
an increase in fee rates may dissuade drivers from parking on
COLLECT PILOTS FROM PRIVATE HIGHER EDUCATION the street. Further there are many blocks with the Central Busi-
INSTITUTIONS AND HOSPITALS ness District that are currently unmetered, and so additional
The City’s Independent Budget Office (IBO) regularly publishes revenues could be generated by expanding the geography of
revenue options for the City. In its most recent version, pub- metered streets in those areas.
lished in December 2018, IBO estimates that if the City were
to enter into agreements with private higher-education institu-
tions and hospitals to pay payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOTs), Parking Meter Fees, Fiscal 2019-2022 ($ in millions)
the City could generate approximately $147 million. Under 2019 2020 2021 2022
State law, property owned by these institutions is exempt from
the City’s property tax. In Fiscal Year 2019 that exemption Current Projection* $229 $234 $234 $234
amounted to $1.3 billion, of which $147 million was comprised Additional Revenue
of property used for housing students, faculty, and staff. This from a 50% Increase
proposal would have the City seek agreements for these insti- in Meter Fees $114 $117 $117 $117
tutions to make payments similar to those that other residen-
Additional Revenue
tial property owners make through the property tax. Similar
from a 100% Increase
agreements have been created in other cities and states.359
in Meter Fees $229 $234 $234 $234
*Source: Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget. February 2019
EXTEND THE GENERAL CORPORATION TAX TO Financial Plan. Revenue 2019-2023.
INSURANCE COMPANY BUSINESS INCOME
Another option from IBO’s list of revenue options for the City is
to eliminate the exemption for insurance companies from the END OR AMEND INEFFICIENT TAX BREAKS
City’s business taxes. Insurance companies are the only major City tax breaks for economic and housing development total
business category that do not pay the City’s business taxes, nearly $5.7 billion in Fiscal 2019.361 The purpose of these tax
though they are subject to state and federal taxation. This tax breaks is to induce economic activity or to encourage an
358 NYC Comptroller 2018, NYC For All: The Housing We Need (Nov. 29, 2018), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/nyc-for-all-the-housing-we-need/.
359 Independent Budget Office, Revenue Options: Eliminating or Reducing Tax Breaks (2018), available at https://ibo.nyc.ny.us/cgi-park3/2018/12/28/revenue-options-eliminating-or-reducing-tax-breaks/.
360 Id.
361 Department of Finance, 2019, Annual Report on Tax Expenditures Fiscal Year 2019, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/finance/downloads/pdf/reports/reports-tax-expenditure/ter_2019_final.pdf.

outcome that meets a specific policy goal by reducing the This non-integrated governance structure has been criticized
tax burden on business or property owners. So when those as leading to duplication and slow decision-making because
breaks work as intended, the listed price does not always sister agencies sometimes contribute to each other’s deci-
reflect an actual cost to the City as the tax break might be off sion-making process.365 If each subsidiary is removed from
tax revenues that would not have occurred without the break. under the MTA’s umbrella, they could each function inde-
However, if that same economic activity would have occurred pendently on their own.
without the tax break, or even different activity of a similar
economic value, then these tax breaks represent wasted tax
WORK RULES
dollars. Therefore, ending these tax breaks, or amending them
to be more efficient can result in greater revenues. Union work rules are established by collective bargaining
agreements, which set out the terms and conditions of em-
Recognizing this, the City Council passed Local Law 18 of
ployment for union employees.366 Certain union work rules
2017, which set up a process for IBO to conduct regular, in-
may hamper operating efficiency and increase labor costs.
depth annual evaluations of specific economic development
Work rules that have been cited as increasing operating costs
tax breaks. The first report following this law, “Worth the Cost?
include allowing union employees to gain overtime for shifts
An Examination of the Commercial Revitalization & Commer-
over eight hours, which in 2017 came at a $1.2 billion cost to
cial Expansion Programs,” issued by IBO last year, found the
the MTA; and allowing bus drivers to receive half pay between
two programs were largely ineffective and frequently subsi-
their morning and evening shifts (the swing shift) although they
dized investments that would likely have occurred anyway.
are not working during this time.367
These programs provided $27 million in tax breaks in Fiscal
2019 year, and so ending this program could be expected to While much of the focus regarding work rules is on cost,
increase City revenues by a commensurate amount in future adjustments could focus on improving rider experience, which
years.362 in turn could lead to increased ridership and more financial
stability for the MTA. For example, while the need for multi-
As more evaluations are released, we can expect the City to
ple employees on trains will decrease as signal systems are
identify more ineffective and outdated tax expenditure pro-
upgraded, the subway’s customer service experience could
grams. Expanding the evaluation process to including housing
be improved by assigning employees to each station to assist
development programs could increase potential realizable
passengers in the event of delays or service changes and to
funds. A critical partner in this will be the State, as the majority
alert the proper authorities in the case of medical incidents.
of these tax breaks are codified in State law, therefore requir-
ing State action to end or amend these tax breaks. The MTA has a longstanding history with labor unions. Much
of the workforce for New York City mass transit entities is
unionized. In total, there are 70 different union contracts involv-
COST SAVINGS AND CAPITAL SPENDING
ing MTA employees.368 While the MTA approves new contracts
with labor, the State often wields considerable influence in
What’s Not Working the process due to the Governor’s ability to intervene.369 This
power is yet another advantage held by the State that gives it
LABOR AND OPERATING INEFFICIENCIES considerable control over the finances and operations of the
system.
Inefficiencies in the operation and management of the MTA
may be caused by the very nature of its governance structure.
The MTA is a public benefit corporation that is responsible for LABOR COSTS GROWING
overseeing the management of eight subsidiaries and affiliates
Over the years, the MTA’s labor expenses have continued to
that function largely as independent entities. Each subsidiary
climb. In Calendar Year 2007, the MTA spent about $7.3 billion
has its own President who is responsible for the general man-
on labor costs.370 That figure reached $9.2 billion in 2013, and
agement and operations of each entity.363 Each entity also has
by 2017, labor expenses had grown to $11.2 billion. The MTA’s
its own managerial staff as well as its own human resources,
current financial plan anticipates labor expenses will continue
procurement, and legal departments.364
to grow to $12.8 billion by Calendar Year 2022. This reflects
362 This increase would not be from the current $27 million in tax breaks awarded under these programs, but from preventing future enrollment in these programs.
363 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Governance Guidelines (Mar. 26, 2014), page 3, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/compliance/pdf/Governance_Guidelines.pdf.
364 Paul Berger, Cuomo’s Talk of Tearing Up MTA Timed to Upcoming Budget Season, Wall Street Journal, Jan. 8, 2019, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/cuomos-talk-of-tearing-up-mta-timed-to-upcom-
ing-budget-season-11546991237; Metropolitan Transportation Sustainability Advisory Workgroup Report, (Dec. 18, 2008), page 10, available at https://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-12-Metropoli-
tan-Transportation-Sustainability-Advisory-Workgroup-Report.pdf.
365 Berger, Jan. 8, 2019.
366 Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc., Outdated Union Work Rules Driving Up MTA Costs https://www.abcnys.org/outdated-union-work-rules-driving-up-mta-costs/ (last visited Feb 19, 2019).
367 Nicole Gelinas, The Trouble With Creating a ‘New MTA’, Manhattan Institute, Dec. 4, 2017, available at https://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/trouble-creating-new-mta-10806.html; Benjamin Kabak, TWU
Sticking Point: Overtime Bus Drivers, 2ND Ave. Sagas, Feb. 26, 2013, available at http://secondavenuesagas.com/2013/02/26/twu-sticking-point-overtime-bus-drivers/; Jaya Saxena, MTA Chair calls Union Work Rules a
“Shame,” Gothamist, May, 10, 2010, available at http://gothamist.com/2010/05/10/mta_chair_calls_union_work_rules_a.php.
368 Metropolitan Transportation Sustainability Advisory Workgroup Report (Dec. 18, 2008).
369 Richard Pérez-Peña, Pataki, Not Bloomberg, Has Almost Total Control of M.T.A, N.Y. Times, Dec. 10, 2002, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/10/nyregion/pataki-not-bloomberg-has-almost-total-
control-of-mta.html.
370 MTA 2009 Final Proposed Budget November Financial Plan 2009–2012. Complete Financial Plan Report, Volume 2, available at http://web.mta.info/mta/budget/.

Percent Average
Change Annual
Labor Expenses 2007 2017 2018* 2019* 2020* 2021* 2022* 07 -22 Change
Payroll 4,327 5,700 5,938 6,232 6,312 6,374 6,504 50.3% 3.4%
Overtime 586 1,202 1,324 1,002 998 1,021 1,037 77.0% 5.1%
Health & Welfare 659 1,282 1,404 1,532 1,617 1,710 1,821 176.3% 11.8%
OPEB Current Payment 271 574 626 693 756 824 899 231.7% 15.4%
Pensions 897 1,442 1,440 1,460 1,430 1,413 1,361 51.7% 3.4%
Other-Fringe Benefits 562 1,045 1,143 1,146 1,163 1,188 1,213 115.8% 7.7%
Reimbursable Overhead 1 (4) (3) (4) (2) (2) (1) N/A N/A
Total Labor Expenses 7,304 11,240 11,872 12,062 12,273 12,529 12,833 75.7% 5.0%
*Note: Projected, not actual
Source: MTA Financial Plans, 2009 - 2019
CONSTRUCTION AND
PROCUREMENT
In comparison to other cities in the United
States and around the world, the ability for
New York City to expand and improve exist-
ing facilities has been limited. The recently
completed Phase I of the Second Avenue
Subway, which now serves over 200,000
riders daily, cost $4.5 billion and consisted
of just two new miles of track and three
stations.371 Subway tunnels in other cities
typically cost between $200 million and $1
billion per mile.372 Phase I cost approximate-
ly $2.3 billion per mile, making it the world’s
most expensive subway line, per mile.373
By contrast, other dense urban centers
around the world are making major in-
vestments in transit expansion. London is
planning $59 billion in investments, includ-
ing 31 new miles of rail.374 Paris is investing
a projected 6.4 percent increase between 2019 and 2022. $25 billion to create four new lines with more than 120 miles of
As the table below shows, the main drivers of growth in labor track.375
costs has been health insurance costs and payments for other
In addition to the high cost of construction, the MTA’s capital
post-employment benefits (OPEB). Overtime has grown at a
projects also often take far longer than anticipated to com-
faster pace than payroll. All of this suggests that part of what is
plete. For example, Phase I did not begin until 2004 and was
driving costs is inefficient management of labor.
not completed until 2016.376 The MTA has long maintained that
the cost and timeline had to do with the City’s complicated
infrastructure and the age of the system. However, the MTA’s
371 MTA, Second Avenue Subway Phase 1, available at http://web.mta.info/capital/phase1_sas.html; Raphael Pope-Sussman, The Insanely Expensive Second Avenue Subway, Gothamist, Dec. 29, 2016, available at
http://gothamist.com/2016/12/29/2nd_ave_subway_explainer.php#photo-1.
372 Stephen J. Smith, Does New York Know It Has a Transit Cost Problem? Next City, Feb. 27, 2014, available at https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/does-new-york-city-know-it-has-a-transit-cost-problem; US Rail
Construction Costs, Pedestrian Observations, Jun. 5, 2011, available at https://pedestrianobservations.com/2011/05/16/us-rail-construction-costs/; Comparative Subway Construction Costs, Revised, Pedestrian
Observations, June 3, 2013, available at https://pedestrianobservations.com/2013/06/03/comparative-subway-construction-costs-revised/; Julia Vitullo-Martin, Regional Plan Association, Building Big for Less (May 16,
2017), available at http://lab.rpa.org/building-big-less/.
373 Raphael Pope-Sussman, Dec. 29, 2016.
374 See Testimony of the N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Hearing of the Committee on Transportation (Jun. 5, 2017), available at http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=3053413&GUID=347C-
F03A-2A96-4456-9429-1C04DC5191BC&Options=&Search=.
375 Hearing of the Committee on Transportation (Jun. 5, 2017)
376 Raphael Pope-Sussman, Dec. 29, 2016.

planning process, selection of contractors, procurement pol- minimum amounts through a competitive sealed bid process
icies, and inefficient management can all be directly linked to to the lowest responsible bidder.385 The requirement to choose
late, over budget projects.377 a lowest responsible bidder restricts consideration of the best
value across a project’s full-life cycle, or the consideration of
other procurement methods.
SHAPING OF PROJECTS
Moreover, under the provisions of Wicks Law, governments
Mega-projects are often seen as legacy defining for a politi-
must separately bid out contracts for each trade on larger
cian. They stand as landmarks, ultra-visible to current constit-
building projects, increasing contracting complexity, reducing
uents, and which will far outlast their terms in office. The allure
flexibility, and diffusing accountability.386 Additional laws re-
of mega-projects, and even smaller upgrades and improve-
stricting professionals from practicing across domains further
ments, can lead to political actors applying undue pressure on
complicate the process by imposing separation between
agency staff to undervalue their cost and promise impractica-
designer and builder.387 The architects and engineers who
ble timelines for completion.378 The inclination to make a polit-
design projects can’t help contractors understand what they’re
ically popular project work often continues into environmental
bidding on, and, likewise, the contractors are unable to offer
impact assessments completed by technical consultants hired
design services as part of their bids, which might permit them
by the MTA, which often show a bias for the initial proposal.379
to improve constructability of the plans. Only when the builders
Next, the MTA selects consultants that prepare the design and
run into inevitable problems executing the designers’ plans do
engineering proposals that will be bid on by contractors.380 As
they communicate, resulting in change orders that increase
reality sets in, project delays, change orders, and cost over-
the cost and delay the progress of the project.388
runs can abound.381
The most common alternative procurement method, popular
Former MTA CEO Thomas Prendergast recently spoke out
for private procurements and for public procurement outside
about the flaws in these initial planning stages, remarking that
New York, is the design-build method. It permits projects to
“[s]o much of the path of outcome is set in the first 15% of the
be designed and built by a joint venture of a designer and a
project, when we basically have no people and no money. The
contractor. Collaboration between designer and constructor can
elements are cast in stone then, and we spend [the] rest of
help prevent errors and omissions during the design phase and
[the] project dealing with the constraints we’ve been dealt early
the resulting changes at higher costs that result from the man-
on.”382 The Regional Plan Association (RPA) also found that the
datory separation of designer and builder during construction.389
MTA engages with impacted communities on projects too late
Design-build collaboration is often initiated by a request for
in the process, which can create delays as new issues must
proposal process that permits the weighing of bids by holistic
be addressed.383
assessment of value, in which price is only one criteria.
PROCUREMENT
SELECTION OF CONTRACTORS
New York State has been slow to update its antiquated public
MTA uses the lowest qualified bidder model, which often
procurement laws, which were shaped in response to graft
results in higher costs when new contractors must repair and
and waste associated with major public projects in the Tam-
finish the work of inexperienced firms that submit artificially low
many-era, and which remain today “an archaic and counter-
bids.390 Rebidding and emergency repairs can cost millions
productive statutory scheme.”384
of dollars and take time, which can significantly hamper a
By default, public construction projects in New York State project.391 RPA credits this selection model as one of the rea-
proceed according to an often-inefficient process known as sons for the delays and cost overruns on East Side Access.392
“design-bid-build.” Local governments and school districts are Additionally, the MTA rarely punishes vendors for going over
required to award all contracts for public work over specified budget or late deliveries, leaving others with little incentive to
377 Brian Rosenthal, The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth, N.Y. Times, December 28, 2017, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/28/nyregion/new-york-subway-construction-costs.html.
378 Regional Plan Association, Building Rail Transit Projects Better for Less: A Report on the Costs of Delivering MTA Megaprojects (February 2018), available at http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Building-Rail-Transit-
Projects-Better-for-Less.pdf.
379 Building Rail Transit Projects Better for Less: A Report on the Costs of Delivering MTA Megaprojects (February 2018) at page 34.
380 Id.
381 Building Rail Transit Projects Better for Less: A Report on the Costs of Delivering MTA Megaprojects (February 2018).
382 Id. at page 34.
383 Id. at page 23.
384 Construction Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, 21st Century Construction 20th Century Construction Law Update (Feb. 2014), available at https://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/up-
loads/20072665-21stCenturyConstruction20thCenturyLawUpdated.pdf. A preliminary survey conducted by the New York City Bar Construction Law Committee to “age” the State’s built environment statutes in 2014
revealed that 14 percent of the then current laws had been originally enacted by the time of the Great Depression in 1929, 37 percent by the end of World War 2 and close to half by 1960.
385 N.Y. General Municipal Law § 103(1).
386 N.Y. General Municipal Law § 101.
387 N.Y. Business Corporation Law § 1506; see generally N.Y. Education Law Ch. 16, T. VIII.
388 Citizens Budget Commission, Don’t Block Design-Build (Mar. 15, 2015), available at https://cbcny.org/research/dont-block-design-build.
389 Construction Law Committee of the New York City Bar Association, Report on the 2016-17 Article VII Budget Bills (Mar. 2016), available at https://www2.nycbar.org/pdf/report/uploads/20073073-2016-17Budget-
ConstructionModernizationConstructionReportFINAL3.28.16.pdf.
391 Id. at page 3.
392 Id. at pages 23-24.

meet set goals.393 thetics of the project, such as requiring granite that could only
Once a contractor is selected, labor conditions are deter- be purchased in the U.S., further added to the high costs.406
mined through negotiations between unions and construction The East Side Access project is emblematic of each of these
companies, none of whom have any incentive to keep costs issues. The MTA has acknowledged that East Side Access
down.394 The MTA is left out of this process entirely, leaving it has suffered because the agency set unrealistic budgets and
no opportunity to influence decisions that could help to control timelines without understanding how complex the project
costs. According to an analysis by the New York Times, labor would be.407
rules for workers on capital projects add four times more staff
to projects than elsewhere in the world.395
East Side Access Timeline and Cost Estimate408
CHANGE ORDERS Date Cost Completion Date
The failure to utilize design-build and general poor scoping of 1999 $4.3 billion 2009
projects causes serious ripple effects throughout the project.
The change order process presents one of the biggest chal- 2003 $5.3 billion 2011
lenges to finishing a project on time and on budget.396 Reduc- 2004 $6.3 billion 2012
tion in change orders alone is estimated to result in a minimum 2009 $7.3 billion 2016
six percent cost-savings.397
2012 $8.3 billion 2019
Notably, once projects are underway, the operating agency
may not have the necessary staff to process change orders.398 2014 $9.7 billion 2021
It can take NYCT staff nine months, on average, to process 2015 $10.2 billion 2022
even simple change orders.399 As NYCT requires additional 2018 $11.2 billion 2022
layers of review for more costly change orders, this process
can take far longer with more complex changes.400
The complexities of working with the MTA don’t just impact the Among the issues MTA cites as its own failures are splitting
Authority’s bottom line. Contractors and vendors are hesitant East Side Access into 50 contracts, with “frequent” conflicts;
to work with the MTA, which receives 3.5 bids per contract requiring unnecessary design changes well into construction,
as compared to other cities that receive eight bids.401 Those and overpaying for some contracts that were not competi-
contractors that are willing to do business with the MTA add a tively bid.409 However, the MTA places most of the blame for
premium to bids of between 15 and 25 percent in anticipation delays on a lack of cooperation by Amtrak.410 RPA argues that
of delays and change orders.402 political pressures drove many of the initial decisions that have
caused delays and under-budgeting.411 Additionally, while the
Change orders have plagued some of the MTA’s recent mega MTA points to a lack of cooperation from Amtrak, RPA notes
projects. Phase I of the Second Avenue Subway required that the project has also suffered because of an unwillingness
thousands of change orders.403 During just a four-month pe- between the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North to share
riod of Phase I of the Second Avenue Subway, the 96th Street platforms and operating space in Grand Central Station.412
Station had over 50 change orders as the contractor rushed
to meet the December 2016 opening deadline.404 Additionally,
30 percent of the entire Second Avenue Subway electrical SCAFFOLD LAW
package was modified with change orders after construction Construction by the MTA, and indeed all contracting entities
began, impacting the entire project.405 An emphasis on aes- public and private in New York State, is especially expensive
393 Rosenthal, December 28, 2017.
394 Id.
395 Id.
397 N.Y.C. Council Committee on Finance Jointly with Subcommittee on Capital Budget, Testimony of Budget Director at the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget Melanie Hartzog, Mar. 20, 2018, pages 42-43,
available at https://legistar.council.nyc.gov/View.ashx?M=F&ID=6206829&GUID=3679BEF3-85FE-40EA-B4B0-FD1DC0F5FF04.
398 Id.
399 Id. at page 38.
400 424
Id.
401 Rosenthal, December 28, 2017.
402 Id.
404 Id. at page 38.
405 Id. at page 15.
407 Alfonso A. Castilo, East Side Access price goes up again, now stands at $11.2B, Newsday, Apr. 15, 2018, available at https://www.newsday.com/long-island/east-side-access-tour-1.18020231.
408 Id.
409 Id.
410 Id.
412 Id.

because of the high liability costs imposed
by Scaffold Law.413 Despite MTA’s history
of working to effectively manage risk and
promote safety for workers and custom-
ers, MTA insurance costs have risen to
seven percent of contracted construction
value.414
Enacted in 1921, Scaffold Law derives
from the 1885 Act ‘for the protection of
life and limb’ which imposed liability on
anyone “who shall knowingly or negligently
furnish and erect… improper scaffold-
ing….”415 The law was expanded in 1947 to
include coverage for workers who fall from
elevated devices other than scaffolds. The
law was amended further in 1969 to place
responsibility for safety practices squarely
on “[a]ll contractors and owners and their
agents.”416 While on its face the Scaffold
Law deals with work-related construction
injuries involving a fall from a height or be-
ing struck by a falling object, judicial deci-
sions have expanded its scope to impose
liability for work-related injuries tangentially
involving the effects of gravity, including
horizontal movement, if the injuries are
sustained on or near a construction site
or during an enumerated activity, such as
repairing.417 increasing premiums, which are passed on to all contracting
When injured on the job, Workers’ Compensation is generally entities. New York is the only state left that has a scaffold law,
the exclusive legal remedy against the employer and tort re- and the cost to insure a construction project in New York is ten
covery from third-parties is limited by the principle of compar- times higher than it is in other states.421 One striking example
ative negligence.418 In New York State, however, Scaffold Law of these dynamics at work is the cost of insuring the East Side
has been interpreted to impose absolute vicarious liability, with Access project to link the Long Island Rail Road to Grand
no inquiry into worker contributory negligence,419 on owners, Central. Liability insurance was initially bound for $93 million
contractors and other parties that are not the worker’s employ- in 2002, but as projected completion has been pushed back
er for a range of work-related construction injuries. Empirical from 2010 to 2020, the cost of coverage has swelled to $584
studies looking at data from other states before and after a million, a 557 percent increase that reflects these structural
repeal of their own scaffold laws suggest that it blunts contrac- changes to the insurance marketplace.422
tors’ incentives to invest in worker safety, doesn’t result in safer
worksites, and in fact correlates with increased workplace Recommendation: Reduce Costs
injury rates.420 Addressing the operating deficits and underfunded capital
Navigating this expansive liability, insurance carriers in the con- program can be done largely through two methods: reducing
struction market have either left New York altogether, reducing costs or identifying new or additional revenues. Congestion
competition and increasing prices, or have remained while pricing would be beneficial to the City, the State and the planet
413 N.Y. Labor Law §§ 240 and 241(a).
414 Michael R. Hattery, et al., Final Report to New York Civil Justice Institute: The Costs of Labor Law 240 on New York’s Economy and Public Infrastructure, Nelson A. Rockefeller Inst. of Gov’t of the State Univ. of
New York (Dec. 31, 2013), page 38.
415 Barry R. Temkin, New York’s Labor Law Section 240: Has It Been Narrowed or Expanded by the Courts Beyond the Legislative Intent? 44 N.Y.L. Sch. L. Rev. 45, n.31 (2000).
416 The law was expanded in 1947 to include coverage for workers who fall from elevated devices other than scaffolds. The law was amended further in 1969 to place responsibility for safety practices squarely on “[a]
ll contractors and owners and their agents.”
417 Construction Law Committee of the New York County Lawyer’s Association, New York’s Scaffold Law and Pending Reforms (Nov. 6, 2014), available at https://www.nycla.org/siteFiles/Publications/Publica-
tions1729_0.pdf.
418 See CPLR §§ 1401 and 1411.
419 “Negligence, if any, of the injured worker is of no consequence.” Rocovich v. Consolidated Edison Co., 78 N.Y.2d 509, 513 (1991).
420 Hattery, et al. (Dec. 31, 2013) at page 10.
421 Willis Towers Watson, Mitigating the Impact of the NY Labor Law (Oct. 2017), available at https://www.willistowerswatson.com/-/media/WTW/PDF/Insights/2017/10/mitigating-the-impact-of-the-ny-labor-law-wtw.
pdf.
422 Will Bredderman, Critics Blame Scaffold Law for Megaproject’s Insurance Costs Ballooning 557%, Crain’s N.Y., July 30, 2018, available at https://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20180730/POLI-
TICS/180739992/critics-blame-scaffold-law-for-megaproject-s-insurance-costs-ballooning-557.

even without considering the fiscal impact. In addition, it is a maximum use of them. Comprehensive public construction
source of revenue that would be useful in any reform. As such, reform for all public contracting entities across New York State
it is included in the BAT financial plan. The next step in the would provide procurement flexibility to both BAT-C and the
reform would be to identify any potential cost savings to close City of New York.
the gap. Below is a discussion of areas where such savings The School Construction Authority (SCA) is one example of a
might be found. local State authority with extraordinary powers, including some
of the same privileges that should be granted to BAT-C. The
OPERATING EXPENSES SCA was created in 1988 by the New York State Legislature
for the purpose of constructing and renovating educational
As noted earlier, the current structure of the MTA is the result
facilities throughout the five boroughs.428 A driving force behind
of more than 50 years of combination, mergers and consoli-
the creation of the SCA was to “remov[e] bureaucratic snags
dations. Much of the existing structure reflects that history. As
that … had inflated costs and created delays … in the building
such, BAT takeover of the City’s transit system should include
and renovation of city schools.”429 To that end, the legislation
an independent and detailed audit of the management, opera-
creating the SCA contains several explicit exemptions from
tions, processes, and performance of the entire system—with
various laws and rules that apply to other authorities and City
any findings, conclusions, and recommendations published
agencies, which would be similarly helpful to BAT-C.
publicly.
The State has exempted SCA from certain burdensome con-
BAT should continue the MTA’s practice for the last decade of
tracting procedures and requirements, including an exemption
pursuing administrative reductions, operational consolidations,
from following Wicks Law by awarding multiple-prime con-
strategic initiatives and improved business practices.423 For ex-
tracts.430 While the state requires SCA to grant large capital
ample, MTA leadership very recently suggested it was weigh-
contracts to the lowest responsible bidder, the SCA is at least
ing a consolidation plan that would combine the various legacy
permitted to create guidelines for the qualification of bidders
operations at each independent agency, such as overlapping
and may restrict bidding to pre-qualified vendors,431 and may
accounting and human resources functions.424 BAT would
circumvent the competitive bidding process upon a determina-
propose to do that and more, such as additionally consolidat-
tion the competitive bidding is impractical or inappropriate.432
ing management across the agencies it took over. Integration
Meanwhile, the State has not extended design-build authority
of multiple entities under the BAT would also allow for more
to the SCA, despite lobbying by the City.433
streamlined processes, which would increase efficiency within
the organization and eliminate redundancy.425 State law also exempts the SCA from a range certain of local
land use review procedures, providing a guide for exceptions
Liberating the Big Apple Transit Operations Agency (BAT-O)
that BAT-C would seek. Actions of the SCA related to its
from unnecessary legacy operating expenses through re-
capital plan, site selection, conveyance of property, and design
organization and consolidation is important, but only half of
and construction are not subject to “any general, special or
the task. We must also ensure the Big Apple Transit Capital
local law, city charter, administrative code, ordinance or reso-
Authority (BAT-C) is exempt from a range of outdated legal
lution governing uniform land use review procedures, any other
requirements that impose additional costs and delays on many
land use planning review and approvals, historic preservation
public construction projects.
procedures, architectural reviews, franchise approvals and
other state or local review and approval procedures govern-
PROCUREMENT ing the use of land and the improvements thereon within the
While the MTA is itself design-build eligible,426 may use best city.”434 Moreover, capital projects undertaken by the SCA are
value criteria in selecting bids, and is exempt from multi- not subject to “the provisions of the charter of the city relating
ple-prime contracting, its capital procurement process often to site selection, land use review procedures, art commission
functions as if it had no such procurement privileges.427 To out- review procedures, general standards and cost limits, project
perform the MTA on capital procurement, BAT-C will certainly scope and design procedures, or contract registration and
need to have the same privileges, and will then have to make vouchering procedures.”435
423 MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget, November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 1 (Nov. 2018).
424 Joint – Senate Standing Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions and Senate Standing Committee on Transportation, Testimony MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim, Feb. 19, 2019.
425 Metropolitan Transportation Sustainability Advisory Workgroup Report, (Dec. 18, 2008), page 10, available at https://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/2018-12-Metropolitan-Transportation-Sus-
tainability-Advisory-Workgroup-Report.pdf.
426 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1209(6); N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1265-a(1). The authorization is expiring and a legislation amendment to the 2019 executive budget proposes to extend through June 2025. See
https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/fy20/exec/30day/ted-artvii-newpart-rr.pdf.
427 Building Rail Transit Projects Better for Less (Feb. 2018) at page 41-42; Metropolitan Transportation Sustainability Advisory Workgroup, Report. (Dec. 2018).
428 See N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1725 et. seq., known as the “New York City School Construction Authority Act.”
429 Selwyn Raab, School-Building Agency Changes the Old Rules, N.Y. Times, Oct. 18, 1989, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/18/nyregion/school-building-agency-changes-the-old-rules.html.
430 N.Y. Public Authorities Law §1735(1). However, unless extended by the State Legislature, the SCA’s Wicks-exemption expires June 30, 2019.
433 N.Y. Legis. Assemb. A06667. Reg. Sess. 2017-2018. (N.Y. 2017).
435 Id.

Proposed Scaffold Law reforms would introduce a compar- to work together to find health care savings of $3.4 billion over
ative negligence standard in which liability is proportional to four fiscal years (Fiscal 2015 through Fiscal 2018). This came
fault, in situations where a worker’s injury is found to have about largely to offset some of the $14 billion gross cost of
been caused by that worker’s failure to follow safety training or settling labor contracts, all of which had expired under Mayor
use available safety devices. Scaffold Law reform would not Michael Bloomberg.
limit recovery available under workers compensation, and it This savings agreement is notable for two reasons. Firstly,
would dramatically reduce insurance costs for BAT. it produced structural changes to the delivery and admin-
istration of health care for City employees, which saved the
CONCILIATORY LABOR REFORM City money. Secondly, the agreement stipulated that should
savings exceed the $3.4 billion minimum, the first $365 million
Finding savings in operating costs is difficult given the heavily
would go back to the workforce as a bonus payment, and
unionized workforce of the transit system. Wages, benefits and
anything beyond that would be split between the City and the
many work rules have been established in collective bargain-
workforce. The agreement thus had favorable conditions for all
ing and are legally protected. Therefore, any plan involving the
parties involved.
workforce needs the buy in of that workforce.
One possible idea would be to mimic these savings. This
One strategy to achieve savings used by New York City could
would prove challenging as far as health care, but an agree-
be replicated by BAT. In May 2014, the Administration and the
ment on other fringe benefit savings could happen. One pos-
Municipal Labor Committee (MLC) announced an agreement
sibility would be to consolidate any supplemental health and

welfare benefits into a single fund, which could be managed we assume that two-thirds of MRT and PMT revenue from
by the MTA Labor Coalition. This coalition is made up of 17 MTA Headquarters would be allocated to BAT which mirrors
unions and represents 54,000 employees of the MTA. the share of that operation BAT is expected to assume. These
Combining these funds into a single fund would yield savings assumptions were made for budgeting purposes and are
from economies of scale in administration and enhanced bar- based off of relative expense ratios, though any final revenue
gaining power when negotiating prices for services with ben- sharing details should be subject to negotiation.
efit providers, including drug prices. Additionally, this model of Currently, MTA receives $7.8 billion annually in taxes and other
finding savings could be applied to other parts of BAT’s labor subsidies to support its operations. As indicated in the table
force, such as reviews of work rules. below, BAT would receive $1 billion in direct subsidies,438 with
While much of the focus regarding work rules is on cost, work a further $8.8 billion in revenues (which include taxes, subsi-
rule changes could also focus on improving rider experience, dies and farebox revenue) that will waterfall from the legacy
which in turn could lead to increased ridership and more finan- MTA (in the bond market revenue flows that cascade from high
cial stability for the MTA. For example, while the need for mul- priority entities downward like this are often called waterfalls).
tiple employees on trains will decrease as signal systems are Remaining funds come from capital financing programs and
upgraded, the subway’s customer service experience could miscellaneous revenues like advertising and rents.
be improved by assigning employees to each station to assist The borrowing assumed in the financial plan is based on the
passengers in the event of delays or service changes and to assumed need for two five year Capital Plans, for which the
alert the proper authorities in the case of medical incidents. proposed plan assumes BAT will require borrowing of $16.8
billion. For purposes of simplification, borrowing is evenly dis-
Recommendation: Develop a Responsible tributed through the years corresponding to each capital plan,
Financial Plan even though this is unlikely to be the case in practice.
The budget for BAT is presented here as an exercise to un- Debt service is calculated based on interest rates assumed
derstand the feasibility of municipal control of the City’s transit in MTA’s current financial plan. For the outyears, interest rates
system and to demonstrate that local control will not have a are adjusted based on a forecast of municipal bond interest
negative impact on the finances of the commuter railroads. rates created by IHS Markit. Borrowing for future capital plans
beginning in 2020 is assumed to be issued by BAT. All existing
MTA debt, and any anticipated borrowing to finish previous
BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS capital plans, is assumed under the MTA debt service budget.
For purposes of this exercise, this report makes a series of This financial plan inherits an operating deficit from the current
assumptions on which to base the model. These assumptions MTA operations. Municipal control of the system will require
are made for the aforementioned purposes, and should not be that the deficit be closed, and the capital plan remains fund-
taken as official positions for how a negotiated split should be ed. The following section outlines strategies to address these
structured. issues.
The first assumption is that municipal control would start in As noted earlier, revenues will first flow to the legacy MTA to
2020.436 Figures included the budget represent a simplified pay the debt service associated with that entity before flowing
unification of the most recent adopted operating budgets, into BAT (and the other MTA spun-off components). This mod-
including revenue and expense estimates with no other chang- el would remain in place until the MTA extinguishes all its debt,
es. Therefore, it incorporates the same budgetary assump- at which point those revenues would be directly assigned to
tions in those plans, including ridership rates and biennial fare BAT and the commuter railroads
and toll increases of four percent net in 2019 and 2021.
While the operating budget is based on existing published
Revenues are assigned to the various components based documents, this report assumes a new capital budget as the
on current splits in MTA’s budget except for those that flow most recent one was first introduced four years ago, and does
through the legacy-MTA, which include fares and pre-conges- not reflect recent recognition of a need for increased capital
tion pricing bridge and tunnel toll revenues. Those revenues spending. Therefore, it assumes a new capital plan based
would service the legacy-MTA debt service, and then would upon information publicly available.
“waterfall” to BAT and the commuter railroads. As noted ear-
lier, this report does not propose an exact split of how those
funds should waterfall between BAT and the railroads. So
for purposes of this budget exercise, this plan assumes that
80 percent of waterfall revenues are allocated to BAT and 20
percent allocated to the commuter railroads; a split that most
closely follows the current split in MTA funding.437 Furthermore,
436 This year was chosen as it represents the earliest clean break point looking forward.
437 As shown in the Hold Commuter Railroads Harmless section of this report, this split actually leaves the railroads with over $200 million more in annual funding then they currently get. This bump in funding should
not be taken as a recommendation, but is chosen to show the viability of the plan.
438 See Appendix for breakout.

BUDGET OVERVIEW
The budget is presented here in several steps starting with the legacy-MTA and ending with the BAT’s budget and financing plan.
MTA
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Revenue
Farebox 6,144 6,134 6,144 6,267 6,392
Toll Revenue 1,990 1,998 1,998 2,038 2,079
Dedicated Taxes 3
5,762 5,926 6,107 6,229 6,353
Total Revenues 13,896 14,058 14,249 14,533 14,824

Operating Expenses
Debt Service (MTA Debt) 2,840 3,080 3,223 3,450 3,455
Total Operating Expenses 2,840 3,080 3,223 3,450 3,455

MTA Revenue After Debt Service 11,056 10,979 11,026 11,083 11,369
Waterfall of MTA Revenue

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
MTA Revenue for Waterfall 11,056 10,979 11,026 11,083 11,369
Revenue for BAT 8,844 8,783 8,821 8,867 9,095
Revenue for Commuter Rail 2,211 2,196 2,205 2,217 2,274
MTA Net Balance - - - - -
BAT
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Revenue
Waterfall from MTA 8,844 8,783 8,821 8,867 9,095
State/Local Subsidies 1,014 924 1,062 1,083 1,105
Capital & Other Reimbursement 1,376 1,266 1,268 1,293 1,319
Other Revenue 533 548 556 568 579
Total Revenues 11,768 11,520 11,707 11,811 12,098

Operating Expenses
Labor 9,029 9,152 9,415 9,603 9,795
Non-Labor 2,761 2,810 2,875 2,933 2,991
MTA HQ Expense (2/3) 480 489 500 510 520
Debt Service (New BAT Debt) 75 150 253 355 457
Total Operating Expenses 12,345 12,601 13,043 13,400 13,763

Net Surplus/(Deficit) (577) (1,081) (1,336) (1,590) (1,665)

Congestion Pricing - 550 1,100 1,100 1,100

Net Surplus/(Deficit) after Congestion Pricing (577) (531) (236) (490) (565)
Financing Assumptions
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
BAT 1,685 1,685 1,685 1,685 1,685
Source: NYC Council Finance estimates based on MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 2, dollars in millions

recommended. So while funding streams
of about $600 million will be needed in the
short term to address the funding gap,
having an easily accessible source of at
least $1.5 billion should be authorized.
If excess funding is available in the early
years it could be used for pay-as-you-go
capital. This would reduce debt service
in the long run and improve the financial
condition of BAT.
Recommendation: Fund the BAT’s

Capital Program
On May 23, 2018, MTA’s NYCTA President
Andy Byford presented the Subway “Fast
Forward” plan at MTA’s May board meet-
ing, which is expected to be a significant
portion of the 2020-2024 MTA Capital
Program. Notable highlights of the plan
include upgrading and accelerating the
installation of subway signal updates and
BAT OPERATING BUDGET accelerating the pace of station accessibil-
BAT’s operating expenses are approximately $12.3 billion for ity. At this time, the total cost of the Fast Forward Plan remains
Calendar Year 2020 and grow to nearly $13.8 billion by Calen- ambiguous. However, it has been estimated that it could
dar Year 2024. Labor costs comprise the largest single cate- cost approximately $40 billion over 15 years to fund the Plan.
gory of spending at $9 billion in 2020 and grow to $9.8 billion According to the Wall Street Journal, a source familiar with the
by 2024, though as a percentage of total expenses labor costs plan stated that MTA estimates that fixing the subway system
decrease slightly over the financial plan period. As a brand will cost approximately $43 billion and take approximately 15
new entity, BAT’s debt service costs start small and grow as it years. The source stated that the plan would cost $19 billion
begins to borrow to fund its capital needs in the 2020 – 2029 over the first five years, $18 billion over the following five years,
Capital Plan. and $6 billion in the final five years.440
BAT’s total revenues are $11.8 billion for Calendar Year 2020 Working under this $40 billion 15-year estimate, and including
and grow to $12.1 billion in Calendar Year 2024. The greatest other capital needs outside of the plan, such as the bridges
share of BAT revenues come from the combined fare, toll, and and tunnels, we assume that the first five years of the new plan
dedicated tax revenue remaining for BAT after existing MTA will be $24.8 billion. The following five years is based off that
debt service is paid. These revenues total $8.8 billion in Calen- number, with a 10 percent adjustment for inflation for a total of
dar Year 2020 and grow to $9.1 billion in Calendar Year 2024. $27.3 billion. This results in a total 10 year capital plan of $52.1
State and local subsidies, which include operating assistance, billion.
the NYC Transportation Assistance Fund,439 and other funding Currently, MTA receives $7.2 billion in Federal funding and $8.6
agreements, total $1 billion in Calendar Year 2020 and grows billion in State funding for the 2015-2019 Capital Program.
moderately to $1.1 billion by Calendar Year 2024. Overall, Federal and State funds represent 24.1 percent and
BAT’s Operating Budget, before any new revenues, closes 28.5 percent, respectively, of the current Capital Program
with a gap of $577 million in Calendar Year 2020. The operat- (excluding Bridge and Tunnel Bonds and PAYGO). For the pro-
ing gap widens to $1.7 billion by Calendar Year 2024, though posed 2020-2029 BAT Capital Program, we assume that BAT
the introduction of congestion pricing revenues will moderate would receive the current proportion of funding from Federal
outyear gaps. After congestion pricing, gaps remain under and State governments. As such, BAT would receive $12.6
$600 million over the course of the financial plan and are antic- billion from Federal Funding and $14.9 billion from the State, as
ipated to be closed by new revenue streams. well as $5.3 billion in City capital funding, or equivalent revenue
streams from those entities. Furthermore, we anticipate a five
A financial plan with a longer time horizon is difficult to con- percent savings in BAT capital spending, totaling $2.6 billion.
struct due to the diminishing accuracy of forecast beyond The remaining $16.8 billion would need to be funded by the
five years. However, the sizeable capital needs facing BAT City or new recurring revenue.
mean that to ensure long-term viability of the system, funding
streams beyond the amount needed to cover the gap are
439 These are revenues from the surcharges imposed on for-hire vehicle trips that start or terminate in, or traverse, Manhattan below 96th Street.
440 Paul Berger, New York’s Subway, Bus Overhaul Will Take 15 Years, Cost $43 Billion, Wall Street Journal, May 23, 2018, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/new-yorks-subway-bus-overhaul-will-take-15-
years-cost-43-billion-1527106797.

2020-2029 BAT Capital Program ($ in millions) Recommendation: Hold Commuter
Railroads Harmless
Program 2020-2029
BAT would not include the commuter railroads: Long Island
Core Capital Program
Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad. However, these entities
New York City Transit $ 41,612 could still receive support to run their operations at levels simi-
MTA Bus 1,050 lar to the amounts they receive now under the MTA. The exact
Second Avenue Subway 3,150 amount of revenues they receive will be greatly dependent
on how the waterfall of revenues from the legacy-MTA is split
Core Subtotal $ 45,812 between BAT and the railroads. As noted earlier, the example
Bridges and Tunnels 6,300 BAT budget was presented with an assumption of 80 percent
Total 2020-2029 Capital Program $ 52,112 of the waterfall going to BAT. This percentage was chosen as
it represented an approximate distribution that did not leave
the railroads with less funds than currently expected in MTA
2020-2029 BAT Capital Program Estimated Funding budget documents. In fact, the 80-20 split would leave the
Sources ($ in millions) railroads with a slight bump from their current position.441
Proposed 2020-2029 The first part of the chart outlines the current revenues avail-
able to the commuter railroads, after accounting for debt ser-
vice. MTA’s most recent financial plan estimates the railroads
Total 2020-2029 Program costs $52,112
combined have $2.21 billion of operating revenues and $2.02
billion of dedicated taxes and subsidies in 2020. Offsetting

Funding Currently Projected

their debt service leaves the railroads with $3.3 billion in total
Federal Capital $12,558 post-debt revenues in 2020.
State of New York Capital $14,851 The proposed plan is based off of the current MTA revenue
City of New York Capital $5,250 estimate and is effectively a plan to split the MTA into two
Total 2020-2024 components: BAT and the Commuter Railroads. Therefore,
$32,659 any current MTA resources that do not go to BAT, become
Funds Available
resources that go to the commuter railroads. The second
Funding Gap Before Savings* 19,452
part of the chart above walks through that process by taking
Anticipated Savings 2,606 current total MTA revenue projections ($18.4 billion in 2020).
Funding Gap After Savings $16,847 Then it offsets all of the current MTA debt service ($2.8 billion
*funding gap to filled by the City in 2020), the total revenues at BAT ($11.8 billion in 2020), and
Note: Savings Target is 5% finally accounts for the cost of the railroads taking over about
one-third of the operations of MTAHQ ($240 million in 2020).
Commuter Railroads Revenues Net of Legacy MTA Debt Service

2020 2021 2022
Current Net Revenues
Operating Revenues 2,211 2,202 2,159
Dedicated Taxes & Local Subsidies 2,021 2,219 2,253
Offset Debt Service 940 1,063 1,139
CURRENT NET REVENUES 3,292 3,359 3,273

Proposed Revenues Net of Debt Service & New Expenses*

Total Current MTA Revenues 4
18,354 18,448 18,657
Offset Current MTA Debt Service 2,840 3,080 3,223
Offset MTA HQ 1/3 Operating Expenses 240 245 250
Offset MTA Revenues to BAT 11,768 11,520 11,707
PROPOSED NET REVENUES 3,505 3,604 3,478

Net Increase/(Decrease) in Revenues in Proposed Plan 213 245 205

Source: MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Vol 2; NYC Council Finance Division Estimates (Dollars in millions)
441 This example is not to propose a specific course of action, but is presented as exercise to determine to viability of such a plan.

That leaves the commuter railroads with about $3.5 billion of
post-debt revenues in 2020, or about $213 million more than
under current MTA budget documents. MOBILITY ISN’T JUST A TRANSIT
The exact difference from current MTA projections will rest on ISSUE, IT’S A SOCIAL JUSTICE ISSUE
how the legacy-MTA revenue waterfall is split between BAT
and the railroads. However, this exercise demonstrates that AND AN ECONOMIC JUSTICE ISSUE
the financial plan presented for BAT in this report is not done
at the expense of the commuter railroads.
Year Base Fare 2019 Value
1904 $0.05 ---
FARES
19135 $0.05 $1.28
What’s Not Working 1948 $0.10 $1.06
Whether the fault lies with intransigence up in Albany or the 1953 $0.15 $1.42
Frankenstein’s monster of the state-created MTA, it’s the City’s 1966 $0.20 $1.58
residents that have been forced to bear the weight of the
financial bungling of their mass transit system. As the system
1970 $0.30 $2.00
has fallen into disrepair, the State and the MTA have increas- 1972 $0.35 $2.14
ingly relied on fare increases, at a rate far outpacing inflation, in 1976 $0.50 $2.26
lieu of financial discipline and tough policy solutions.442
1980 $0.60 $1.94
When the IRT first opened its doors in City Hall the price of a
fare was five cents—115 years later, the price would be around 1981 $0.75 $2.17
$1.30 today if it had kept pace with inflation.443 Instead, today a 1984 $0.90 $2.22
SingleRide ticket costs $3.00 and even more draconian hikes
1986 $1.00 $2.30
have been proposed if new revenue streams are not found.444
1990 $1.15 $2.27
The result of decades of greater-than-inflationary fare hikes
is that New York City commuters are forced to shoulder an 1992 $1.25 $2.28
unfairly disproportionate share of the MTA’s bloat. The MTA, 1995 $1.50 $2.51
already less efficient than its peers, places over 70 percent
of the burden of running the subway (including operational 2003 $2.00 $2.77
bloat) on its passengers,445 while comparable agencies charge 2009 $2.25 $2.68
around 50 percent.446 Some at the MTA cite this high “farebox 2013 $2.50 $2.75
operating ratio” (total fares divided by total operating costs) as
evidence of efficiency or self-sufficiency.447 However, inefficient 2015 $2.75 $2.69
management has led to skyrocketing costs448 while service
quality has plummeted.449 What the MTA’s high farebox collec-
tions really evidence is that the Authority has dipped, frequent-
ly and deeply, into passenger pockets in order to make up for
its shortcomings, and that behind it all, Albany has failed in
providing sound funding alternatives.
The MTA and the State point to fare evasion as the reason
for the system’s woes,450 but it is a symptom of the MTA’s
442 Libby Kane, Here’s exactly how much the price of a New York City subway ride has changed over the last 100 years, Business Insider, Mar. 23, 2015, available at https://www.businessinsider.com/how-much-the-
price-of-the-new-york-city-subway-has-changed-2015-3.
443 CPI Inflation Calculator, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, available at https://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl; Diane Pham, All the MTA Fare Hikes of the Last 100 Years, 6sqft, Mar. 23, 2015, available at https://
www.6sqft.com/all-the-mta-fare-hikes-over-the-last-100-years-plus-a-video-of-when-it-cost-just-15-cents/.
444 David Klepper, Cuomo to lawmakers: Congestion tolls or 30 percent fare hike, Associated Press, Feb. 7, 2019, available at https://www.apnews.com/7554fd0993c24a2eb5f3943a466bbb16.
445 Federal Transit Administration Transit Agency Profiles, MTA New York City Transit (2017), available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/transit_agency_profile_doc/2017/20008.pdf.
446 Federal Transit Administration Transit Agency Profiles, Chicago Transit Authority (2017), available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/transit_agency_profile_doc/2017/50066.pdf; Federal Transit
Administration Transit Agency Profiles, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (2017), available at https://www.transit.dot.gov/sites/fta.dot.gov/files/transit_agency_profile_doc/2017/30019.pdf.
447 Clyde Haberman, Assessing the Financial Burden of Being an M.T.A. Rider, N.Y. Times, Dec. 13, 2012, available at https://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/assessing-the-financial-burden-of-being-an-m-t-
a-rider/.
448 Brian M. Rosenthal, M.T.A. Construction Costs ‘Threaten to Strangle’ Growth, Report Warns, N.Y. Times, Feb. 5, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/nyregion/mta-construction-costs-threat-
en-to-strangle-growth-report-warns.html.
449 State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, Financial Outlook for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Report 8-2019 (Oct. 2018), available at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/osdc/rpt8-2019-mta-financial-outlook.
pdf.
450 Governor Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio Announce 10-Point Plan to Transform and Fund the MTA, February 26, 2019, available at https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-and-mayor-de-blasio-an-
nounce-10-point-plan-transform-and-fund-mta (last accessed Mar. 1, 2019); Fare evasion at NYCT, Special Finance Committee Ridership/Fare Evasion Presentation (Dec. 3, 2018), available at http://web.mta.info/mta/
news/books/docs/special-finance-committee/Fare-evasion-board-doc_181130.pdf.

failures, not the cause.451 “Do we think people gratuitously hurdles—his priority is his job search.
jump turnstiles because they have nothing better to do? That • Leslie W., a substitute teacher, has lost out on hours
seems like such a farfetched claim I can’t believe anyone because she could not afford the fare to get to the school.
with half a brain would make it,” asked Yale Professor Issa Limited transportation options cabin her employment
Kohler-Hausmann.452 Rather than address the frustrations with opportunities and also her opportunities for advancement.
the system’s affordability and reliability, the MTA’s “cure” for the She had to stop attending classes because she can’t af-
problem has resulted in a disproportionate targeting of poor ford the transportation expense. The ever-rising fares feel
and minority communities, and served only to create more like “an attack,” she says, on the City’s working class who
problems for the communities they impact.453 Nine out of ten struggle financially just to make it out their door.460
of individuals arrested for turnstile jumping are people of color,
and black or Hispanic neighborhoods make up all of the top This is just a sampling of the challenges low-income and
10 neighborhoods with the highest arrest rate.454 It is already a working class New Yorkers face every day. One out of four of
terrible state of affairs to criminalize being poor,455 we cannot New York’s poor have not been able to receive medical care
double down and further target our communities of color. because of the barrier posed by subway and bus fares, one
out of three have been prevented from pursuing job opportu-
The burden of rapidly increasing subway fares puts a boot nities.461
on the back of New York City’s most vulnerable populations.
43.6 percent of City residents in live in poverty or near-pov- While Fair Fares is a good first step at addressing fare equity,
erty, which for a two-adult, two-child family means an annual we can and should go further. The working class have the
income of less than $32,402 and $48,603 respectively.456 most volatile and least flexible job schedules,462 and suffer
These individuals and their families are highly dependent on from the highest degree of turnover and instability.463 They
public transportation, more so than similar populations in the should not have to make yet another administrative filing,
state and nation,457 but a $2.75 barrier to entry can prevent attend yet another appointment date, just to afford the trans-
them from going to class, finding employment, or receiving portation to get to their jobs.
healthcare. And then when fares go up, they are the people
who are hurt the most. These personal experiences collected
by the Community Service Society are just a thin slice of the DECADES OF REGRESSIVE FARE
problems facing New Yorkers. POLICY HURT THE RIDERS WHO
• Darius J. had to drop out of City College just six courses CAN AFFORD IT LEAST.
short of an Associate’s degree. When he learned about
a free computer training course he thought his fortunes
had turned—but he couldn’t afford a MetroCard to get to
Recommendation: Reform the Fare System
class. His choice? Walking over an hour each way, in the
winter, from West Harlem to 138th Street in the Bronx to Fare reform could address the tragedy of decades of regres-
continue his education.458 sive fare policy: our poorest residents pay into a system that
keeps the streets (relatively) clear for the City’s wealthiest.464
• Manny A. worked his entire life as a contract worker and
Fare reform to address this injustice is a civil imperative. But
manual laborer and still had to choose between either
more than that, it has the potential to improve the economic
putting food on the table or buying a MetroCard to look
viability of life in the City for New Yorkers of all stripes, and is
for work.459 And although there are some government
part and parcel of transforming the City into a greener, safer,
services that might help with obtaining a MetroCard, he
and more efficient home for all of us. Numerous studies show
couldn’t afford the time to get past those administrative
that the physical mobility provided by public transit and an
451 Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Edgar Sandoval, How Rampant Is fare Evasion? At Times Square, One Rider a Minute Sneaks In, N.Y. Times, Dec. 24, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/24/nyregion/
subway-fare-evasion.html; Ross Barkan, The MTA is using fare evasion as an excuse for its failures, City & State, Dec. 12, 2018, available at https://cityandstateny.com/articles/opinion/commentary/mta-fare-evasion.
html.
452 Anna Flagg and Ashley Nerbovig, Subway Policing In New York City Still Has a Race Problem, Gothamist, Sep. 12, 2018, available at http://gothamist.com/2018/09/12/subway_policing_in_new_york_city_st.php.
453 Anna Flagg and Ashley Nerbovig, Subway Policing In New York City Still Has a Race Problem, Gothamist, Sep. 12, 2018, available at http://gothamist.com/2018/09/12/subway_policing_in_new_york_city_st.php;
Harold Stolper and Jeff Jones, The Crime of Being Short $2.75, Community Service Society (Oct. 2017), available at http://www.cssny.org/publications/entry/the-crime-of-being-short-2.75.
454 Anna Flagg and Ashley Nerbovig, Subway Policing In New York City Still Has a Race Problem, Gothamist, Sep. 12, 2018, available at http://gothamist.com/2018/09/12/subway_policing_in_new_york_city_st.php.
455 Harold Stolper and Jeff Jones, The Crime of Being Short $2.75, Community Service Society (Oct. 2017), available at http://www.cssny.org/publications/entry/the-crime-of-being-short-2.75; “The law, in its majes-
tic equality, forbids the rich as well as the poor to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal bread.” Anatole France, Le Lys Rouge (1894), Chapter 7.
456 Mayor’s Office of Operations, New York City Government Poverty Measure 2005-2016 (Apr. 2018), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/opportunity/pdf/18_poverty_measure_report.pdf.
457 Harold Stolper and Nancy Rankin, The Transit Affordability Crisis: How Reduced MTA Fares Can Help Low-Income New Yorkers Move Ahead, Community Service Society (Apr. 2016), page 6, available at http://
www.cssny.org/publications/entry/the-transit-affordability-crisis.
458 Id. at page 2.
459 Id. at page 7.
460 Id. at page 15.
461 Id. at page 13.
462 David Vinik, Low-wage Workers Deserve Predictable Work Schedules, New Republic, Apr. 15, 2015, available at https://newrepublic.com/article/121528/lack-scheduling-flexibility-low-income-workers-big-prob-
lem.
463 Kristin F. Butcher and Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Most Workers in Low-Wage Labor Market Work Substantial Hours, in Volatile Jobs, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (July 24, 2018), available at
https://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/most-workers-in-low-wage-labor-market-work-substantial-hours-in.
464 Stolper and Rankin (Apr. 2016) at page 6.

efficient commute is strongly correlated with upward econom- are accessible.469 Among these hundreds of thousands are
ic mobility and opportunity,465 and that decreases to income persons with mobility disabilities, seniors, and parents with
inequality are strongly linked to decreases in crime.466 Simply children under age five. The City Comptroller reported that
put, public transportation gives people bootstraps;467 it helps “New York City’s ADA transit deserts [or neighborhoods with
them move around in the city, earn educations, find jobs, and inaccessible subway stations] are home to 199,242 mobili-
get to work. The benefits of this accrue to everyone, even ty-impaired residents, 341,447 seniors above the age of 65,
non-riders. and 203,466 children below the age of five.”470 For seniors and
It’s time to rethink fare policy. parents with young children, the lack of elevators in New York
City subway stations creates some burden, but for the dis-
• Fare increases should not be the be-all and end-all for abled, it creates a barrier and the denial of a public service.
transit funding.
Under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), NYCT
• A fare freeze, targeted fare reductions, and a fareless was given the mandate to identify key stations and develop a
system should be on the table, until such a time when plan to make them accessible by 2020.471 Key stations were to
increases might be pegged to inflation and nothing more. be selected considering the following criteria:
• We should conduct an exploration of other funding sourc- “(1) stations where passenger boardings exceed average
es that better support the City’s subway and buses as station passenger boardings on the rail system by at least
public goods. Nothing should be off the table. fifteen percent, unless such a station is close to another
• We should not be limited to the parochial view that the accessible station;
only person who benefits from public transportation is the (2) transfer stations on a rail line or between rail lines;
passenger. New York City’s subway and buses fuel the
most powerful economic engine in the State, country, and (3) major interchange points with other transportation
world—the system’s funding should reflect that. modes, including stations connecting with major parking
facilities, bus terminals, intercity or commuter rail stations,
• Fare reform must include a commitment to providing more passenger vessel terminals, or airports;
heavily discounted fares made more widely available to
the New Yorkers that need it. Public transit should be a (4) end stations, unless an end station is close to another
bridge that brings people and opportunity together, not a accessible station; and
financial wall. (5) stations serving major activity centers, such as employment
or government centers, institutions of higher education,
LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY hospitals or other major health care facilities, or other facilities
that are major trip generators for individuals with disabilities.”472
What’s Not Working NYCT submitted a key station plan in 1992 to the Federal
Transit Administration agreeing to make 54 subway stations
accessible to persons with disabilities by 2010.473 This plan
THE SUBWAY DOESN’T SERVE OVER ONE MILLION
was amended in 1994 to 100 stations by 2020.474 The 1994
NEW YORKERS
plan also reported that 15 of the 54 original key stations were
Over 11 percent of City residents—totaling over one million made accessible as of September 30, 1994.475 By 2002, this
people—have a disability and more than 1.6 million resi- total grew to 30 key stations and 13 non-key stations.476 By
dents—19 percent of the City—are over age 60.468 Hundreds 2008, an additional 37 key stations were made accessible,
of thousands of these New Yorkers cannot use most of the bringing the total to 67 key stations.477 Between 2008 and
City’s subway stations as only 24 percent, or 118 out of 472, 2017, 22 more key stations were added to this list, bringing
465 Raj Chetty, et al., Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States, The Quarterly Journal of Economics 129, No. 4, 2014, pages 36-40, available at https://
www.nber.org/papers/w19843.pdf.
466 Pablo Fajnzylber, et al., Inequality and Violent Crime, J.L. & Econ., vol. XLV, Apr. 2002; available at https://siteresources.worldbank.org/DEC/Resources/Crime%26Inequality.pdf; Gary S. Becker, Crime and Pun-
ishment: An Economic Approach, Essays in the Economics of Crime and Punishment, 1974, available at https://www.nber.org/chapters/c3625.pdf.
467 Todd Litman, Evaluating Transportation Equity, Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Nov. 2018, page 9, available at http://www.vtpi.org/equity.pdf.
468 AcessibleNYC (2018), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/mopd/downloads/pdf/accessiblenyc-2018.pdf.
469 Greg Mocker, Mother’s Death in Subway Station Focuses Attention on Accessibility and Elevators (Jan. 29, 2019) https://pix11.com/2019/01/29/mothers-death-in-subway-station-focuses-attention-on-accessibil-
ity-and-elevators/ (last accessed Feb. 6, 2019); MTA, Funding for Subway Station ADA Accessibility Approved (Apr. 26, 2018), available at http://www.mta.info/news/2018/04/26/funding-subway-station-ada-accessibil-
ity-approved (last accessed Feb. 6, 2019).
470 Office of the New York City Comptroller, Service Denied: Accessibility and the New York City Subway System (July 2018), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/service-denied-accessibili-
ty-and-the-new-york-city-subway-system/ (last accessed Feb. 5, 2019).
471 49 CFR §37.47(c) – (d). Unless an extension has been granted allowing for accessibility to be achieved for all key stations by year 2020, public entities operating public transportation services (such as NYCT) were
required under the ADA to make key stations accessible no later than July 26, 1994. In NYCT’s case, an extension has been granted.
472 49 CFR § 37.47(b).
473 Office of the State Comptroller, A Report By the New York State Comptroller: Metropolitan Transportation Authority – New York City Transit, Rapid Transit Services for Persons with Disabilities (2001), pages 1-2,
available at https://www.osc.state.ny.us/audits/allaudits/093004/01s69.pdf.
475 Id. at page 3.
476 Id.
477 Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee, Welcome Aboard: Accessibility at the MTA (Oct. 2008), Executive Summary Page iii, available at https://www.pcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Wel-
come-Aboard-Accessibility-at-the-MTA.pdf.

NYCT closer to its goal with
a total of 89 ADA compliant
key stations.478 To reach its
goal under the ADA, NYCT
must make the 11 final key
stations fully accessible by
2020.
While NYCT is on track to
reaching its goal of 100 key
stations by 2020, only 118
of its 472 subway stations
are accessible to persons
with mobility disabilities.
This slow pace in achieving
accessibility for its disabled
population is at odds with
the City’s values. Of the
122 neighborhoods served
by the subway system, 62
do not have an accessible
station. Furthermore, the
subway system is not only
lacking accessible stations,
it also often fails to maintain
its elevators in operable
working condition.479 For
example, between July
2014 and June 2015, the
system averaged 25 eleva-
tor outages averaged each
day, with as many as 46
outages on a bad day and
as low as seven outages
on a good day.480 Elevator
outages lasted an average
of five and a half hours, and
the longest outage lasted
a period of 27 days.481 One
tally of elevator breakdowns
revealed an average break-
down rate of 53.2 outages
per elevator in 2015.482
In 2017, it was reported that
two-thirds of all subway ele-
on 80 percent of the surveyed elevators and escalators, and
vators broke down at least once trapping passengers inside.483
when maintenance was completed, it was often performed
In a recent report from the City Comptroller whose office sur-
late.484 The Comptroller’s Office also found that the MTA “did
veyed 65 elevators and escalators throughout the City, it was
not systematically monitor whether defects found in elevators
found that the MTA did not perform scheduled maintenance
and escalators were corrected.”485 There were also reports in
478 Transit Center, Access Denied: Making the MTA Subway System Accessible to All New Yorkers (2017), page 4, available at http://transitcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/AccessDenied.pdf.
479 Complaint CIDNY, et al. v. MTA, et al. (Apr. 25, 2017), page 34, available at https://www.cidny.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/CIDNY-v.-MTA-SDNY-Complaint.pdf.
480 Access Denied: Making the MTA Subway System Accessible to All New Yorkers (2017) at page 14.
481 Id. at page 14.
482 Sarah M. Kaufman, et al., NYU Wagner Rudin Center for Transportation Policy and Management, Bringing Innovation to Paratransit (Dec. 2017), Executive Summary Page, available at https://wagner.nyu.edu/
files/faculty/publications/Bringing%20Innovation%20to%20Paratransit.pdf (last accessed Feb. 8, 2019).
483 William Neuman, $1 Billion Later, New York’s Subway Elevators Still Fail, N.Y. Times, May 19, 2008, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/nyregion/19elevators.html?mtrref=undefined.
484 James Barron, For Disabled Subway Riders, the Biggest Challenge Can Be Getting to the Train, N.Y. Times, July 26, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/26/nyregion/disabled-subway-riders-ele-
vators.html.
485 Id.

2017 that three of the fifteen elevators with the highest number agency in the world to have a bus fleet 100 percent accessible
of outages were less than one year old.486 to customers who use wheelchairs. Every bus is accessible to
people in wheelchairs via front or rear-door lifts; many newer
buses have low floors that enable customers to enter via front-
COPING WITH AN
ramp doors.”490
INACCESSIBLE SYSTEM
However, seniors and people with disabilities still face signif-
For those with disabilities, the lack of elevators in New York
icant barriers when it comes to the City’s buses. This is due
City subway stations is a significant hurdle. Many of them are
in part to a lack of training for bus operators in using their
forced to “climb mountains” to reach their destination. A short
wheelchair equipment. The City’s express buses, in particular,
subway ride totaling a few minutes can easily turn into an
are difficult to operate: “most models still sport wheelchair lifts
hours long journey because individuals with mobility disabili-
that are more complicated to operate than the newer, flip-out
ties are either forced to first travel backwards in the opposite
ramps, and require the bus driver to come outside to open
direction of their destination in order to reach an accessible
it.”491
station, or they are constantly rerouted during their journey
because they often arrive at their destination station only to As reported in City Limits in 2018, some bus riders are forced
find out that the elevator is out of service.487 In cases where to call on bystanders and family members to ensure they get
elevators are out of service, some wheelchair users have been onto the bus safely:
forced to get back on the train and travel back to the station “The first time Jean Ryan tried to board a city bus in her
where they began or to a different accessible station and wheelchair more than a decade ago, a homeless bystander
then take the bus to their destination or completely give up on had to show the driver how to operate the vehicle’s wheelchair
traveling overall.488 One person described the experience this lift. It’s a lesson Ryan has had to repeat herself a number of
way: “[w]henever we plan to travel, we always have to plan for times in the years since, she says: showing a bus driver how
a lot more time than it would take someone normally to travel to use the equipment needed to get her on and off the bus.
around the city.”489 Sometimes, if her 10-year-old grandson is in tow, he’ll be the
one to offer the tutorial.”492
BUSES Further, there is insufficient enforcement against cars blocking
For seniors and those with a disability, the bus is often the bus stops, which prevents drivers from being able to pull up to
only accessible mode of public transportation available given the curb to board disabled riders.493 Challenges for disabled
the dismal state of accessibility on the subway and at subway riders increase during the winter. Bus stops, which after snow
stations. According to the MTA, NYCT was “the first public storms are cleared by the City’s contractor, JCDecaux, are also
486 Vincent Barone, MTA Subway Elevators Break Down at Alarming Rate, Advocates Say, amNY, Nov. 14, 2017, available at https://www.amNY.com/transit/mta-subway-elevators-1.14981016.
487 Barron, July 26, 2018; David Meyer, Disability Advocates Want to Give Andy Byford’s Subway Accessibility Plan Some Teeth, StreetsblogNYC, July 18, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/07/18/
disability-advocates-want-to-give-andy-byfords-subway-accessibility-plan-some-teeth/.
488 Barron, July 26, 2018; Meyer, July 18, 2018; Complaint CIDNY, et al. v. MTA, et al. (Apr. 25, 2017) at pages 3 and 20.
489 Meyer, July 18, 2018.
490 M.T.A., Buses, available at http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffbus.htm (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
491 Jeanmarie Evelly, City Buses are Wheelchair-Accessible, But Disabled Riders Still Face Obstacles, City Limits, July 2, 2018, available at https://citylimits.org/2018/07/02/city-buses-are-wheelchair-accessible-but-
disabled-riders-still-face-obstacles/.
492 Id.
493 Id.

sometimes not accessible
because they fail to do the
job.494
ACCESS-A-RIDE
The ADA requires public
entities to provide paratransit
services to individuals with
disabilities that are “compa-
rable to the level of desig-
nated public transportation
services provided to individ-
uals without disabilities using
such system.”495 New York
City provides this service
through its Access-a-Ride
program. Access-a-Ride is a
private door-to-door trans-
portation service offered to
people whose disabilities
prevent them from accessing
public transportation.496
However, this program
does not replace the City’s
obligations under the ADA
to make key stations ac-
cessible; nor does it replace
NYCT’s obligations under the
ADA to make its subway fully
accessible whenever NYCT
undergoes alterations to any
of its stations.497 Access-a-
Ride is also not an excuse to
refuse to install elevators for
the sole reason that persons
with mobility disabilities are
offered an alternative option.
In addition to the ADA, New
York City’s Human Rights
Law prohibits discrimination
against individuals with an
actual or perceived disabil-
ity by refusing, withhold-
ing from, or denying such
persons “the full and equal
enjoyment, on equal terms
and conditions, of any of the As long as 76 percent of the subway remain inaccessible,
accommodations, advantages, services, facilities or privileges” persons with disabilities will lack the ability to equally enjoy and
that the subway system offers.”498 take advantage of a public transportation service that would
494 Erik Bascome, City Releases Snow Removal Plan for MTA Bus Stops, S.I. Live, Nov. 2018, available at https://www.silive.com/news/2018/11/city-releases-snow-removal-plan-for-mta-bus-stops.html.
495 42 U.S.C. §12143(a).
496 Access-a-Ride, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/nyc-resources/service/992/access-a-ride (last accessed Feb. 8, 2019).
497 Under the ADA, “alterations include, but are not limited to, remodeling, renovation, rehabilitation, reconstruction, historic restoration, resurfacing of circulation paths or vehicular ways, changes or rearrangement
of the structural parts or elements, and changes or rearrangement in the plan configuration of walls and full-height partitions.” Alterations do not include “normal maintenance, reroofing, painting or wallpapering,
or changes to mechanical and electrical systems…unless they affect the usability of the building or facility.” United States Access Board, ADA Standards for Transportation Facilities, available at https://www.ac-
cess-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/transportation/facilities/ada-standards-for-transportation-facilities/single-file-version (last accessed Jan. 14, 2019).
498 N.Y.C. Admin. Code §8-107(4)(a)(1)(a).

otherwise be available to them if they were not physically limit- way stations for eligibility.502 A mandatory version of this tool
ed by their disability. exists around Court Square in Long Island City.503 As a City
Planning Commission Special Permit, applying for this bonus
Recommendation: Use Zoning Tools to requires a full ULURP application with extensive environmental
Improve Accessibility review and public process. According to a DCP study from
2014, only ten projects had undertaken this Special Permit or
the Court Square version from 1982 through 2014.504
EXISTING TOOLS
In 2017, the Department of City Planning created a new Spe-
The New York City Zoning Resolution (Z.R.) includes sever- cial Permit bonus system for the East Midtown Subdistrict of
al different kinds of mechanisms to facilitate transit-related the Special Midtown District, allowing certain qualifying sites
improvements, including (but not limited to) improved circula- to obtain between 2.7 and 5.4 additional FAR in exchange for
tion and safety, lighting, as well as above and below-ground provision of specified transit system improvements for target-
easements for subway station access. ed facilities within the district.505 This mechanism includes an
The most widespread existing tool is the requirement to relo- option for financial contributions into a “Public Realm Improve-
cate subway stairs from the sidewalk into new developments ment Fund,” an interest-bearing account overseen by a “Public
in certain high density commercial districts, including Spe- Realm Improvement Fund Governing Group” consisting of 13
cial Midtown, Special Lower Manhattan, Special Downtown members—seven from City agencies appointed by the Mayor,
Brooklyn, Special Long Island City, and Special Union Square one from a citywide civic organization appointed by the Man-
Districts, for new development on zoning lots of 5,000 square hattan Borough President, one for the Manhattan Borough
feet or more in lot area.499 The zoning text provides that this President, one from the City Council member representing
provision “may also require satisfaction of additional obliga- the local district, one from the Speaker, one from Community
tions under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), Board 5, and one from Community 6. The Governing Group
including the ADA Accessibility Guidelines. The New York City maintains the list of eligible and priority improvements for al-
Transit Authority should be consulted with regard to any such location of the funds, and it is required to annually update this
obligations.” list, known as the “Concept Plan,” and provide information on
In 1974, New York City established the “Special Transit Land how funding has been allocated thus far.
Use District,” a zoning tool to require developers adjacent to
future subway stations for the Second Avenue line to consult EXPANDING AND STRENGTHENING THESE TOOLS
with the MTA and City Planning Commission (CPC) regarding
Despite being considered a best practice in ensuring coordi-
the provision of easements to facilitate station access improve-
nation between private development and transit planning, the
ments.500 If it is determined through this consultation that a
requirement for station-adjacent developers to consult with
transit easement volume is necessary to accommodate future
the MTA and CPC on station access easements currently only
station improvements such as an elevator, the improvements
exists along the partially built Second Avenue Subway and the
could either be constructed as a part of the new development
recently enacted Inwood Special District. The subway station
or an easement could be set-aside for future construction.
stairs relocation requirement and Special Permit to allow a
Despite existing for decades along the planned Second bonus in exchange for significant station access improvements
Avenue line, the Department of City Planning (DCP) has only exist in high-density commercial districts.
only recently begun applying this “check-in” requirement for
As a result, New York is forgoing potential opportunities to fa-
easements as a part of neighborhood rezonings. In the East
cilitate much-needed station access improvements throughout
Harlem neighborhood rezoning, it is currently being added by
the City in a cost-effective way. Considering the imperative to
a follow-up action, while for the Inwood neighborhood rezon-
accelerate the implementation of ADA access and improve the
ing, it was added mid-process by an A-text application.501
flow of passengers in our increasingly crowded subway sta-
In order to facilitate more significant subway station improve- tions, these existing tools should be strengthened and applied
ments, ZR Section 74-634 establishes a Special Permit for a citywide to development adjacent to all stations.
20 percent floor area bonus available in high-density commer-
cial districts in Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn. Various
Special Districts covering high density commercial areas such
as Lower Manhattan and Downtown Brooklyn have sections
that reference the 74-634 Special Permit and list specific sub-
499 N.Y.C. Zoning Resolution Section 37-40.

501 N.Y.C. Department of City Planning. East Harlem Follow-Up Actions, available at https://zap.planning.nyc.gov/projects/2018M0390; N.Y.C. Planning Commission, Uniform Land Use Review Procedure Application
No. N 18025A ZRM Special Inwood District Rezoning, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/cpc/180205a.pdf.
503 N.Y.C Zoning Resolution Section 117-44.
504 N.Y.C. Department of City Planning. History of NYC Transit Bonuses 1982-2014, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/plans-studies/vanderbilt-corridor/history_of_transit_bonuses.pdf.
505 N.Y.C Zoning Resolution Section 81-641.

1. equire certification for easements for every devel-
R stations in the system have at least one “soft site”
opment site adjacent to a subway station. (likely future development site) where these pro-
Requiring certification for transit access easements at posals may apply to help facilitate station access
every development site506 within 200 feet of a subway improvements.507 This includes 300 out of the 354
entrance would ensure that these opportunities are evalu- stations that currently lack ADA access.
ated and could meaningfully accelerate the construction of The Nostrand Avenue A/C station provides a good exam-
improvements such as ADA access elevators at stations ple of a station where these zoning tools would have par-
across the City. ticularly significant potential for facilitating access improve-
2. C
reate a citywide zoning incentive to facilitate ments including ADA access. The station is surrounded by
implementation of station access improvements. numerous one-story commercial buildings that are likely
to be redeveloped in the future, but there are currently no
In order to facilitate and incentivize developers to contrib- applicable zoning tools to enable station access improve-
ute to subway access improvements, a zoning incentive ments.
on the model of the ZR 74-634 subway station improve-
ment bonus (20 percent density bonus) should be es- Recommendation: Train Bus Operators in
tablished and be made available citywide alongside the Accessibility Annually
certification requirement for easements.
We need to overhaul our transit system for improved accessibil-
Applying these two recommendations citywide would re- ity, which will require substantial, long-term capital investments,
quire every development site adjacent to a subway station and a sustained and reliable funding stream for system main-
to evaluate the potential for station access improvements tenance. In the short-term, however, every single bus operator
and pair this evaluation with a powerful new incentive to should receive high-quality training in the operation of acces-
accelerate implementation. sibility equipment on an annual basis to better serve the City’s
3. A preliminary analysis of land use data within 200 1.64 million older adults and New Yorkers with disabilities.
feet of subway stations finds that 397 out of the 472
506 As established in N.Y.C. Zoning Resolution Section 37-40, a lot size of 5,000 sqf is considered to be the minimum feasible size for including an easement, zoning lots smaller than this could be exempt.
507 N.Y.C. Department of City Planning and N.Y.C Department of Finance, Property Land Use Tax Lot Output “PLUTO” data, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/planning/data-maps/open-data/dwn-pluto-map-
pluto.page. Analysis by New York City Council Land Use Division, “soft sites” are privately owned sites of 5,000 sqf or larger built to less than 50 percent of potential density than would be allowed by current zoning
with a 20 percent density bonus for transit improvements.

A COMPREHENSIVE
TRANSPORTATION VISION
FOR THE CITY
neighborhoods that need improvements most. The upgrades
PLANNING
that make a tangible difference in riders’ daily lives, like bus
shelters, benches, and Real Time Passenger Information
What’s Not Working (RTPI) are prioritized by a handful of elected officials able to
Despite having full control of our streets, the City has failed use discretionary funds to fill glaring gaps in their districts rath-
to put forth a long-term vision for our streetscapes, which er than objective criteria for making citywide investments.
suffer from insufficient investments and a status quo culture The same lack of prioritization and long-term, strategic vision
that prioritizes cars over New Yorkers’ health and safety. As a has resulted in a complete mismatch between the City’s fund-
result, the City has made slow and piecemeal progress toward ing priorities and the interventions that will bring the greatest
building out a safe, equitable and sustainable transportation benefit to the system. Take, for example, the City’s investment
network that serves all New Yorkers. and subsidies to expand ferry service. With over five million
This lack of progress and vision has left New Yorkers pitted riders last year, the expanded NYC Ferry service has by some
against one another in a battle over the City’s finite street measures improved the City’s transit network.509 However,
grid. Our crowded, congested and dangerous streets cost NYC Ferry system has not meaningfully increased the capac-
the City’s economy roughly $20 billion a year.508 Our buses, ity of our transit infrastructure; one bus route—the Bx12, a
which serve over 2.4 million riders, the vast majority of whom crosstown local and SBS route that connects Manhattan to
are low-income and people of color, are the slowest and most the Bronx—saw 14.9 million riders in 2017: over 340 times the
unreliable in the country. There remain huge gaps in acces- riders served by NYC Ferry routes combined. In addition, the
sibility for seniors and people with disabilities on our streets City’s environmental review revealed that the operation of the
and across all forms of transit. The City’s targeting and vic- expanded ferry service would potentially result in significant
tim-blaming of cyclists—particularly immigrant delivery work- adverse impacts on air quality that would “not be possible to
ers—continues to persist. Communities of color are under- fully mitigate.”510
served by life-saving bike and pedestrian safety infrastructure.
There has been a complete lack of progress toward reducing
transportation emissions, which account for nearly a third of
the City’s greenhouse gases. And our second-class, disjointed CROWDED, CONGESTED AND DANGEROUS
system of protected bike lanes covers barely two percent of STREETS COST THE CITY’S ECONOMY
the City’s streets and actively discourages sustainable forms of ROUGHLY $20 BILLION A YEAR.
transit.
Too often, the interventions proven to bring improved connec-
tivity, safety, and performance to the City’s transit system face Further, the subsidized cost to taxpayers for each NYC Ferry
significant opposition from communities and elected officials. continues to swell, reaching ten dollars per ride last year.511
This opposition is stoked by the City’s lack of comprehensive When asked recently about why the City chose to subsidize
vision for the system, as with a piecemeal approach, commu- the expansion of NYC Ferry service—which primarily serves
nities feel unfairly targeted by interventions that remove street higher-income waterfront neighborhoods—over investments
parking and change the way traffic flows through their neigh- into the City’s bus system, which serves the City’s neglected
borhoods. As a result, the City has historically taken a path of and low-income subway deserts, the Mayor reportedly replied
least resistance approach to street improvements, serving the “’that’s not something that was a front-burner issue in year one,
neighborhoods that pose the least opposition rather than the year two,’ because other than SBS, the MTA runs buses.”512
508 Fix N.Y.C. Advisory Panel, Fix NYC Advisory Panel Report, (Jan. 2018) available at http://www.hntb.com/HNTB/media/HNTBMediaLibrary/Home/Fix-NYC-Panel-Report.pdf.
509 Yoav Gonen and Danielle Furfaro, De Blasio Reveals NYC Spends $10 Subsidizing Each Ferry Ride, N.Y. Post, Jan. 14, 2019, available at https://nypost.com/2019/01/14/de-blasio-reveals-nyc-spends-10-subsi-
dizing-each-ferry-ride/.
510 Yannic Rack, Environmental Impact Study Warns of Ferry Service’s Air Pollution, The Villager, May 19, 2016, available at https://www.thevillager.com/2016/05/environmental-impact-study-warns-ferry-ser-
vices-air-pollution/.
511 Gonen and Furfaro, Jan. 14, 2019.
512 Sally Goldenberg, Twitter, Feb. 7, 2019, available at https://twitter.com/SallyGold/status/1093611830319218698 (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
A Comprehensive Transportation Vision for the City 68

The City needs a new vision and direction
for local transportation. One that brings
equity back to the City’s streets and rights
historic wrongs that have left our streets
congested, dangerous, and inaccessible
to many City residents.
Recommendation: Five Year Master

Plan for City Streets
The City needs a new vision for our
streets: one that articulates the City’s
goals and sets bold and measurable
targets to which our elected officials and
government agencies can be held ac-
countable. The Department of Transpor-
tation should complete a comprehensive
master plan for City streets once every five
years. Establishing a five-year integrated
plan for bicycle, bus, vehicle, ferry, and
pedestrian infrastructure would bring co-
hesion to what is now a patchwork system
of upgrades—which often results in the processes and expedite upgrades. For example, under our
watering down or elimination of projects that then cause ripple current transportation system, local bus routes are designed
effects throughout the City. by the State, but operated by the City. This simple fact creates
all kinds of logistical and political inefficiencies. But even in the
A comprehensive planning process, in which communities will
face of that challenge, there is no excuse for the neglect and
be presented with a long-term vision for the future of citywide
degradation of our bus system which, on a daily basis, serves
transit rather than a series of piecemeal pedestrian spaces,
well over the total populations of Austin and San Francisco,
bus and bike lanes, will challenge New Yorkers to do their fair
combined. The City must act now. With political will, rational
share to bring the City’s transit network into the 21st century.
planning, robust public engagement, sufficient resources, and
The plan should go through a robust and inclusive public en-
the cooperation of leaders like NYCT President Andy Byford,
gagement process to collect and incorporate community input
these key milestones to improve our street grid are well within
on the plan and expedite its implementation upon adoption,
reach.
particularly in neighborhoods underserved by transit.
A plan informed by community input, and grounded in objec-
BUSES
tive cost-benefit analyses that weigh investments against their
benefit to New Yorkers—rather than political expediency of a
particular project—has the potential to radically transform our What’s Not Working
City for the better. Bus infrastructure is a critically important piece of the City’s
This long-term vision for the City’s streetscapes would priori- transportation system. In addition to serving over two million
tize and promote safety; increase mobility and livability on the New Yorkers, the City’s bus network is a core feature of Andy
City’s streets; maximize the efficient use of the public right of Byford’s Fast Forward Plan to modernize transportation in
way; improve the quality and efficiency of our bus system, and the City, filling service gaps to mitigate the impacts of subway
increase access to high-quality public transit, particularly for closures and reductions in service that will be required for
people with low incomes and people of color; encourage alter- critical maintenance and repair. However, riders are fleeing the
natives to driving; reduce congestion and emissions; enhance system. As noted above, since 2012, bus ridership declined by
connectivity of the transit network; support and encourage nearly 15 percent.513
multi-modal and intermodal transportation; improve acces- Buses are also one of the most efficient, cost-effective and
sibility to transit for all New Yorkers; and advance the City’s adaptable forms of public transportation that local govern-
sustainability, resilience and climate justice goals. ments can pursue. Compared to other forms of public trans-
The Master Plan will require the City to meet key milestones to portation like subways and light rails, new and adjusted bus
improve our bus, bike and pedestrian infrastructure, outlined routes can be implemented in far less time and at far less cost
in the following sections of the report. There is no doubt the to the City.
planning process would be best completed under the mu- The proposed Brooklyn Queens Connector (BQX) provides a
nicipal control framework outlined in this report, to streamline useful point of comparison. The BQX is expected to cost $2.7
513 Guse, Feb. 22, 2019.

billion to build and $30 million a year
to operate.514 A new SBS line following
the same route would cost $1.9 million
to operate, about 15 times less than
the annual operating costs for the pro-
posed BQX.515 Construction costs for
SBS routes range between $7 million
and $27 million,516 which means that
even at its highest, capital construction
costs for SBS would amount to about
one percent of the total cost of building
the BQX, all while providing about the
same added capacity to the system.517
Similarly, the two-mile extension of the
Second Avenue Subway cost over 160
times more than the most costly SBS
route.518
RIDERSHIP
Buses also plays a critical role in serv-
ing some of the City’s most vulnerable
residents. The city’s bus commuters
are more likely to be foreign born
(55 percent) and people of color (75
percent) than subway riders.519 Many
of these New Yorkers have likely been
pushed out to subway deserts by
rising housing costs.520 The average
personal income of bus commuters is
$28,455—far lower than the average
for subway commuters of $40,000.521
Despite their critical role in the City’s
transit network, New York City’s buses
and the riders that rely on its service
are suffering from severe neglect and
disinvestment.
BUS PERFORMANCE
New York City’s buses are extremely tricts, the average speed is less than four miles per hour.524
unpredictable and the slowest of any big city in the country, Slow service often leads to buses arriving at stops at the same
leaving millions of bus riders without access to reliable public or close to the same time. So-called “bus bunching” leads to
transportation.522 According to the DOT, the average City bus less predictable service and long waits for riders. According
travels at just 7.4 miles per hour.523 In busy commercial dis- to the Bus Turnaround Coalition’s 2018 report, 13.4 percent
514 David Meyer, EXCLUSIVE: Sunset Park Nixed From de Blasio’s Brooklyn-Queens Streetcar Fantasy, StreetsblogNYC, Aug. 29, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/08/29/exclusive-sunset-park-
nixed-from-de-blasios-brooklyn-queens-streetcar-fantasy/.
515 Id.
516 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation and M.T.A. New York City Transit, Select Bus Service, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/brt-routes-fullreport.pdf.
517 Meyer, Aug. 29, 2018.
518 Nicole Gelinas, Here’s Why It Took a Century and $4.5 Billion to Add Just Three Subway Stops in New York City, Daily Beast, Dec. 31, 2016, available at https://www.thedailybeast.com/heres-why-it-took-a-centu-
ry-and-dollar45-billion-to-add-just-three-subway-stops-in-new-york-city.
519 M.T.A. Facts and Figures, Buses, available at http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ffbus.htm (last accessed Feb. 7, 2019).
520 Regional Plan Association, Pushed Out: Housing Displacement in an Unaffordable Region (Mar. 2017) available at http://library.rpa.org/pdf/RPA-Pushed-Out-Housing-Displacement-in-an-Unaffordable-Region.
pdf.
521 N.Y.C. Comptroller Scott Stringer, The Other Transit Crisis: How to Improve the NYC Bus System (Nov. 2017), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/the-other-transit-crisis-how-to-improve-the-nyc-bus-
system.
522 Bus Turnaround Coalition, Bus Turnaround: 2018 (2018) available at http://busturnaround.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/BusTurnaroundAction-Plan.pdf.
523 Caroline Spivak, NYPD launches crack down on cars parked in bus lanes, Curbed, Jan. 24, 2019, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2019/1/24/18196441/nypd-tow-truck-squad-launches-crack-down-on-cars-
parked-in-bus-lanes.
524 Id.

of buses arrived bunched in October 2017 compared to 10.7 riders between 2012 and 2013.534
percent two years earlier.525 Advocates and transit experts have warned that ridership
Poor, slow, unreliable service has no doubt contributed to decline is the symptom of a vicious “death spiral,”535 which
a decline in bus ridership. Beginning in the early 1970s, bus may only gain momentum with fare hikes, or service cuts that
ridership was in steady decline as riders increasingly opted for could be instituted in the absence of a fare increase in order to
taxis, vans, and private cars.526 Bus ridership between 1980 control costs.536 This decline in ridership has only exacerbated
and 1990 plummeted from 589 million riders to 468 million the NYCT’s steep operating deficits. In June 2018, the MTA
riders, a decrease of more than 20 percent.527 Between 1990 reported that bus revenues were $100 million less than what
and 2000, ridership nearly doubled to 699 million riders.528 they expected.537
This surge in ridership was likely in part due to the introduction
of the unlimited MetroCard in 1998, which integrated fares and
SLOW PROGRESS TO IMPROVE SERVICE
allowed free transfers from buses to the subway.529
Select Bus Service was first introduced in 2008 as a form of
Since the introduction of the unlimited MetroCard, however,
bus rapid transit (BRT) to increase the speed, reliability, and
bus ridership has once again steadily declined, from 697
capacity of bus service.538 SBS features more frequent ser-
million riders in 2010 to 651 million riders in 2015.530 DOT
vice, bus lanes, sidewalk extensions, also known as bus bulbs,
attributes the dip in ridership to service cuts implemented by
off-board fare collection machines, and Transit Signal Priority
NYCT in response to the 2008 economic recession.531 In the
(TSP), a system that coordinates buses and traffic signals to
summer of 2010, 38 bus routes were cut entirely, with another
reduce the time buses are stopped at lights.539 In 2013, the
76 running shorter routes or shorter hours.532 In 2013, 17 of
first five SBS routes achieved some success, increasing rider-
those routes were restored or enhanced,533 which may help
ship by ten percent and speeding up travel by 20 percent.540 In
explain the only time period in the last decade in which there
response, the City expanded SBS routes modestly.541 Howev-
was a slight ridership rebound, with an increase of 10 million
525 Bus Turnaround: 2018 (2018).

526 Thomas J. Lueck, New York’s Bus Ridership Surges After Long Decline, N.Y. Times, Dec. 22, 1998, available at https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/22/nyregion/new-york-s-bus-ridership-surges-after-long-decline.
html?auth=login-email.
527 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, NYC Mobility Report (October 2016), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/mobility-report-2016-print.pdf.
529 Tourism and Transport Forum, Ticket to Ride: Reforming Fares and Ticketing for Sustainable Public Transport (Dec. 2016), available at http://www.ttf.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/TTF-Ticket-to-Ride-Fare-
and-ticketing-Paper.pdf.
532 Matthew Schuerman, A Guide to NYC Bus and Subway Service Cuts, W.N.Y.C., Jun. 25, 2010, available at https://www.wnyc.org/story/71362-a-guide-to-nyc-bus-and-subway-service-cuts/.
533 CBS News, MTA Restoring Bus Routes Cut in 2010, C.B.S. NEWS, Jan. 4, 2013, available at https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/04/mta-restoring-bus-routes-cut-in-2010/.
535 Erin Durkin, New York City subway and bus services have entered ‘death spiral,’ experts say, The Guardian, Nov. 20, 2018, available at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/nov/20/new-york-city-subway-
bus-death-spiral-mta-fares.
536 Stephen Nessen, MTA Passes $17 Billion Budget for 2019 As Agency Approaches ‘A Precipice,’ Gothamist, Dec. 13, 2018, available at http://gothamist.com/2018/12/13/mta_budget_subway_fares.php; Benjamin
Kabak, Fare hikes and service cuts and death spirals, oh my! 2ND Ave. Sagas, Nov. 18, 2018, available at http://secondavenuesagas.com/2018/11/18/fare-hikes-and-service-cuts-and-death-spirals-oh-my/.
537 Paul Berger, MTA Predicts Annual Subway, Bus Revenue Will Be $100 Million Less Than Expected, Wall Street Journal, Jul. 25, 2019, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/mta-predicts-annual-subway-bus-
revenue-will-be-100-million-less-than-expected-1532558494.
538 City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg, Mta Executive Director and CEO Sander, and DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan Unveil New MTA Select Bus Service (SBS) System (Mar. 25 2018), available at https://www1.
nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/101-08/mayor-bloomberg-mta-executive-director-ceo-sander-dot-commissioner-sadik-khan-new.
539 Id.
540 City of New York, Mayor Bloomberg, DOT Commissioner Sadik-Khan, DDC Commissioner Burney, and MTA Chairman Prendergast Announce Launch of Select Bus Service on Nostrand/Rogers Avenues (Nov.
18, 2013), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/371-13/mayor-bloomberg-dot-commissioner-sadik-khan-ddc-commissioner-burney-mta-chairman-prendergast/#/0.
541 Id.

er, to date, only fifteen SBS routes have been implemented.542 Considerations for a Master Plan under
In 2017, DOT announced a plan to bring SBS service to 21 Municipal Control
new routes by 2027.543 Moreover, the MTA has threatened to A comprehensive plan for the City’s streets would benefit
halt the planned expansion of SBS in an attempt to make a New Yorkers regardless of who or what entity manages the
dent in its massive and growing operating budget deficit.544 MTA; today, DOT has full control over our streets and has
Bus lane and street design, better enforcement, and TSP can both the power and the resources to radically transform our
all be implemented by the City, but the implementation of SBS streetscapes for increased and improved accessibility, safety,
routes requires close coordination with NYCT. When news connectivity, and resilience. Municipal control would simply
broke this summer that NYCT was putting the SBS expansion bolster the comprehensive plan’s process and outcomes, en-
on hold, DOT reported having no advance notice despite their suring the plan is driven and implemented by an entity that can
partnership in running the program, raising serious concerns meaningfully connect and improve the full scope of our transit
about the lack of coordination between these agencies and network, including our buses, subways, bridges and tunnels.
the future of SBS.545 Municipal control would enable better coordination between
Andy Byford’s 2018 “Bus Plan” calls for a full redesigned of mass transit and DOT—something sorely lacking now. For ex-
the entire bus network by 2021, which would include all-door ample, when news broke this summer that NYCT was putting
boarding with the New Fare Payment System (NFPS) that will the SBS expansion on hold, DOT reported having no advance
allow riders to “tap and go,” expanding off-peak service, and notice despite their partnership in running the program, raising
improved customer experience measures including new bus serious concerns about the lack of coordination between
maps, RTPI and digital information screens.546 Under the plan, these agencies and the future of SBS.1 Municipal control
NYCT has committed to work with DOT to expand TSP, bus would also improve the efficiency and efficacy of the City’s
lanes, queue jumps, bus shelters, accessibility at bus stop, bus route redesign effort, enabling the City to take a compre-
stop space balancing, and expanded bus lane enforcement.547 hensive approach to route overhaul, street redesign and the
While the plan was widely celebrated by transit advocates as capital investments necessary to optimize bus operations—
a win for buses and public transportation in the City, as the and allow for more responsiveness to changes in the City’s
MTA looks at stalling SBS expansion and cutting service in population and the needs of residents. Municipal control would
response to budget shortfalls, the details of its implementation best position the City to engage communities on route rede-
have become increasingly unclear.548 Without sufficient funds sign proposals and stop consolidation, to take in account job
for the improvements laid out in the Bus Action Plan—and centers, institutions like hospitals and schools, public housing,
critically, NYCT’s coordination with the City agencies responsi- and accessibility gaps in the City’s subways system.
ble for street redesigns—the plan will have an extremely limited Municipal control would also present significant opportunities
impact on service improvements, if any at all. to plan for and mitigate the impacts of climate change. The
The City’s progress and goals for the implementation of dedi- MTA’s Climate Adaptation Task Force Resiliency Report takes
cated bus lanes have been modest, at best. As of June 2018, a step in the right direction, listing the many ways the MTA’s
the City had installed roughly 120 miles of bus lanes.549 Just assets are vulnerable to climate impacts and identifying the
15 miles of bus lanes were added between 2017 and 2018’s resiliency projects the Authority will prioritize.2 Yet five years
progress reports, a good portion of which were from long-de- after Superstorm Sandy halted the operation of the City’s
layed projects.550 subways, we still do not fully understand the scope or scale
Currently, none of the City’s bus lanes are physically protected of the investments the subway system will demand to remain
from other traffic. DOT has implemented two primary types of operational in the face of inevitable sea level rise, storm surge,
bus lanes: curbside lanes, where parking and standing at the extreme winds, heat waves and heavy rain. Through municipal
curb is not permitted and offset bus lanes, which are one lane 1 Bus Turnaround Coalition, Fixing NYC’s Buses: 2018 Progress Report (2018), available at http://
away from the curb, and therefore allow for curbside parking busturnaround.nyc/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/BusTurnaround-2018-Progress-Report-FINAL.pdf
2 M.T.A., Climate Adaptation Task Force Resiliency Report (April 2017), available at http://web.mta.
and standing. All of the City’s bus lanes have signs posted info/sustainability/pdf/ResiliencyReport.pdf.
along the route and the lanes themselves are either marked
542 N.Y.C. Comptroller Scott Stringer, Improving Select Bus Service: Putting the Rapid in Bus Rapid Transit (Apr. 20, 2018), available at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/reports/improving-select-bus-service-putting-the-
rapid-in-bus-rapid-transit/.
543 L.L. 2015/036; David Meyer, De Blasio Announces 10-Year Plan for 21 More Select Bus Service Routes, StreetsblogNYC, Oct. 20, 2017, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/10/20/de-blasio-announces-
10-year-plan-for-21-more-select-bus-service-routes/.
544 Paul Berger, Subway, Bus Cuts Loom as MTA Faces Financial Crisis, Wall Street Journal, Aug. 14, 2018, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/subway-bus-cuts-loom-as-mta-faces-financial-cri-
sis-1534279819.
546 M.T.A., Bus Action Plan (Apr. 2018), available at http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus_plan/bus_plan.pdf.
547 Id.
548 Riders Alliance, The Wins on the Bus, available at http://www.ridersny.org/2018/05/01/the-wins-on-the-bus/ (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019); James Brasuell, New York MTA Threatens Service Cuts, Increased
Fares, Planetizen, Nov. 26, 2018, available at https://www.planetizen.com/news/2018/11/101673-new-york-mta-threatens-service-cuts-increased-fares.
549 David Meyer, Bus Drivers and Riders Call on Mayor de Blasio to Build 60 More Miles of Bus Lanes, StreetsblogNYC, Jul. 31, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/07/31/bus-drivers-and-riders-call-
on-mayor-de-blasio-to-build-60-more-miles-of-bus-lanes/.

“Bus Only” and/or painted red.551 All of our bus lanes only control, the City would be positioned to take into consideration
restrict traffic during certain hours of the day, and many offer the City’s full transit network, including our roads, bridges and
midday hours where parking and deliveries are permitted.552 waterways, to assess the City’s transit assets, estimate the
TSP, which essentially shortens red lights for idling buses and costs of necessary improvements and prioritize investments
extends green lights for approaching buses, is critically import- appropriately to best prepare the City for these existential
ant to improving bus service. City buses spend about 21 per- threats.
cent of their time stopped at red lights.553 The City’s buses have A “Mobility Czar”, a deputy mayor responsible for citywide
been equipped with TSP technology necessary since 2017,554 transportation policy, would coordinate DOT, BAT, and TLC to
yet 92 percent of bus routes were operating without its benefits seamlessly produce, implement and update a comprehensive
as of May 2018.555 The Mayor’s Preliminary Ten-Year Capital plan on a regular basis. Oversight of the City’s subways would
Strategy set aside $2.66 million over five years for the installation allow for the plan to optimize subway transfers, integrate transit
of TSP at 300 intersections per year, over five years.556 contingency plans for subway repairs and maintenance that
interrupt service, and better prepare for the inevitable impacts
DESIGN AND ENFORCEMENT of climate change and sea level rise on our transit network.
A combination of effective enforcement and good design in

bus lanes is also critical to bringing service improvements to Unlike New York, cities throughout the world physically sep-
bus riders. An April 2018 report from the Comptroller’s office arate bus lanes from traffic using a bollard, curb, median, or
highlights that the implementation of SBS has failed to deliver elevated surface, which prevents, rather than merely discour-
on its core goal: increased bus ridership.557 According to the ages, the interference of vehicles altogether.563 New York’s bus
Comptroller’s report, of the nine routes implemented prior to lanes, which are not separated from traffic, are often used as
2016, five experienced a ridership decline in comparison to “de facto drop-off and delivery zones”564
the year prior to implementation when those routes existed Physically separated routes have the potential to increase bus
as local or limited routes, reducing ridership by 0.2 percent in speeds along routes where even camera enforcement does
total.558 The Comptroller’s report attributes this failure to poor not effectively keep cars from blocking the right of way. Two-
implementation, design flaws, poor maintenance, oversight, way separated bus lanes in the median along key corridors,
and enforcement. 559 which have yet to be tested in New York City, also help keep
Camera enforcement is widely regarded as exponentially more buses free from conflicts with deliveries, turning vehicles, and
effective than police officer enforcement, but requires authori- double-parked cars wherever possible, as recently suggested
zation from the State Legislature as a result of a State law that by Eric Goldwyn at New York University’s Marron Institute.565
limits camera enforcement to 16 of 234 bus routes.560 In his These design interventions can also create opportunities to
2019 State of the City speech, Mayor de Blasio committed to install green infrastructure in areas of the City to manage storm
advocate for more camera enforcement at the State Legisla- water, reduce runoff, and improve air quality.566 Despite these
ture and increase the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) benefits, Mayor de Blasio committed to pilot just two miles of
enforcement with seven dedicated tow truck teams for continual physically separated bus lanes in his 2019 State of the City
enforcement and towing.561 The Governor’s 2019 State Budget address.
included escalating penalties for blocking a bus lane and would The design of bus stops, including the installation of bus
authorize the City to install an unlimited number of bus cameras, shelters, benches, and RTPI are also important drivers of bus
which would significantly improve bus service for riders.562 ridership and bus rider satisfaction.567 Studies have found that
551 City of New York, Select Bus Service, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/brt/html/about/bus-lanes.shtml (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
552 Id.
553 David Meyer, City Budget Gives Buses a Key Boost at Intersection, StreetsblogNYC, Feb. 8, 2019, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/08/city-budget-gives-buses-a-key-boost-they-need-at-intersec-
tions/.
554 Id.
555 David Meyer, Trottenberg in No Hurry to Accelerate Rollout of Traffic Signals That Speed Up Buses, StreetsblogNYC, May 17, 2019, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/05/17/trottenberg-in-no-hurry-to-
accelerate-rollout-of-traffic-signals-that-speed-up-buses/.
556 City of New York, Preliminary Ten-Year Capital Strategy: Fiscal Years 2020-2029, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/omb/downloads/pdf/ptyp2-19.pdf (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
557 Improving Select Bus Service: Putting the Rapid in Bus Rapid Transit (Apr. 2018).
558 Id.
559 Id.
560 David Meyer, Hike in NYPD Bus Lane Enforcement Barely Makes a Dent for Riders, StreetsblogNYC, Oct. 23, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/10/23/hike-in-nypd-bus-lane-enforcement-barely-
makes-a-dent-for-riders/.
561 City of New York, Mayor de Blasio: Delivering our Promise to Make New York City the Fairest Big City in America, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/021-19/mayor-de-blasio-delivering-
our-promise-make-new-york-city-fairest-big-city-america#/0 (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
562 New York State, FY 2020 New York State Executive Budget, Transportation, Economic Development and Environmental Conservation: Article VII Legislation, available at https://www.budget.ny.gov/pubs/archive/
fy20/exec/artvii/ted-artvii.pdf, (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
563 Improving Select Bus Service: Putting the Rapid in Bus Rapid Transit (Apr. 2018).
564 David Meyer, Bus Lanes Alone Aren’t Enough to Give NYC Buses a Clear Path, StreetsblogNYC, Jan. 19, 2017, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/01/19/bus-lanes-alone-arent-enough-to-give-nyc-bus-
es-a-clear-path/.
565 Eric Goldwyn, How to Get Riders Back on the Bus, City & State, Feb. 19, 2019, available at https://www.cityandstateny.com/articles/policy/infrastructure/fixing-nyc-bus-could-gain-more-MTA-riders.html
566 Hamed Hakimelahi, et al., Green Infrastructure in Urbanized Areas and Roadway Projects (May 2017), American Society of Civil Engineers, available at https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/9780784480618.027.
567 TransitCenter, From Sorry to Superb: Everything You Need to Know about Great Bus Stops (October 2018), available at https://transitcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/BusReport_Spreads.pdf.

amenities like bus shelters can actually reduce the perceived
time for the same wait, significantly improving rider’s daily BUS LANES ARE PROVEN TO
experience with the system. A University of Minnesota study
INCREASE BUS SPEEDS AND
found that riders at stops without amenities who waited for 10
minutes perceived that time to be 21 minutes.568 Amenities like RELIABILITY OF SERVICE FOR
bus shelters, benches, and RTPI reduced that perceived wait THE CITY’S 2.4 MILLION BUS RIDERS.
time to just 11 minutes.569 For women who felt unsafe at bus
stops, these amenities cut the perceived wait time in half.570
RTPI. However, all of these interventions require capital invest-
Of the City’s 16,000 bus stops, just 22 percent have shel- ments and the installation of permanent infrastructure, which
ters.571 The MTA has unilateral control over bus stop locations, is why we must first and foremost prioritize the redesign of our
but the City’s DOT is responsible for bus stop design and bus routes. The MTA and transit activists alike have called for
construction, yet another example of how the City’s transit a complete overhaul of the City’s bus routes to better align bus
system would benefit from the consolidation of these agen- service with travel patterns, consolidate stops, and streamline
cies’ functions. In 2006, DOT entered into a 20-year contract underutilized routes.
with JCDecaux (formerly Cemusa) to own and manage bus
shelters; accounting for advertisement space, the installation An overhaul of Staten Island’s bus routes was completed and
of these bus shelters is actually revenue positive for the City.572 implemented this past fall.578 However, the study, redesign
However, it is unclear how or whether DOT prioritizes spending and implementation of that overhaul has taken NYCT three full
and locational decisions for bus stop amenities. A 2018 Tran- years from start to finish.579 At NYCT’s current pace, the MTA
sitCenter report notes “the majority of new shelters replaced is nowhere near on track to fulfill the Bus Plan’s commitment
existing shelters, whose locations had been decided years to complete system-wide redesign by 2021.580
ago. For the 200 additional shelters, DOT didn’t set criteria for
prioritizing which stops should get a new shelter. Instead, the Recommendation: Install a Minimum of 30 Miles
Department requested proposals from City Council Members Of Bus Lanes Per Year
and Community Boards, a stark contrast to Metro Transit’s ap- As one of the most efficient, cost-effective, and adaptable
proach of asking the riders — the people with the most direct forms of public transit that the City can pursue, we must at
concern and knowledge.”573 least double the rate at which the City is building out our bus
That same TransitCenter report found that RTPI is one of the infrastructure, starting with bus lanes. Bus lanes are proven to
most desired amenities by riders.574 At the time TransitCenter increase bus speeds and reliability of service for the City’s 2.4
released its report, DOT had installed real-time information at million bus riders.
220 bus stops as of 2018 with a commitment to install 150 Every new bus lane should be camera enforced and physically
more of these signs by the end of 2018, a goal cited in NYCT’s separated from traffic along appropriate corridors where cam-
Fast Forward plan.575 Similar to bus shelters, the installation of era enforcement proves ineffective. In addition to the physical
RTPI is driven and funded primarily by local elected officials separation of bus lanes, the plan should also prioritize the
including City Council Members, State Assembly Members, implementation of two-way separated bus lanes in the medi-
and Borough Presidents.576 While the City Council’s funding an along key corridors, to keep buses free from conflicts with
and advocacy is largely responsible for the rollout of this useful deliveries, turning vehicles, and double-parked cars wherever
infrastructure, this method of planning and funding infrastruc- possible.
ture has caused disparities across the system.577
Recommendation: Bring Transit Signal Priority to At
BUS ROUTE PLANNING Least 1,000 Intersections per Year
The City would benefit significantly from design upgrades like Mayor de Blasio’s recent commitment to bring TSP to 300 in-
physical separation, queue jumps, bus bulbs, accessibility tersections per year is encouraging. These upgrades, however,
improvements and amenities like bus shelters, benches, and do not require any significant capital infrastructure invest-
ments. TSP takes advantage of the NYC Wireless Network,
568 Id.
569 Id.
570 Id.
571 Id.
572 Id.
573 Id.
574 Id.
575 Id.
576 Id.
577 Id.
578 David Meyer, MTA’s Staten Island Bus Overhaul Points the Way Forward for the Rest of NYC, StreetsblogNYC, Jun. 1, 2017, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2017/06/01/mtas-staten-island-bus-overhaul-
points-the-way-forward-for-the-rest-of-nyc/.
579 M.T.A., We’re Speeding Up Staten Island, available at http://52.44.0.255/ (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
580 M.T.A., Bus Action Plan (Apr. 2018), available at http://web.mta.info/nyct/service/bus_plan/bus_plan.pdf.

signal controllers, and the MTA’s existing Bus Time vehicle require the prohibition of private vehicle traffic on key corridors
location system.581 The City must speed the activation of TSP altogether to prioritize transit.
across the entire bus system, to ensure the bus network takes
full advantage of the proven benefits of TSP wherever feasible. Recommendation: Increase Bus Ridership to 16 per-
cent of New Yorkers’ Trips by 2030
Recommendation: Implement Route Redesigns and New York City’s bus fleet is among the largest in the world, yet
Bus Stop Upgrades Citywide By 2025 New Yorkers are choosing to use the system just eight percent
Transit experts and agencies agree that our bus routes need of the time. Every year, the people who can afford it, choose
a full redesign to better align bus service with travel patterns, other options, increasing congestion on our City’s streets and
consolidate stops, and streamline underutilized routes. In Bar- driving further disinvestment. The goals set forth by a compre-
celona, similar route redesign efforts increased bus ridership hensive plan should explicitly aim to increase bus ridership to
by 22 million rides per year.582 help the City reach its 80 X 50 goals, the City’s commitment
We must double the pace at which NYCT is currently running to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 percent by
that redesign process to fully complete and implement new 2050.
routes and upgrades by 2025. This would allow for more effi-
cient service and, when coupled with municipal control, more
responsiveness to changes in the City’s population and the CREATING LIVABLE STREETS
needs of residents. We must engage communities on route
redesign proposals and stop consolidation, taking into ac- What’s Not Working
count job centers, institutions like hospitals and schools, public
housing, and accessibility gaps in the City’s subway system. With 12,750 miles of sidewalks, 74 pedestrian plazas, more
than 30,000 acres of parkland, and countless neighborhoods
Any redesign process should collect input from bus riders on filled with shops, restaurants, and housing, New York City is
where stop amenities including shelters, benches, and RTPI often cited as the most walkable city in the world.583 More than
are needed most. The City should then create and make a quarter of trips for New Yorkers were walking trips and the
public its criteria for the prioritization of amenities and rollout numbers keep growing in all five boroughs.584
upgrades including shelters, benches, and RTPI along with the
redesign by 2025 to optimize the system. Between 2009 and 2015, pedestrian traffic increased 36
percent in the Bronx, 165 percent in Queens Plaza, 293
Recommendation: Install Bus Lanes, Bus Lane Cam- percent on the Hudson River Greenway, with Old Fulton Street
eras, and TSP on Every Single Bus Route by 2030 seeing the largest percentage increase in the City at the north
entrance to Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo.585 Between 2009
Incremental goals to expand bus infrastructure must be cou- and 2015, the number of pedestrians increased 18 percent on
pled with a long-term vision for the improved efficiency of the weekdays and 31 percent on the weekends citywide.586
system as a whole. While it is easiest for the City to prioritize
routes that pose the least opposition, rather than those that New York City should be a pedestrian paradise, yet in many
will bring the most benefit to the system, in order to mean- parts of the City, pedestrians fight for space in crosswalks
ingfully improve the bus network and get New Yorkers back and even on sidewalks. From vehicles creating obstructions to
onto buses, every single redesigned bus route must feature a spaces so narrow that pedestrians are forced onto the street,
combination of bus lanes, bus cameras, and TSP by 2030 to our public spaces too often put the needs of vehicles ahead
ensure that no riders are left behind. of people. Despite the City’s progress in creating pedestri-
an-friendly spaces in recent years, we remain far behind the
The City must take these considerations into account at the curve in the conscious prioritization of pedestrians in the public
outset of the route redesign process, as some neighborhoods right of way. Compared to Paris, London, and Madrid’s plans
and bus routes will require substantial redesigns to accommo- to pedestrianize entire city centers as core features of their Vi-
date features like median and physically separated bus lanes sion Zero Plans,587 as compared to our efforts to pedestrianize
that are proven to improve service. This milestone may even streets, which have been piecemeal and timid, and are often
581 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Green Means Go: Transit Signal Priority in NYC (2017), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/brt/downloads/pdf/brt-transit-signal-priority-july2017.pdf.
582 Eric Goldwyn and Alon Levy, A Fantasy Map for Brooklyn’s Buses That’s Grounded in Reality, CityL ab, Nov. 19, 2019, available at https://www.citylab.com/perspective/2018/11/brooklyn-bus-route-redesign-mta-
new-york/575716/.
583 Charis Atlas Heelan, The World’s Most Walkable Cities, Frommer’s, available at https://www.frommers.com/slideshows/819366-the-world-s-most-walkable-cities (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019); Laura Laker,
Where is the world’s most walkable city?, Guardian, Sep. 12, 2017, available at https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/sep/12/walkable-city-worlds-most-new-york-melbourne-fes-el-bali;
NYC Plaza Program, List of Plazas, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/list-of-plazas.pdf; NYC Parks, About the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, available at https://www.
nycgovparks.org/about (last accessed Feb. 26, 2019).
584 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Citywide Mobility Survey (Aug. 2017), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nycdot-citywide-mobility-survey-report-2017.pdf; Winnie Hu, New York’s
Sidewalks Are so Packed, Pedestrians Are Taking to the Streets, N.Y. Times, Jun. 30, 2016, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/nyregion/new-york-city-overcrowded-sidewalks.html.
585 Winnie Hu, New York’s Sidewalks Are so Packed, Pedestrians Are Taking to the Streets, N.Y. Times, Jun. 30, 2016, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/nyregion/new-york-city-overcrowded-side-
walks.html.
586 Id.
587 Gersh Kuntzman, Paris Leads ‘Vision Zero’ New York With Pedestrianized City Center, StreetsblogNYC, Nov. 15, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/11/15/paris-leads-vision-zero-new-york-with-
pedestrianized-city-center/.

glossed over or omitted completely in the context of the City’s users decreased by 58 percent.593 After street safety improve-
broader Vision Zero goals.588 Simply put, the City remains ments were installed on First and Second Avenue, injuries de-
mired in a car culture. creased 37 percent even though bike-traffic volume increased
The prioritization of pedestrians in streets makes cities safer, 177 percent. The City recently announced it will double-down
more equitable, more attractive, more sustainable, and even on the installation of Leading Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) which
more economically productive. Even with large numbers of give pedestrians a head start at crosswalks, a commitment
pedestrian and concentrated neighborhoods throughout the to build at least 50 “Vision Zero safety engineering” improve-
City, we are far behind the curve when it comes to prioritizing ments annually (a goal the City already regularly surpasses),
the creation of pedestrian space. and retime traffic lights to discourage speeding.594 These
interventions, in particular, have resulted in up to a 50 percent
reduction in pedestrian deaths and injuries where they have
STREET REDESIGNS been implemented.595
Vehicles seriously injure or kill a New Yorker every two hours, These small scale interventions have been remarkably suc-
with nearly 4,000 New Yorkers seriously injured and more than cessful, but ultimately cover just a tiny fraction of the 47,000
250 killed in traffic crashes each year.589 Virtually all of these intersections across the City.596 Without concrete, long-term
incidents could be prevented or their harm mitigated through goals for redesigning streets and intersections, it is difficult if
improved street design. not impossible to objectively measure the City’s progress on
As of March 2018, DOT had completed 356 Vision Zero safety transforming our streetscapes for improved safety.
engineering projects, targeting priority locations identified
through crash data and pedestrians killed or seriously injured PEDESTRIANIZED SPACES
between 2009 and 2013.590 According to the City’s Vision
Zero Four Year Report, these projects “span a wide range of Over the last decade, the City has made some progress in
improvements, from the creation of pedestrian plazas to the prioritizing pedestrians, primarily through the implementation
installation of bike lanes, signals, crosswalks and other forms of three popular programs spearheaded by DOT: 1) Summer
of traffic calming interventions.”591 According to DOT Com- Streets & Weekend Walks; 2) DOT’s Plaza Program, and 3)
missioner Polly Trottenberg, the City completed a total of 138
street improvement projects in 2018.592
BETWEEN 2009 AND 2015, THE NUMBER
Where they have been implemented, these street redesign OF PEDESTRIANS INCREASED 18 PERCENT
elements have seen enormous success. After protected ON WEEKDAYS AND 31 PERCENT ON THE
bike lanes, pedestrian islands, and split-phase signals were
installed on Ninth Avenue in Manhattan, injuries to all street
WEEKENDS CITYWIDE.
588 City of New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, Vision Zero Action Plan (2014), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/
assets/visionzero/downloads/pdf/nyc-vision-zero-action-plan.pdf.
589 City of New York, Vision Zero, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/visionzero/index.page (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018)
590 City of New York, Vision Zero: Four Year Report (Mar. 2018), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/visionzero/downloads/pdf/vision-zero-year-4-report.pdf.
591 Id.
592 Emma G. Fitzsimmons, Traffic Deaths in New York City Drop to 200, a Record Low, N.Y. Times, Jan. 1, 2019, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/01/nyregion/traffic-deaths-decrease-nyc.html.
593 Vision Zero: Four Year Report (Mar. 2018).
594 N.Y.C. DOT, Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans, Vision Zero Update, Feb. 19, 2019, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/vz-2019-update-city-hall.pdf.
595 Gersh Kuntzman, De Blasio Touts New “Pedestrian Safety” Plans, But They Have a Long Way to Go, StreetsblogNYC, Feb. 19, 2019, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2019/02/19/de-blasio-touts-new-
pedestrian-safety-plans-but-they-have-a-long-way-to-go/.
596 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Traffic Signals, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/infrastructure/signals.shtml (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).

the City’s Shared Streets initiative. Hundreds of thousands of A “shared street” is designed for slow travel speeds where
residents, visitors and businesses have enjoyed the benefits of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorists all share the right of way.604
these programs, which range from reduced injuries and death DOT’s Shared Streets initiative began as a temporary, neigh-
to significant increases in retail sales. However, these pro- borhood-scale approach to prioritizing pedestrians in the pub-
grams are slow-growing and very limited in scope. lic right of way. Shared Streets was not entirely unprecedent-
Modeled on events that happen all across the globe, Summer ed, with areas like South Street Seaport and Jamaica Queens
Streets closes off streets to vehicle traffic along seven miles prioritizing pedestrians and cyclists in the public right of way.605
of roadways in Manhattan on three consecutive Saturdays in In August 2016, the City tried the first scaled up Shared
August.597 Weekend Walks expanded that concept, to 123 Streets event in the Financial District, where DOT limited car
multi-block events spanning all across the City in 2018.598 traffic on a 60-block section for five hours on a Saturday.606
NYPD put up barriers along the edge of the neighborhood
The Plaza Program is built upon the principles of “Tactical with officers on hand to let vehicles through, aided by tempo-
Urbanism” which prioritizes short-term, community-based rary five mile per hour speed limit signs, giving pedestrians and
projects, like pop-up parks, which are often low-cost and “of- cyclists priority in the public right of way.607 In 2017, DOT tested
fers a way to gain public and government support for investing out the idea again in Chinatown from 5pm to 9pm on the first
in permanent projects, inspiring residents and civic leaders to three Fridays in August.608
experience and shape urban spaces in a new way.”599 These
spaces are stewarded by non-profit organizations, which are Overall, the Shared Streets experiments in 2016 should be re-
granted limited opportunities to subsidize their obligations garded as an outright success in prioritizing pedestrian safety
through fundraising, sponsorships, and concessions like in densely trafficked neighborhoods. However, since the idea
kiosks and food markets.600 July 2018 marked the ten year was tested, the City has scaled back its scope significantly
anniversary of DOT’s plaza program, which has resulted in the from entire neighborhoods in its pilot phases to small slivers of
creation of 74 plazas citywide, covering 30-acres in the City’s streets in the City’s permanent iterations. A permanent Shared
roadways.601 Street in Flatiron was completed in August 2017 along a one-
block corridor of Broadway, where pedestrians outnumber
These plazas have been remarkably successful in improving motorists twenty to one.609 In 2018, the City completed a sec-
pedestrian safety in City streets. At Times Square, pedestri- ond shared street on East 43rd Street, between Lexington and
an injuries have plummeted since the implementation of the Third Avenues in Manhattan.610 Aside from those two small
Times Square pedestrian plaza, falling from an average of 62 scale projects, and plans for implementation on Willoughby
injuries per year between 2006 and 2008 to 37 between 2014 Street in Brooklyn at some point this year, the City has artic-
and 2016—a 40 percent reduction.602 Small businesses also ulated no plans to expand the program or revisit the bigger,
see a huge benefit. Businesses on Pearl Street in Brooklyn, for neighborhood-scale shared space concept.611
example, saw a 172 percent increase in retail sales as a result
of the implementation of Pearl Street Plaza, which transformed
underused parking.603 PUBLIC SPACES
In a city like New York where people choose to walk over a Compared to other cities across the world, New York is far
quarter of the time, the creation of pedestrian spaces can still behind the curve with respect to prioritizing pedestrians and
bring significant environmental benefits to communities by cyclists in public spaces. The term “woonerf,” roughly translat-
decreasing pollution and improving air quality in dense City ed as “living streets” is a Dutch term coined back in 1960s to
centers and environmental justice communities; and increasing describe a street or a group of streets that function as shared
permeable surfaces and planted areas that absorb rain water public space for pedestrians, cyclists and very slow-moving
to reduce strain on the City’s combined sewer system and the vehicles.612 These spaces look remarkably similar to the City’s
pollution of the City’s water bodies. Shared Street concept. There are more than 6,000 “woonerf”
597 N.Y.C DOT, About Summer Streets (2018), available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/summerstreets/html/about/about.shtml (last accessed Feb. 28, 2019)
598 N.Y.C Weekend Walks (2018) available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/weekendwalks/html/find/find.shtml (last accessed Feb. 28, 2019)
599 Mike Lydon, Anthony Garcia, Tactical Urbanism (Mar. 2015) available at https://islandpress.org/books/tactical-urbanism
600 Ed Janoff, Reflections on 10 Years of the NYC Plaza Program, PUBLIC SQUARE, Jul. 24, 2018, available at https://www.cnu.org/publicsquare/2018/07/24/reflections-10-years-nyc-plaza-program
601 Id.
602 Krison Capps, Why More People Didn’t Get Hurt in Times Square, CityL ab, May 18, 2017, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/05/why-more-people-didnt-get-hurt-in-times-square/527253/.
603 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Measuring the Street (2012) available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2012-10-measuring-the-street.pdf.
604 N.Y.C DOT, Presentation to Community Board 6:43rd Street Shared Street (Nov. 6, 2017) available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/43rd-street-east-midtown-shared-street-nov2017.pdf.
605 Stephen Miller, DOT Studying Shared Space for Three Blocks Next to Willoughby Plaza, StreetsblogNYC, Sep. 17, 2014, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2014/09/17/dot-studying-shared-space-for-three-
blocks-next-to-willoughby-plaza/.
606 David Meyer, First-Ever “Shared Streets” Brings Stress-Free Streets to Financial District, StreetsblogNYC, Aug. 15, 2016, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2016/08/15/first-ever-shared-streets-brings-
stress-free-streets-to-financial-district/.
607 Id.
608 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Twitter, Aug. 3, 2017, available at https://twitter.com/NYC_DOT/status/893204333189369856 (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
609 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Flatiron Shared Street: CB5 Transportation Committee (Mar. 2017) available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/flatiron-shared-street-mar2017.pdf.
610 N.Y.C. DOT, Borough Pedestrian Safety Action Plans, Vision Zero Update, Feb. 19, 2019, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/vz-2019-update-city-hall.pdf.
611 https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/vz-2019-update-city-hall.pdf at page 13
612 Paul Hockenos, Where ‘Share the Road’ is Taken Literally, N.Y. Times, Apr. 26, 2013, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/automobiles/where-share-the-road-is-taken-literally.html?_r=0.

zones in the Netherlands.613 In England and Wales, these a large swath of lower Manhattan’s street grid. Commissioner
streets are called “home zones;” as of 2013, there were more Trottenberg has noted that other downtown neighborhoods
than 70 home zones picked from a pool of hundreds of appli- like SoHo could be pursued for futureShared Streets proj-
cants for government funds.614 ects.624 Yet, as noted, the City has failed to prioritize this effort,
Barcelona, which first experimented with neighborhood-scale which requires careful planning, extensive and robust commu-
pedestrian spaces in the city’s El Born district back in 1993, nity engagement, technical surveys of the area, and perhaps
took this concept a step further in 2016 with its “Superblocks” most importantly, political will.
concept —a combined 40-acres of the City’s rigid street grid
that the City plans to transform into pedestrian-first spaces.615 Recommendation: Dramatically expand the City’s
The City set the goal to free up seven million square meters of Plaza Program
space previously dedicated to vehicle traffic and reduce private The City’s Plaza Program has seen remarkable success in
car and moped use by 21 percent.616 Superblocks—which increasing pedestrian safety and creating high-quality public
are smaller than an actual neighborhood, but larger than a spaces in underutilized roadways throughout the City. Much
City block—restrict car access significantly within a nine-block of the program’s success relies on partnerships with nonprofit
area, limiting car traffic to roughly six miles per hour.617 Cars organizations that have deep connections to their neighbor-
are limited to those belonging to local residents and business- hoods. These organizations propose plaza locations and, if
es are only allowed to load and unload trucks during specific selected, are tasked with activating and stewarding the space.
hours.618 The city set six major goals for the Superblocks; However, the citywide program, spearheaded by DOT, is
increase sustainable mobility; promote biodiversity and urban limited to underutilized roadways and does not consider other
green; reduce energy and water consumption; revitalize public publicly owned properties throughout the City. Organizations
spaces; promote social cohesion; and integrate governance and communities interested in activating a publicly owned par-
processes by involving citizens in the project design and devel- cel just adjacent to a busy roadway that happens to be owned
opment actions.619 by the Parks Department, for example, have no clear path to
In Barcelona, the implementation of these Superblocks faced pursue these low-cost, high-impact partnerships with the City.
some opposition from residents and businesses, but since its The scope of the program should therefore be expanded to
implementation, walking increased in the area by ten percent consider and include underutilized properties that are owned
and cycling by 30 percent.620 Driving in the Superblock as a or leased by government agencies other than DOT, beginning
whole fell by 26 percent, while rates of driving in the internal with the creation of one central portal to collect proposals
streets fell by 40 percent.621 The neighborhoods with the first from a broader set of communities. A streamlined selection
Barcelona Superblocks are now “fully equipped with pedestri- and contracting process should then be created to cut across
an improvements, wider sidewalks, and more street furniture— multiple agencies. Through the expansion of this public space
the advantages of which have gradually sunk in and resistance stewardship program and inter-agency coordination, the City
has largely evaporated.”622 should aim to double the acreage activated by the program by
A 1993 study informed by 20 years of pedestrian spaces in 2022.
Germany and in the United Kingdom, including a survey of Expanding the program to consider all publicly owned land,
400 shopping centers, similarly noted that while retailers often has the potential to dramatically expand the amount of safe,
resist pedestrianization efforts at the outset, “they virtually pedestrian-only public spaces throughout the City, foster and
never campaign for the abandonment of a scheme once it has cultivate interest in public space investments, and create op-
come into operation… once a scheme has been put in place, portunities for the installation of green infrastructure to improve
traders are often the main people to voice a desire to extend air quality and public health outcomes, among other benefits.
its boundaries or period of operation.”623
The closest the City came to pursuing the concept of the Su- Recommendation: Quadruple the Number of Shared
perblock was DOT’s 2016 Shared Streets test run in the Finan- Streets by 2025
cial District, which reduced vehicle access and speeds within Critical pedestrianization efforts in New York City have taken a
613 Id.
614 Id.
615 Laura Bliss, Inside a Pedestrian-First ‘Superblock,’ CityL ab, Aug. 7, 2018, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/08/inside-a-pedestrian-first-superblock/566864/.
616 Id.
617 Martha Bausells, Superblocks to the Rescue: Barcelona’s Plan to Give Streets Back to Residents, The Guardian, May 17, 2016, available at https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2016/may/17/superblocks-res-
cue-barcelona-spain-plan-give-streets-back-residents.
618 Feargus O’Sullivan, Barcelona’s Car-Taming Superblocks Meet Resistance, CityL ab, Jan. 20, 2017, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2017/01/barcelonas-car-taming-superblocks-meet-resis-
tance/513911/.
619 Ajuntament de Barcelona, Ecology, Urban Planning and Mobility: Superblocks, available at https://ajuntament.barcelona.cat/ecologiaurbana/en/what-we-do-and-why/quality-public-space/superblocks (last
620 O’Sullivan, Jan. 20, 2017.
621 Id.
622 Id.
623 Carmen Hass-Klau, Impact of Pedestrianization and Traffic Calming on Retailing (1993) Transport Policy, available at http://publiekeruimte.info/Data/Documents/rc5abtiq/39/Pedestrianization---retailing.pdf.
624

backseat to small-scale and incremental Vision Zero interven- just a fraction of the City’s signaled intersections and the City
tions, despite their success and popularity. Members of the has failed to implement simple upgrades at intersections to
City Council have begun to identify streets in their districts ripe improve the dismal state of accessibility for people with disabil-
for pedestrianization, many of which have already tested the ities and seniors on our streets.
elimination of vehicular traffic on a temporary basis. Investing in APS, in particular, is critical for the City’s 200,000
For example, the City could prioritize: residents with vision disabilities.628 Just 2.4 percent of the
• The Financial District and Chinatown in Council District 1, City’s 7,500 intersections with pedestrian signals are accessi-
where DOT tested its temporary Shared Streets program ble.629 The baseline cost to install APS on existing infrastruc-
in 2016 and 2017, respectively. ture is a little over $8,800 per intersection.630 The most recent
class action lawsuit against the City filed by Disability Rights
• Williamsburg’s Bedford Avenue in Council Districts 33 and Advocates on behalf of the American Council of the Blind of
34, which was closed to traffic every Saturday in June in New York points out that, while New York City has replaced all
2013625 and for pop-up and block party events in more of its pedestrian signals at least once since 2000, including the
recent years,626 is ripe for permanent pedestrianization installation of countdown clocks in at least 7,500 intersections
which would create more open space in an increasingly since 2006, it has only managed to install APS at 75 intersec-
crowded neighborhood for passive uses. tions per year. 631
• Streets in Brooklyn Heights along Joraleman Street, Based on DOT’s current annual spending, it would take 170
Downtown Brooklyn, South Williamsburg, East Williams- years and cost the City just under $330 million to complete
burg and Bushwick could also be pedestrianized without the job.632 That cost may seem high, but is in fact far less than
creating significant adverse impacts on traffic in the area. what the City has paid out to subsidize NYC Ferry expansion
• In District 38’s Sunset Park, active commercial corridors just within the last few years.633 The City must prioritize invest-
like 8th Avenue that experience extremely high pedestrian ments that meet the needs of people with disabilities—who
volumes on narrow sidewalks are great candidates for fur- have been ignored and neglected for far too long. The City
ther study to test pedestrianization. And in Council District should fully fund and expedite the installation of APS at every
3, neighborhood groups have long called for the elimina- single intersection with a pedestrian signal. Further, the City
tion of cars and trucks along 42nd Street.627 should install detectable warnings and curb ramps alongside
Vision Zero Design Standard upgrades to make every signal-
The City should prioritize and dramatically expand its Shared
ized intersection safe and accessible by 2030.
Streets program to increase the number of pedestrianized
streets that restrict vehicle access to at least a dozen corridors
by 2025. The process should start with public engagement
and carefully coordinate commercial deliveries, residential ve- BICYCLES
hicle access, waste hauling and street cleaning to ensure the
durability and long-term success of the expansion. What’s Not Working
Bicycling is the City’s fastest growing mode of transporta-
Recommendation: Redesign and Make Every Sig-
tion. DOT and the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
naled Intersection Accessible by 2030
(DOHMH) estimate that over 460,000 cycling trips are made
DOT should install Vision Zero safety and accessibility fea- in the City daily, which is about triple the amount of trips taken
tures—including pedestrian islands, signal-protected cross- 14 years ago.634 In 2017, 828,000 New Yorkers rode a bike
ings, wider sidewalks, accessible pedestrian signals (APS), regularly—140,000 more than just five years ago. 635 Nearly a
detectable warnings, curb ramps, and bus and bike lanes—to quarter of New Yorkers, 1.6 million, rode a bike as least once
improve intersection design and make every single intersec- in 2017.636
tion with a pedestrian signal accessible to seniors and people
Bicycling in New York City is growing faster than both its econ-
with disabilities by 2030. Vision Zero redesigns have improved
625 Neighbors Allied for Good Growth, Williamsburg Walks, available at http://nag-brooklyn.org/issuesprojects/pastprojects/williamsburgwalks/ (last accessed Feb. 22, 2019).
626 Northside Festival, Block Party 2018, available at https://www.northsidefestival.com/blockparty (last accessed Feb. 22, 2019).
627 Vision42, About, available at http://vision42.org/ (last accessed Feb. 22, 2019).
628 Disability Rights Advocates, Class Action Lawsuit Alleges NYC Sidewalks Won’t be Safe for Blind Pedestrians for 170 years, June 27, 2018, available at https://dralegal.org/press/class-action-lawsuit-alleges-nyc-
sidewalks-wont-be-safe-for-blind-pedestrians-for-170-years/ (last accessed Feb. 22, 2019).
629 Id.
630 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Accessible Pedestrian Signals Program Status Report, December 2017, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2017-aps-program-status-report.pdf (last
631 Class Action Lawsuit Alleges NYC Sidewalks Won’t be Safe for Blind Pedestrians for 170 years, June 27, 2018.
632 Id.
633 Aaron Gordon, et al., Foamland Security: Ferry Riders Say de Blasio’s Subsidies Spare Them Subway Trauma, Village Voice, May 15, 2018, available at https://www.villagevoice.com/2018/05/15/foamland-securi-
ty-ferry-riders-say-de-blasios-subsidies-spare-them-subway-trauma/.
634 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Cycling in the City, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/cyclinginthecity.shtml (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019).
635 Id.
636 Id.

omy and population.637 Cycling grew in New York City twice of transportation emissions.
as fast as other major U.S. cities between 2010 and 2015.638
During that period, the City saw significant increases in bike
BENEFITS OF BIKE INFRASTRUCTURE
commuters.639 The increase was highest in Manhattan with 98
percent growth, followed by Brooklyn with 83 percent, Queens Research consistently demonstrates that physically separated
with 59 percent, Staten Island with 22 percent, and the Bronx bike lanes improve bike safety and reduce cyclist injuries and
with 19 percent. death significantly.644 A 2014 DOT report on protected bike
lanes found a 74 percent decrease in average risk to a cyclist,
There is an incredible amount of diversity among cyclists in
a 22 percent reduction in pedestrian industries, a 17 percent
the City. As of 2017, cyclists overall are more likely to be for-
reduction in crashes with injuries, increased travel times and
eign-born than the general population.640 In addition, Hispanic
even increased retail sales along corridors with protected
riders were represented proportionally among cyclists, making
lanes.645
up 29 percent of both cyclists and the City’s population.641
Building bike infrastructure also significantly increases rider-
According to DOT, just three percent of all trips taken by New
ship, bringing with it enormous potential to reduce congestion
Yorkers in 2017 were taken by bike.642 With the share of ze-
and emissions and ease strain on the city’s subway system.
ro-emissions bicycle trips still in the single digits, we can make
Protected bike lanes increased ridership anywhere from 21
significant strides in reducing emissions through investments
to 171 percent, with about ten percent of new rides drawn
in bike infrastructure that is proven to increase safety and
from other modes.646 According to Transportation Alternatives’
ridership. A 2015 study out of the Institute for Transportation
BikeNYC 2020 survey, two-thirds of the City’s riders said they
and Development Policy predicts that if cities make a strong,
would ride more frequently if the City installed more protected
sustained commitment to promoting bicycle travel, carbon
bike lanes.647 Of those respondents who had never ridden a
emissions would reduce transportation emissions by 11
bicycle in New York, but would not rule out trying in the future,
percent. This assumes 14 percent of travel is by bike or e-bike
80 percent cited fear of drivers as a reason why they have
by 2050.643 The City must do more to upgrade our cycling in-
not started riding yet, and 67 percent mentioned the lack of
frastructure to increase ridership, make cycling safe for riders,
protected bike lanes making them feel unsafe.648 Research has
improve health outcomes and reduce the City’s overall share
637 Transportation Alternatives, BikeNYC 2020 (Nov. 2017), available at https://www.bikenyc2020.org/dl/BikeNYC_2020_Report.pdf.
638 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Cycling in the City: Cycling Trends in NYC, (Jan. 2017), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/cycling-in-the-city-jan2017.pdf.
639 Id.
640 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Safer Cycling: Bicycle Ridership and Safety in New York City (2017), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/bike-safety-study-fullreport2017.pdf.
641 Id.
642 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Citywide Mobility Survey (Aug. 2017), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/nycdot-citywide-mobility-survey-report-2017.pdf.
643 Angie Schmitt, How Much Can Bicycling Help Fight Climate Change? A Lot, If Cities Try, StreetsblogUSA, Nov. 18, 2015, available at https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/11/18/how-much-can-bicycling-help-fight-
climate-change-a-lot-if-cities-try/.
644 Michael Anderson, The First Major Academic Study of Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S. Is Out, People For Bikes, Jun. 2, 2014, available at https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/the-first-major-academic-study-of-pro-
tected-bike-lanes-in-the-u-s-is-out/.
645 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Protected Bicycle Lanes in NYC (Sept. 2014), available at http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-09-03-bicycle-path-data-analysis.pdf.
646 Eric Jaffe, Protected Bike Lanes Aren’t Just Safer, They Can Also Increase Cycling, City L ab, Jun. 2, 2014, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2014/06/protected-bike-lanes-arent-just-safer-they-
can-also-increase-cycling/371958/.
648 Id.

BIKE LANES
People on bicycles are among the most
vulnerable users of the City’s streets. A
comprehensive report released by DOT
in 2017 revealed that between 2006 and
2014, 3,395 cyclists were either killed or
severely injured; 89 percent of cyclist fa-
talities occurred on streets without bicycle
facilities, like bike lanes.654 While the City
has made some progress to increase
rates of cycling and improve cyclist safety,
progress to invest in the most effective
intervention—protected bike lanes—has
moved far too slowly.
As of December 2018 there are roughly
1,217 miles of bike lanes in New York
City,655 up from roughly half that in
2006.656 According to DOT, the City had
installed 119.5 miles of on-street protected
bike lanes as of December 2018, triple
what it was in 2014.657 However, the de
also consistently shown that women, in particular, are more
Blasio Administration fell short of its goal to install 30 miles of
likely to ride in areas that are connected to bike lanes or green-
protected bike lanes in 2018658 by almost 10 miles, complet-
ways, physically separated from traffic.649
ing just 20.9 miles over the course of the year.659 At 119 miles,
Bike infrastructure is also an extremely cost-efficient way to protected bike lanes cover barely two percent of the City’s
improve public health outcomes. A Columbia University Mail- street grid.660
man School of Public Health study found that the 45.5 miles of
Further, the City’s definition of “protected” has recently been
the City’s bike lanes built in 2015 likely increased the probabil-
brought into question, making it difficult to track the adminis-
ity of riding a bicycle by nine percent.650 The research team’s
tration’s progress on building out this essential infrastructure.
model then determined that over the lifetime of all residents,
The National Association of City Transportation Officials de-
bike lane construction produced additional costs of only $2.79
fines a protected bike lane as one that offers “physical protec-
per person while improving public health outcomes even for
tion from passing traffic” in the form of “a parking lane or other
those who do not ride, making bicycle infrastructure more
barrier between the cycle track and the motor vehicle travel
cost-effective in improving health than many other preven-
lane.”661 Streetsblog recently reported that nearly a quarter
tive approaches.651 Building bike infrastructure in low-income
of the City’s “protected” bike lanes installed in 2018 lacked
communities of color can also reduce health inequities.652 Yet,
such a physical barrier, offering cyclists “just green paint and
as noted, Vision Zero improvements have been largely con-
prayer.”662 DOT responded to that criticism with the following
centrated in wealthier neighborhoods, particular in Manhattan,
statement: “a protected bike lane is a path intended for the use
leaving most communities of color throughout the City without
of bicycles that is physically separated from motorized vehicle
this critical infrastructure.653
traffic by an open space, vertical delineation, or barrier.”663
Research consistently demonstrates that physically sepa-
649 Carolyn Szczepanski, Bike Share’s Gender Gap, The League of American Bicyclists, June 27, 2014, available at https://bikeleague.org/content/bike-shares-gender-gap (last accessed Feb. 12, 2019).
650 Jing Gu, et al., The Cost-Effectiveness of Bike Lanes in New York City (2017), BMJ Journals, available at https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/23/4/239.
651 Id.
652 Philip Noyes, et al, Cycling in the City: An In-Depth Examination of Bicycle Lane Use in a Low-Income Urban Neighborhood (2014), Journal of Physical Activity and Health 11 (1): 1-9.
654 Safer Cycling: Bicycle Ridership and Safety in New York City (2017).
655 City of New York, Vision Zero: Mayor de Blasio Announces New York City Added Over Twenty Miles of Protected Bicycle Lanes in 2019, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/604-18/vision-
zero-mayor-de-blasio-new-york-city-added-twenty-miles-protected-bicycle (last accessed Feb. 11, 2019)
656 Winnie Hu, More New Yorkers Opting for Life in the Bike Lane, N.Y. Times, Jul. 30, 2017, available at www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/nyregion/new-yorkers-bike-lanes-commuting.html
657 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Protected Bicycle Lanes in NYC (Sept. 2014), available at http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-09-03-bicycle-path-data-analysis.pdf.
658 Id.
659 Gersh Kuntzman, De Blasio Built 20.9 Miles Protected Bike Lanes This Year—Yet Falls Short of Record, StreetsblogNYC, Dec, 19, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/12/19/de-blasio-falls-short-of-
record-miles-of-protected-bike-lanes/.
660 City of New York, Infrastructure: Sustainable Streets: 2013 and Beyond (2013) available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/2013-dot-sustainable-streets-5-infrastructure.pdf.
661 National Association of City Transportation Officials, One-Way Protected Cycle Tracks, available at https://nacto.org/publication/urban-bikeway-design-guide/cycle-tracks/one-way-protected-cycle-tracks/ (last
accessed Feb. 11, 2019) .
662 Gersh Kuntzman, FACT CHECK: City Did Not Build 20.9 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes This Year, StreetsblogNYC, Dec. 20, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/12/20/fact-check-city-did-not-build-
20-9-miles-of-protected-bike-lanes-this-year/.
663 Id.

rated bike lanes are the most effective ways to improve bike
safety and reduce cyclist injuries and death significantly.664 A A COMMITMENT TO PROMOTING
2014 DOT report on protected bike lanes found a 74 percent
BICYCLE TRAVEL COULD REDUCE
decrease in average risk to a cyclist, a 22 percent reduction in
pedestrian industries, a 17 percent reduction in crashes with TRANSPORTATION EMISSIONS BY
injuries, increased travel times and even increased retail sales UP TO 11 PERCENT.
along corridors with protected lanes.665
Building bike lane infrastructure also significantly increas- BIKE SHARE
es ridership, bringing with it enormous potential to reduce
congestion,emissions, and to ease strain on the City’s subway Citi Bike, the City’s bike share network saw 17.7 million trips
system. Protected bike lanes can increase ridership anywhere in 2018.675 In addition to encouraging new users to try cycling,
from 21 to 171 percent, with about 10 percent of new rides it has brought with it some increased safety for bike riders.
drawn from other modes.666 According to Transportation Alter- DOT’s 2017 study found that rates of cyclists who were killed
natives’ BikeNYC 2020 survey, two-thirds of the City’s riders or severely injured (KSI) dropped in areas where Citi Bike
said they would ride more frequently if the City installed more was available.676 In late 2018, the de Blasio Administration
protected bike lanes.667 Of those respondents who had never announced it would significantly expand Citi Bike, doubling
ridden a bicycle in New York, but would not rule out trying in its footprint over the next five years and tripling its number
the future, 80 percent cited fear of drivers as a reason why of bikes from 12,000 to nearly 40,000, some of which will be
they have not started riding yet, and 67 percent mentioned pedal-assist e-bikes.677 The City is also testing out dock-less
the lack of protected bike lanes making them feel unsafe.668 bike share with a handful of private companies, including Citi
Research has also consistently shown that women, in partic- Bike, in areas of the City not currently served by the docked
ular—who are vastly underrepresented among cyclists in the Citi Bike system.678 Dock-less systems have the potential to
City—are more likely to ride in areas that are connected to bike significantly and rapidly expand access to bike share across
lanes or greenways, physically separated from traffic.669 the City without the need to install permanent docking in-
frastructure. However, this pilot has faced some significant
The City’s modest bike lane infrastructure goals are often challenges.679
bogged down even further by opposition from communities
and elected officials. In Park Slope, two organizations sued The introduction of pedal-assist e-bikes to our bike share
the City to remove the Prospect Park West bike lane in 2011.670 program, combined with the expansion of Citi Bike’s service
The lawsuit was initially dismissed and finally dropped in area, may also serve to significantly increase rates of cycling
2016.671 A protected bike lane that was the result of nearly a in the City and begin to replace outer borough car trips to the
decade of advocacy from cyclists in Manhattan on Dyckman Manhattan core. A study out of Portland State University in
St. was removed this past summer, in response to “extensive 2013 found that e-bikes can result in more bike trips, longer
feedback from the community.”672 Bike lanes along Skillman bike trips, and increase the diversity of people bicycling includ-
Ave. in Queens,673 and Morris Park Ave. in the Bronx674 have ing people with a disability or chronic injury.680 According to
also faced significant opposition in recent years. Julie Wood, Vice President at Motivate, “once users get to the
point where they’re comfortable taking three to five mile trips,
664 Michael Anderson, The First Major Academic Study of Protected Bike Lanes in the U.S. Is Out, People For Bikes, Jun. 2, 2014, available at https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/the-first-major-academic-study-of-pro-
tected-bike-lanes-in-the-u-s-is-out/
665 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Protected Bicycle Lanes in NYC (Sept. 2014), available at http://www.streetsblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-09-03-bicycle-path-data-analysis.pdf
666 Jaffe, Jun. 2, 2014.
667 BikeNYC 2020 (Nov. 2017).
668 Id.
669 Szczepanski, June 27, 2014.
670 Ben Fried, Good Riddance to the Prospect Park West Bike Lane Lawsuit, StreetsBlogNYC, Sep. 22, 2016, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2016/09/22/good-riddance-to-the-prospect-park-west-bike-
lane-lawsuit/.
671 Id.
672 David Meyer, Unprecedented! DOT Scraps Protected Bike Lane on Dyckman Street, StreetsBlogNYC, Aug. 31, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/08/31/unprecedented-dot-scraps-protect-
ed-bike-lane-on-dyckman-street/.
673 Dave Colon, Sunnyside’s Protected Bike Lanes Are a Go with De Blasio’s Support, Curbed New York, Jul. 12, 2018, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2018/7/12/17565718/queens-sunnyside-bike-lane-installa-
tion-bill-de-blasio.
674 Gersh Kuntzman, DOT Will Move Ahead with Ambitious Safety Plan for Bronx Killing Zone, StreetsBlogNYC, Dec. 6, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/12/06/dot-will-move-ahead-with-ambitious-
safety-plan-for-bronx-killing-zone/.
675 Citi Bike, Citi Bike Monthly Operating Reports, available at https://www.citibikenyc.com/system-data/operating-reports (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
676 Vision Zero Four Year Report (March 2018).
677 Citi Bike, Citi Bike Is Going to Dramatically Expand, available at https://www.citibikenyc.com/blog/citi-bike-is-going-to-dramatically-expand (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
678 David Meyer, DOT Picks Five Companies to Run Dockless Bike-Share Pilots, StreetsBlogNYC, Jul. 3, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/07/03/dot-picks-five-companies-to-run-dockless-bike-
share-pilots/
679 Gersh Kuntzman, Eyes on the Street: Pilot Dockless Bike Share on Staten Island is a Joke, StreetsBlogNYC, Sep. 10, 2018 https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/09/10/eyes-on-the-street-pilot-dockless-bike-share-
on-staten-island-is-a-joke/; Ben Fried, A Hit-and-Miss Debut for Dockless Citi Bikes in the Bronx, StreetsBlogNYC, Aug. 16, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/08/16/a-hit-and-miss-debut-for-dock-
less-citi-bikes-in-the-bronx/ and Gersh Kuntzman, Rockaway Dockless Bike Share Pilot Suffers Blow as Pace Pulls Out, StreetsBlogNYC, Sep. 27, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/09/27/rockaway-
dockless-bike-share-pilot-suffers-blow-as-pace-pulls-out/
680 John McAurthur, et al., E-Bikes in North America: Results from an Online Survey, Transportation Research Board (Nov. 15 2013), available at https://ppms.trec.pdx.edu/media/project_files/E-bikes_in_North_
America.pdf.

that’s when these vehicles start really replacing car trips.”681 Times Square, the NYPD reportedly targeted cyclists and even
However, the increased rates for the use of Citi Bike’s e-bikes issued an infraction to an adult Citi Bike rider for failing to wear
proposed by Motivate since Lyft acquired its operations may a helmet, which is not illegal.689
limit New Yorkers’ interest and access to this new feature.682
These investments to expand the City’s bike share network are Recommendations: Require Minimum Design Stan-
critical. But with protected bike lane infrastructure covering just dards for Protected Bike Lanes
a tiny fraction of the City’s street grid, the City’s cyclists remain Nearly a quarter of the City’s “protected” bike lanes installed in
incredibly vulnerable to vehicle traffic. 2018 reportedly lacked a physical barrier, offering cyclists “just
green paint and prayer.”690 Without clear design standards and
BARRIERS TO BIKE RIDING minimum thresholds for a “protected” lane that include physi-
cal barriers to protect riders from vehicles, we cannot hold the
While there is an incredible amount of diversity among cyclists City accountable to meet bike infrastructure goals.
in the City, immigrants and people of color, in particular, face
significant barriers to riding. In addition to the City’s failure to These design standards should be coupled with the release
provide lifesaving bike infrastructure in communities of color, of more detailed public data that provides comprehensive in-
a 2016 study of cyclists in New Jersey found that in Black and formation about on-street cycling infrastructure to help cyclists
Latino communities, fears of assault, theft, and police profiling plan the safest route. Making this detailed data available to the
may also form a significant barrier to increased riding. Further, public would even allow for app developers to offer an “avoid
a lack of political power often prevents Black and Latinx riders unprotected bike lanes” option in commonly used route-plan-
from having a fair share of input in the bicycle planning pro- ning features to encourage ridership over time.
cess.683
Recommendation: Install At Least 50 Miles of Pro-
In 2016, Intersectional Riding analyzed NYPD data on court tected Bike Lanes Per Year
summonses and ticketing of commercial and non-commercial
bicycling, finding that that the NYPD tends to target cyclists True protected bike lanes are proven to reduce cyclist injuries
of color both where they live and work.684 This court sum- and death, reduce car trips, strain on the subway system, and
mons data is made available on the City’s Open Data portal improve health disparities and public health outcomes even
as a result of Local Law 11 of 2012 passed by City Coun- for those who do not ride. Yet, the City’s progress on installing
cil.685 Intersectional Riding’s analysis found higher rates of protected bike lanes has been slow-moving and piecemeal, at
non-commercial ticketing in communities of color than majority best, resulting in a disjointed, disconnected system. Further, a
white communities, and higher rates of commercial ticketing in lack of bike infrastructure in low-income communities of color
majority white neighborhoods than communities of color.686 has left these neighborhoods without critical and lifesaving in-
frastructure, potentially exacerbating transportation and health
The NYPD has also faced significant criticism for its culture of disparities overall. Informed by new design standards for true
victim-blaming, leaking investigation conclusions to the press, protected lanes, the City should significantly increase the
and responding to fatalities by stepping up enforcement on cy- installation of this critical, life-saving infrastructure to at least
clists rather than drivers. Per Transportation Alternative’s 2017 miles 50 miles per year.
report, the “the culture gap is evident in Police Department’s
policy of responding to bicyclist fatalities with ticket stings
Recommendation: Complete a Fully Connected Bike
that target bicycle riders instead of lawless drivers, and their
Network By 2030
trend, in the aftermath of crashes, of leaking pre-investigation
conclusions to the press, and blaming bicyclists for their own The connectivity of our bike infrastructure is critical to its suc-
deaths.”687 cess. Annual goals for protected bike lanes must all contribute
to the achievement of this long-term goal to serve every square
Unfortunately, the City has continued to pursue its misguided
mile of the City’s street grid with bike infrastructure by 2030.
policy of cracking down on e-bike users, who are predom-
This goal will ensure that neighborhoods currently underserved
inately immigrant delivery workers, rather than the employ-
by transportation—particularly the City’s low-income com-
ers that are legally liable for the $500 fines.688 For example,
munities of color and environmental justice communities—are
following the tragic death of a cyclist in February 2019 near
provided with access to this life-saving infrastructure.
681 Patrick Sisson, Why Electric Bikes Can Provide A Big Jolt to Bikeshare Systems, Curbed, Jun. 28, 2018, available at https://www.curbed.com/2018/6/28/17515758/electric-bike-share-cycling-city-transportation.
682 Amy Plitt, Citi Bike will increase e-bike fleet by 4,000-and add $2 surcharge, Curbed, Feb. 28, 2019, available at https://ny.curbed.com/2019/2/28/18244989/citi-bike-new-york-electric-bike-surcharge.
683 Charles Brown, MPA, Fear: A Silent Barrier to Bicyling in Black and Hispanic Communities (Sept. 2016), ITE, available at http://njbikeped.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Fear_A-Silent-Barrier-to-Bicy-
cling-in-Black-and-Hispanic-Communities_Sept2016.pdf.
684 Intersectional Riding, Biking While Working Immigrant (Dec. 2016) available at http://www.intersectionalriding.com/2016/12/14/biking-while-working-immigrant/.
685 N.Y.C. Open Data, Criminal Court Summonses, available at https://data.cityofnewyork.us/Public-Safety/Criminal-Court-Summonses/j8nm-zs7q (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
686 Biking While Working Immigrant (Dec. 2016).
687 BikeNYC 2020 (Nov. 2017).
688 Christopher Robbins, NYPD Tells Officers: Stop Fining E-Bike Delivery Cyclists, GOTHAMIST, Jan. 3, 2019, available at http://gothamist.com/2019/01/03/e-bike_summons_tickets_nypd.php
689 Jake Offenhartz, Amid Uptick in Cyclist and Pedestrian Deaths, NYPD is Ticketing Cyclists in Bike Lanes, Gothamist, Feb. 7, 2019, available at http://gothamist.com/2019/02/07/vision_zero_cyclist_nypd.php.
690 Gersh Kuntzman, FACT CHECK: City Did Not Build 20.9 Miles of Protected Bike Lanes This Year, StreetsBlogNYC, Dec. 20, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/12/20/fact-check-city-did-not-
build-20-9-miles-of-protected-bike-lanes-this-year/.

Recommendation: Increase Bike Ridership To 14 Congestion is estimated to cost the New York metro area
Percent of New Yorkers’ Trips By 2050 economy $100 billion over the next five years.698 Each year, we
lose $9.17 billion in lost travel time, $2.42 billion in increased
We can make significant strides in reducing emissions through
operating costs by industry, $2.54 billion in excess fuel and ve-
investments in bike infrastructure. If cities reach this long-term
hicle operating costs, and $5.85 billion in total lost revenue.699
goal, we can reduce transportation emissions by 11 percent.691
The City should explicitly set this goal to help reach our 80 x The environmental impact of transportation, and primarily on-
50 goals through reductions in transportation emissions. road transportation, is significant, accounting for 30 percent of
the City’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions.700 Between 2005 and
CONGESTION AND PRIORITIZING CARS 2015, the City reduced transportation emissions by just five
percent, accounting for a 1.2 percent reduction in emissions
overall.701
What’s Not Working
It is clear the City’s streets prioritize cars and vehicles. But be- For-hire Vehicles
yond that basic fact, there is no clear rationale in how the City
manages space in the public right of way. Driving is on the rise; E-dispatch companies, such as Uber and Lyft, have risen in
transit riders are increasingly choosing for-hire vehicles over popularity in the last several years, as they created a way to ar-
public transit; truck traffic continues to overly burden the City’s range a trip and payment at the tap of a button. They have be-
communities of color and congestion costs the City roughly come a quick and easy alternative to the deteriorating subway
$20 billion per year in lost economic activity. New York City is and buses—for those who can afford it. As of March 2018, the
the fourth most congested City in the United States.692 Clear- New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission had issued
ly, we must rethink the way our streets prioritize and manage licenses to approximately 130,000 vehicles, and were pro-
traffic. cessing approximately 2,000 vehicle applications per month.702
Since 2016, the City added 44,000 for-hire vehicle registrations
in 2016, more than doubling the number since 2010.703
CONGESTION
A 2017 report by transportation consultant Bruce Schaller on
Driving is on the rise in New York City. In 2005, there were growing congestion in the City pointed to the for-hire vehicle
1,672,758 registered vehicles in New York City. By the end sector as a significant contributor.704 Notably, the report found
of 2017, there were 1,923,041 cars registered to City resi- that “in 2015, and to an even greater extent in 2016, growth in
dents.693 While travel speeds continue to plummet in the City, taxi and for-hire ridership outpaced growth in transit (subway
private-car registration is outpacing population growth.694 and bus) ridership” and is now the leading source of growth in
Even those who don’t own cars are increasingly turning to non-personal vehicle travel in the city.705 This growth is particu-
vehicle use. Not surprisingly, the number daily Uber and Lyft larly significant because in the previous two decades the tran-
trips grew from 60,000 to 600,000 from 2015 to 2018, which sit system was able to absorb nearly all of the growth of travel
almost exactly mirrors the City’s 580,000 decline in daily transit in the City generated by increases in population and economic
ridership.695 activity, largely avoiding the increases in congestion that would
The increase in car ownership and for-hire vehicle use is con- have otherwise been inevitable.706
tributing to increasing congestion across the City. This impact is In August 2018, the City Council passed legislation that
particularly acute in the Central Business District, where be- paused TLC’s ability to issue new for-hire vehicle licenses for
tween 2012 and 2017, travel speeds declined from 9.1 miles per one year.707 During this time TLC and DOT will study conges-
hour to 7.1 miles per hour.696 According to a 2019 study, New tion in the for-hire vehicle sector and develop ways to maxi-
Yorkers lose an average of 133 hours per year in congestion.697
691 Angie Schmitt, How Much Can Bicycling Help Fight Climate Change? A Lot, If Cities Try, StreetsblogUSA, Nov. 18, 2015, available at https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/11/18/how-much-can-bicycling-help-fight-
climate-change-a-lot-if-cities-try/.
692 Noah Manskar, Only 3 U.S. Cities Have Worse Traffic Than NYC, Patch, Feb. 12, 2019, available at https://patch.com/new-york/new-york-city/only-3-u-s-cities-have-worse-traffic-nyc.
693 David Meyer, Car Ownership Continues To Rise Under Mayor de Blasio, StreetsblogNYC, Oct. 3, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/10/03/car-ownership-continues-to-rise-under-mayor-de-bla-
sio/.
694 Danielle Furfaro, et al., Why Driving in NYC has somehow gotten even slower, N.Y. Post, Jun. 15, 2018, available at https://nypost.com/2018/06/15/why-driving-in-nyc-has-somehow-gotten-even-slower/.
695 Angie Schmitt, Study: Uber and Lyft Caused U.S. Transit Decline, StreetsblogUSA, Jan. 22, 2019, available at https://usa.streetsblog.org/2019/01/22/study-uber-and-lyft-are-responsible-for-u-s-transit-decline/.
696 NYC Department of Transportation, New York City Mobility Report (June 2018), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/downloads/pdf/mobility-report-2018-screen-optimized.pdf.
697 Manskar, Feb. 12, 2019.
698 Fix N.Y.C. Advisory Panel, Fix NYC Advisory Panel Report, (Jan. 2018) available at http://www.hntb.com/HNTB/media/HNTBMediaLibrary/Home/Fix-NYC-Panel-Report.pdf.
699 Partnership for New York City, Congestion in Metro New York (Jan. 2018), available at http://pfnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/2018-01-Congestion-Pricing.pdf.
701 Id.
702 N.Y.C Council Fiscal Year 2019, Preliminary Budget Hearing For-Hire Vehicles Committee, Testimony of TLC Commissioner Meera Joshi, (March 8, 2018)
704 Bruce Schaller, Unsustainable? The Growth of App-Based Ride Services and Traffic, Travel and the Future of New York City (Feb. 27, 2017), available at http://www.schallerconsult.com/rideservices/unsustain-
able.pdf; Report Overview, available at http://www.schallerconsult.com/rideservices/unsustainable.htm#overv.
705 Id.
706 Id.
707 Local Law 2018/147.

mize the efficiency of vehicles that operate
through “high volume services,” which
dispatch 10,000 or more trips per day.708
Trucks and Deliveries

While the City has sought to mitigate
some impacts of congestion caused by
FHVs, other forms of traffic continue to
grow largely unabated. As online shopping
increases in popularity, so do deliveries.
Now, 41 percent of New Yorkers receive a
delivery at their home at least a few times
a week.709
The City’s regulation of trucks and delivery
traffic is erratic. Trucks on City streets
raise a host of environmental, traffic con-
gestion, road maintenance, and pedes-
trian safety issues, especially when they
do not comply with the City’s designated
truck route rules. That is why the Council
passed legislation requiring the City to
study and report on truck route compliance and pedestrian travel through a handful of low-income and communities
and cyclist safety along truck routes. The City was due to of color in the South Bronx, North Brooklyn and Southeast
deliver that report to the Council in June 2018, but has not yet Queens.714 A truck routing study by the City’s Department of
fulfilled that obligation. Sanitation and Business Integrity Commission found that a
In 2017, the de Blasio administration announced a “Congestion large share of the 23 million miles traveled by private waste
Action Plan” which consisted of “the creation of new moving trucks are concentrated along the Gowanus Parkway, Brook-
lanes in Midtown, clearing curbs during rush hours, expanding lyn-Queens Expressway, and Long Island Expressway, in all
NYPD enforcement of block-the-box violations, limiting curb- of the Bronx and in parts of South Brooklyn and Southeast
side access in crowded corridors, and bringing coordinated Queens, compromising the health of the people who live and
attention to recurring traffic spots on local highways.”710 The work along that route.715 Similarly, the MTA operates 28 bus
City expected a ten percent improvement in speeds in Mid- depots across the five boroughs, 75 percent of which are sited
town.711 However, the City failed to meaningfully include small in communities of color.716 Of the 5,700 buses in operation, 40
business owners in the planning of the program and com- percent are diesel-fueled. As the largest bus fleet in the United
pleted very little proactive outreach to the affected stakehold- States, MTA buses emit 577,290 metric tons of greenhouse
ers, stoking opposition to the program.712 The “Clear Curbs” gases annually.717
element of the plan was abandoned in August 2018.713 The concentration of truck routes, highways, bus depots and
Meanwhile, communities of color continue to suffer from an waste transfer stations in the City’s low-income communities
unfair share of truck traffic that causes health disparities and of color has acute and harmful impacts on air quality and
diminishes quality of life. Diesel buses and trucks—which are health in these neighborhoods. Rates of asthma-related hos-
a major contributor of greenhouse gases—disproportionately pitalization for children, youth and adults are higher in these
impact air quality in these communities. Three quarters of the environmental justice communities than any other part of the
City’s putrescible and construction/demolition solid waste City.718 Exposure to the particulate matter caused by die-
708 Id.
709 NYC Mobility Report (October 2016).
710 City of New York, Mayor de Blasio Announces Initiatives to Help East Congestion, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/673-17/mayor-de-blasio-initiatives-help-ease-congestion#/0 (last
accessed Feb. 14, 2019) .
711 Dan Rivoli, Mayor de Blasio’s Traffic Congestion Plan Fails to Impress During Test Run, Daily News, Apr. 11, 2018, available at https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mayor-de-blasio-traffic-conges-
tion-plan-fails-impress-article-1.3927204.
712 Laura Shepard, City Abandons “Clear Cubs” Program That Reduced Traffic Congestion and Made Roosevelt Island Safer, StreetsBlogNYC, Aug. 20, 2018, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2018/08/20/city-
abandons-clear-curbs-program-that-reduced-traffic-congestion-and-made-roosevelt-avenue-safer/.
713 Dan Rivoli, Mayor de Blasio’s Traffic Congestion Plan Fails to Impress During Test Run, Daily News, Apr. 11, 2018, available at https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mayor-de-blasio-traffic-conges-
tion-plan-fails-impress-article-1.3927204.
714 Transform Don’t Trash NYC, Clearing the Air: How Reforming the Commercial Waste Sector Can Address Air Quality Issues in Environmental Justice Communities (2016), available at http://transformdonttrashnyc.
org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Final-draft-v3_TDT-Air-Qual-Report_Clearing-the-Air-1.pdf.
715 Id.
716 New York City Environmental Justice Alliance, NYC Climate Justice Agenda: Midway to 2030 (April 2018), available at http://www.nyc-eja.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/NYC-Climate-Justice-Agenda-Fi-
nal-042018-1.pdf.
717 Id.
718 N.Y.C. Department of Health and Hygiene, Environmental & Health Data Portal, available at http://a816-dohbesp.nyc.gov/IndicatorPublic/QuickView.aspx (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019)

sel-burning vehicles exacerbates respiratory illness, and that Recommendation: Rein in Placard Abuse
exposure to particulate matter is responsible for more than
Placards allow holders to avoid parking tickets by utilizing
3,000 deaths, 2,000 hospital admissions and 6,000 emergen-
spaces that are restricted, such as loading and no stand-
cy room visits annually.719
ing zones, or metered spots. There are more than 100,000
In the sanitation sector, the City has made some progress to parking placards issued to City employees for their personal
address the concentration of waste transfer stations in over- vehicles. In addition to City-issued permits, counterfeit permits
burdened environmental justice communities. The 2006 Solid and “unofficial” placards are used to flout parking rules, such
Waste Management Plan brought more distributional fairness as official NYPD or Fire Department gear, union cards, or other
to the siting of waste facilities720 and the recent enactment of items to suggest an affiliation with a City agency.
Local Law 152 of 2018 will reduce the permitted capacity of
While the large number of both official and unofficial placards
waste transfer stations in the most overburdened neighbor-
frustrates efforts to manage parking, the immediate harm
hoods.721 The Mayor and Council have committed to reform
caused by placards is their often unchecked, illegal use. No
the City’s commercial waste sector.722 “Commercial Waste
placard allows for parking in bike and bus lanes, on sidewalks,
Zones: A Plan to Reform, Reroute, and Revitalize Private Cart-
in crosswalks, or blocking fire hydrants, yet these uses are
ing in NYC” provides a path toward creating a safer and more
common in many areas of the City.
efficient commercial waste collection system that will reduce
truck traffic throughout the city to reduce air pollution, emis- A culture of disregard leads to dangerous abuses. Block-
sions, traffic and safety hazards on City streets among other ing sidewalks, bike lanes, fire hydrants, and crosswalks put
benefits for workers, carters, and businesses alike.723 pedestrians and cyclists at risk. Blocking bus lanes increases
congestion and can slow the commutes of thousands.
PARKING POLICIES Legislation before the Council would help to reduce the num-
ber of placards, bring order and accountability to the system,
The City’s parking policies and meter rates are incredibly increase enforcement, and target the most dangerous parking
inconsistent across the City. Meters in Manhattan’s core area practice by requiring enforcement officers to call for towing of
come along with the highest hourly rates. Yet, it remains free to any vehicle blocking a bike lane, bus lane, crosswalk, or fire
park on streets just adjacent to those meters within the same hydrant.
parking rate zone.724 Meanwhile, Manhattanites are given spe-
cial exemption from the current tax on rental parking spaces,
Recommendation: Overhaul Commercial Loading
lowering the rate from 18 percent to roughly ten percent, while
Zones, Truck Routes, and Parking Policies By 2025
garage users from the outer boroughs who arguably have less
access to public transit have to pay full rates.725 A failure to sufficiently address the commercial loading zones,
truck routes, and parking policies that help keep our City run-
Further, the City does not even know how much parking is
ning will only foster chaos on our streets and frustration among
already available on the City’s streets, making it nearly im-
businesses and residents. The City should start this process
possible to manage as a resource or assess its efficiency as
by completing a study of on-street parking availability and
a dedicated space in the public right of way.726 According to
commercial loading zone locations, to ensure that the planning
an extremely rough estimate by parking policy expert Rachel
process moving forward is informed by concrete, objective
Weinberger based on her field work in Park Slope and Jack-
data rather than public perception of parking availability alone.
son Heights, there are between 3.4 and 4.4 million on-street
parking spaces in New York City.727 Assuming the area of This should supplement the truck route study that was due to
a given parking space is roughly 155 square feet,728 which the Council in June 2018. That overdue study should also be
means that between 18 and 25 square miles of the City’s finite broadened to include concrete plans to significantly expand
street grid is used for car storage, which accounts for about the City’s FreightNYC initiative, which is designed to reduce
six to eight percent of our land overall and a far larger percent the City’s overall dependence on trucking.729 Residents and
of the City’s street grid. businesses that currently use the City’s truck routes, on-street
parking,and loading zones, must be involved in any reform
process before changes are made. Only with sufficient plan-
719 NYC Climate Justice Agenda: Midway to 2030 (April 2018).
720 New York City Department of Sanitation, Solid Waste Management Plan, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/resources/reports/solid-waste-management-plan (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
721 Libby Torres, City Council Will Try to Curb Environmental Racism on Wednesday, Gothamist, Jul. 16, 2018, available at http://gothamist.com/2018/07/16/landmark_garbage_bill_takes_aim_at.php.
722 New York City Department of Sanitation, Commercial Waste Zones Implementation, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/site/resources/reports/commercial-waste-zones-plan (last accessed Feb. 14,
2019).
723 Id.
724 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Parking Rate Map, available at https://nycdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=d12f03e992d741f89bd3b28d1c106dec (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
725 City of New York, Manhattan Resident Parking Tax Exemption, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/finance/benefits/vehicles-manhattan-resident-parking-tax-exemption.page (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
726 Adele Peters, See Just How Much of a City’s Land Is Used for Parking Spaces, Fast Company, Jul. 20, 2017, available at https://www.fastcompany.com/40441392/see-just-how-much-of-a-citys-land-is-used-for-
parking-spaces.
727 Noah Kazis, New York Has 81,875 Metered Parking Spaces and Millions of Free Ones, StreetsBlogNYC, Mar. 22, 2011, available at https://nyc.streetsblog.org/2011/03/22/new-york-has-81875-metered-parking-
spaces-and-millions-of-free-ones/.
728 New York City Planning Commission, N 070509 ZRY, Oct. 31, 2007, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/planning/download/pdf/about/cpc/070509.pdf (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).
729 N.Y.C. Economic Development Corporation, FREIGHTNYC: Goods for the Good of the City (2018) available at https://www.nycedc.com/sites/default/files/filemanager/Programs/FreightNYC_book__DIGITAL.pdf.

ning and public engagement will such an overhaul succeed. CLIMATE ADAPTATION & RESILIENCY
In close collaboration with Small Business Services, the City
must engage residents and businesses in a robust and inclu- What’s Not Working
sive planning and outreach process to overhaul these systems
by 2025. The environmental impact of transportation, and primarily on-
road transportation, is significant, accounting for 30 percent of
the City’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions.733 Between 2005 and
Recommendation: Reduce Private Car Ownership by
2015, the City reduced transportation emissions by just five
Half By 2050
percent, accounting for a 1.2 percent reduction in emissions
The City’s 80 x 50 report sets the explicit goal to reduce per- overall.734 When it comes to the City’s public transportation
sonal vehicle travel by 40 percent, from about a third of trips and streets, we cannot afford to let our sustainability, resilience
today to 20 percent of trips in 2050. That goal clarifies that and climate justice goals remain an afterthought. Our City’s in-
12 percent of trips should remain traditional personal driving frastructure must be upgraded and protected from the harmful
trips, with the remaining eight percent made through taxi trips, impacts of sea level rise and climate change. Transportation
shared mobility services, car share, or new forms of high-ca- projects should prioritize the incorporation of green infrastruc-
pacity micro-transit services.730 This goal, in combination ture. And the City itself must redouble its efforts to reduce its
with advancements in electric vehicle and renewable energy reliance on private vehicles and fossil fuels in its fleet.
technologies, would help the City reach its 80 x 50 emission
Meanwhile, the City has made minimal progress to protect
reduction goals.
our City and the critical infrastructure that keeps our economy
Reducing the share of car trips should remain the City’s central protected from the existential threats posed by climate change
goal when it comes to managing vehicle traffic and reducing and sea level rise. The City’s streets and public transporta-
emissions, but it is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes tion infrastructure face significant risks with respect to these
to managing the City’s streets and transit on the whole. Find- threats. In 2015, the New York City Panel on Climate Change
ing ways to reduce rates of car ownership, alongside car use, (NPCC) projections for 2050 warned of potential sea level
is also critically important. rise anywhere between eight to 30 inches, and 100-year
According to a 2016 working paper out of the University of flood heights increasing by 12 to 13.8 feet.735 One New York
California, Berkeley’s Transportation Sustainability Research articulates a plan to adapt the City’s infrastructure for climate
Center (TRSC), users of car2go, the world’s leading car-shar- change, improve the redundancy of our transportation system
ing company, decreased their greenhouse gas emissions 10 and invest in several coastal resilience projects.
percent on average, and eased the commutes of non-users by Storms like Sandy—which flooded the Canarsie Tunnel with sev-
eliminating cars from the roads and parking space by eliminat- en million gallons of water736 and continues to hamper the opera-
ing the need for seven to 11 vehicles.731 tions and maintenance of the City’s subway system—are predict-
Reducing the number of vehicles produced and purchased, ed to occur more and more frequently.737 The MTA has initiated
overall, also has an environmental benefit; approximately one- some resilience projects to better protect the power substations,
fifth of the emissions a car releases during its lifespan are signal towers, signal compressors, and other rail operations
caused during production.732 Proactive policies to encourage facilities that are located along waterfronts like the Rockaways
efficient ride- and car-sharing options among current car own- and Canarsie Tunnel.738 Since the MTA’s blue ribbon Commis-
ers—in combination with an overhaul of the City’s on-street sion which convened over a decade ago, however, projects to
parking policies and critical improvements to bus and bike increase the resiliency of the subway, like the renovation of the
infrastructure—should be pursued to reduce car ownership Canarsie Tunnel, have been primarily piecemeal and reactive.
rates in the City overall. Those policies should also explicitly The MTA’s 2017 Resiliency Report begins to list the many ways
prioritize vehicles powered by renewable energies and include that the City’s aging infrastructure is vulnerable to climate change
the installation of charging infrastructure wherever appropriate. and highlights a handful of select projects in the pipeline, but the
MTA has yet to fully refine or quantify climate risks specific to the
Authority’s assets or the investments the system will require to
keep the subway operational and prevent costly damage.739
730 City of New York, New York City’s Roadmap to 80x50 (Sep. 2016) available at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/sustainability/downloads/pdf/publications/New%20York%20City’s%20Roadmap%20to%2080%20
x%2050_20160926_FOR%20WEB.pdf.
731 Elliot Martin, Susan Shaheen, Impacts of Car2Go on Vehicle Ownership, Modal Shift, Vehicles Miles Traveled, and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: An Analysis of Five North American Cities (Jul. 2016), available at
http://innovativemobility.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Impactsofcar2go_FiveCities_2016.pdf.
732 Id.
734 Id.
735 N.Y.C. Mayor’s Office of Recovery & Resiliency, New York City Panel on Climate Change, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/orr/challenges/nyc-panel-on-climate-change.page (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
736 Kate Hinds, L Train Shutdown? Wait for It. Then ‘Boom!’, W.N.Y.C., Feb. 25, 2019, available at https://www.wnyc.org/story/l-train-tunnel-wont-be-demolished-until-2018-earliest.
737 Charles Q. Choi, Hurricane Sandy-Level Floods Likely to Hit NYC More Often, Live Science, Oct. 11, 2016, available at https://www.livescience.com/56447-hurricane-floods-more-likely-climate-change.html.
738 M.T.A., Climate Adaptation Task Force Resiliency Report (April 2017), available at http://web.mta.info/sustainability/pdf/ResiliencyReport.pdf.
739 Id.

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE: STREETS AND PLAZAS in the final year of the Bloomberg Administration.748
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cites the
implementation of green infrastructure improvements into Recommendation: Prioritize Green Infrastructure in
regular street redesign and capital projects as one of the Transportation Projects
primary ways that cities can reduce the urban heat island ef- Transit projects should be prioritized to help the City meet its
fect, manage flooding, reduce waterway pollution, spend less obligation to improve air and water quality and reduce the 20
money on water management, and protect coastal areas.740 billion gallons of raw sewage and polluted runoff that bypass
However, the City’s progress to install green infrastructure has our sewage treatment plants and end up in the City’s water-
been extremely slow-going. To date, the City has greened ways. Yet there is very little evidence DOT is actively coordinat-
516 acres, which account for about 16 percent of their 2020 ing with DEP to get the job done. The City should be required
goals.741 But there is very little evidence of proactive coordina- to test and study the feasibility of permeable pavements, as
tion between DEP and DOT, who manages the vast majority of outlined in DOT’s 2016 Strategic Plan, and consider the instal-
street and plaza projects, to integrate green infrastructure into lation of green infrastructure in every single capital project it
the City’s capital projects. In DOT’s 2016 Strategic Plan, the pursues, particularly in communities of color.749
agency committed to test permeable pavement and concrete
to reduce storm water.742 Permeable pavements can present Recommendation: Reduce The Size of the City’s
opportunities for the installation of green infrastructure where Vehicle Fleet by At Least 20 Percent By 2025
planted areas would otherwise create accessibility and mainte- and Transition to 100 Percent Renewable Energy
nance challenges in street redesign project. The strategic plan Sources By 2050
also committed to work with DEP to site new bioswales and
green infrastructure designs in streets, sidewalks, plazas, and The City operates the largest municipal vehicle fleets in the
greenways.743 However, DOT’s 2017 progress report on the United States and has made some progress toward reach-
implementation of that strategic plan made zero mention of the ing its Clean Fleet goals announced in 2015. However, the
City’s coordination with DEP, the status of green infrastructure City’s fleet has actually grown by 5,304 vehicles, or 21 per-
projects, or the results of DOT’s permeable pavement tests.744 cent, from the 25,855 vehicles in the fleet in the final year of
the Bloomberg administration in 2013.750 Further, the City’s
Clean Fleet goals articulated in the December 2015 were too
CITY FLEETS modest, transitioning just over six percent of the City’s fleet to
The City operates the largest municipal vehicle fleets in the electricity by 2025.751
United States. As of 2015, diesel trucks accounted for 49 It is worth noting the City is technically ahead of schedule
percent of the City’s fleet emissions.745 In December 2015, to meet that EV purchase goal,752 and that Department of
the de Blasio administration released the “NYC Clean Fleet” Citywide Administrative Services is currently planning a long-
plan, which committed to “lead by example in pursuing 80 term renewable biofuels contract for the operation of the City’s
x 50 transportation emissions reductions by improving the heavy duty vehicles including garbage trucks, Parks Depart-
sustainability of its municipal vehicle fleet.”746 The Clean Fleet ment equipment, Department of Correction buses, NYPD
Plan sets the goal to add a total of 2,000 electric vehicles emergency service units, and other heavy and specialized
to the City’s fleet by 2025, which would make it “the largest fleets.753 Reaching our 80 x 50 goals is a massive undertaking
government EV fleet in the nation outside the federal govern- and will require the City to pursue a combination of electric,
ment as a whole.” In 2017, the City announced it was ahead biofuel, and other efficiency technologies to reduce emissions
of schedule, halfway toward its clean fleet goal as of July 2017 in the short-term. However, as electric battery technology
with still eight years to go.747 With more than 29,000 units, that improves over the next decade, new technologies emerge
accounts for just about six percent of the City’s fleet and the and the City’s electric grid transitions to a higher proportion
City has yet to set a higher threshold goal. However, the City’s of renewable energy sources, the City should set a higher
fleet has grown significantly over the last few years to 31,159 threshold goals.
cars, a 21 percent increase from the total number of vehicles
However, the City must also find ways to reduce the number of
740 United States Environmental Protection Agency, Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect, available at https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
741 N.Y.C. Environmental Protection, Reducing Combined Sewer Overflows in NYC, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/html/dep/html/cso_long_term_control_plan/index.shtml (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
742 N.Y.L.C.V., NYC DOT Releases Plan for Green Infrastructure Development, available at https://nylcv.org/news/nyc-dot-releases-plan-green-infrastructure-development (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
743 Id.
744 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, DOT’s Progress in 2017, available at https://www.nycdotplan.nyc/progress-report (last accessed Mar. 1, 2019)
745 Mayor’s Office of Sustainability, Inventory of New York City Greenhouse Gas Emissions in 2015 (April 2017), available at https://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/administration_pdf/nycghg.pdf
746 City of New York, NYC Clean Fleet (Dec. 2015), available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/downloads/pdf/fleet/NYC_clean_fleet_plan.pdf (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019)
747 City of New York, ONENYC: Mayor Announces City Electric Vehicle Fleet Ahead of Schedule, Half Way toward Goal, available at https://www1.nyc.gov/office-of-the-mayor/news/245-17/onenyc-mayor-city-elec-
tric-vehicle-fleet-ahead-schedule-half-way-toward-goal (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
748 Rich Calder, De Blasio’s NYC is loaded with cars – despite ‘green’ claims, N.Y. Post, Feb. 20, 2019, available at https://nypost.com/2019/02/20/de-blasios-nyc-is-loaded-with-cars-despite-green-claims/.
749 N.Y.L.C.V., NYC DOT Releases Plan for Green Infrastructure Development, available at https://nylcv.org/news/nyc-dot-releases-plan-green-infrastructure-development (last accessed Feb. 14, 2018).
750 Calder, Feb. 20, 2019.
751 NYC Clean Fleet (Dec. 2015).
752 ONENYC: Mayor Announces City Electric Vehicle Fleet Ahead of Schedule, Half Way Toward Goal (Apr. 20, 2017).
753 N.Y.C. Department of Citywide Administrative Services, DCAS to Expand Use of 99% Petroleum-Free Renewable Diesel in City Vehicles, available at http://www.nyc.gov/html/dcas/downloads/pdf/fleet/Press-Re-
lease-DCAS-to-Expand-Use-of-Renewable-Diesel-in-City-Fleet-Vehicles.pdf (last accessed Feb. 14, 2019).

vehicles in its fleet by at least 20 percent, to reduce the overall RECONSTRUCTION OF THE BQE
number of vehicles on the road and ensure the City’s invest- In 2018, DOT recently announced two potential plans for
ments in electric vehicles are in fact replacing the City’s fleet rebuilding a 1.5 mile segment of the BQE passing through
rather than expanding it. Aiming to bring entirety of the City’s Brooklyn along the East River.764 At minimum, the City expects
fleet to 100 percent renewable energy sources and reduce the reconstruction to take six years and cost between $3.2 billion
overall number of fleet vehicles on the road over the next few and $4 billion, with $1.7 billion currently earmarked by the City.765
decades will help the City “lead by example” as the Clean Fleet
plan suggests. According to DOT, the roadway’s deterioration has reached
a breaking point. Concrete-incased steel rebar supporting
the structure is corroding from road salt seeping in through
FUTURE OF THE BQE cracks – which are in turn widening from cycles of freezing and
thawing. This process has reduced the structure’s ability to
What’s Not Working support the weight of vehicles traveling on the roadways. DOT
The BQE carries around 153,000 vehicles per day, the vast estimates that if nothing is done to address issues with the
majority being personal automobiles.754 Its origins began with roadway by 2026, the City will need to impose weight restric-
the opening of the Gowanus Expressway in 1941.755 Con- tions and close the triple cantilever to trucks. If nothing is done
structed by Robert Moses, the Gowanus Expressway was by 2036, the City may need to remove all vehicles from the
built along Third Avenue in Sunset Park, despite the pleas from BQE. DOT also plans to address safety concerns stemming
residents to move construction over to Second Avenue, away from the BQE’s design, including its lack of shoulders and
from the neighborhood’s residential areas.756 Moses disre- narrow travel lanes.
garded the community, writing the area off as a “slum” despite
having a thriving business corridor serving the working class
INDUCED DEMAND
locals.757 More than 100 stores and 1,300 families were evicted
during construction.758 Those that remained were bathed in Induced demand is the idea that creating or expanding roads
dark shadows created by the Parkway.759 does not reduce traffic congestion, but rather induces or
generates it.766 The assumption is this: more lanes create more
After the completion of the Gowanus, Moses planned another
room for cars to flow freely and more quickly, thus reducing
highway to link the Brooklyn with the Triborough Bridge.760
traffic. However, the creation of more roads or highway lanes
In order to facilitate the southern portion of this new high-
actually encourages more people to drive, thus leading to fur-
way—the BQE—Moses had a trench dug through Hicks
ther road congestion.767 Studies have found that for every one
Streets, destroying the street grid and leaving Red Hook and
percent increase in highway capacity, traffic also increases
Carroll Gardens isolated.761 As with Sunset Park, that portion
0.29 to 1.1 percent in the long term, which is about five years
of Brooklyn was largely working class and had no ability to
out and up to 0.68 percent in the short term, which is one to
influence Moses’ planning. However, residents of Brooklyn
two years out.768 Researchers suggest that this result be taken
Heights did.762 Wealthy homeowners were aghast at the
into consideration as highway planners develop schemes to
prospect of highway running so close to their homes.763 Moses
expand roadways.769
yielded and instead constructed a “triple cantilever,” a two level
highway, topped with a park and pedestrian area, now known While expanding roads and highways has the effect of induc-
as the Promenade. The triple cantilever’s Promenade preventing more traffic, the same is also true in the reverse. Removing
ed much of the noise and pollution that plagued less affluent highways or reducing the amount of road space that is avail-
neighborhoods from impacting nearby property owners. able for cars and reallocating it for pedestrian use, or to create
754 Justin Davidson, Here’s a Solution for Fixing the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: Get Rid of It, N.Y. Magazine, Dec. 10, 2018, available at http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/12/heres-a-solution-for-fix-
ing-the-bqe-get-rid-of-it.html and N.Y.C; Department of Transportation, Brooklyn Queens Expressway Origin-Destination Study – Appendix C (2016), available at https://9670f26306f0aa722eb1-bf8a0720b-
767c6949515361a19a9737f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/uploads/document/document/87/Appendix_C_Origin-Destination_Study__NYCDOT__2016.pdf.
755 Caro (Vintage Books Edition 1975) at page 520.
756 Id.
757 Id. at pages 521-522.
759 Id. at pages 522-523.
760 Christopher Gray, Brought to Us by the B.Q.E., N.Y. Times, Jan. 12, 2012, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/realestate/brooklyn-heights-promenade-streetscapes-brought-to-us-by-the-b-q-e.html.
761 Suzanne Spellen, How Master Builder Robert Moses Transformed Brooklyn as We Know It, Brownstoner, Feb. 29, 2016, available at https://www.brownstoner.com/history/robert-moses-brooklyn-power-bro-
ker-bqe-expressway/.
762 Gray, Jan. 12, 2012.
763 Id.
764 Winnie Hu, The Famed Brooklyn Height Promenade May Close for Years. Here’s Why. N.Y. Times, Oct. 4, 2018, available at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/nyregion/brooklyn-queens-expressway.html.
765 Id.
766 Sally Cairns, et al., Disappearing Traffic: The Story So Far (March 2002), page 13, available at https://nacto.org/docs/usdg/disappearing_traffic_cairns.pdf; See also, Anne Kadet, Here’s a Possible Fix for the
Brooklyn-Queens Expressway: Tear it Down, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 6, 2018, available at https://www.wsj.com/articles/heres-a-possible-fix-for-the-brooklyn-queens-expressway-tear-it-down-1541516581.
767 Sally Cairns, et al., (March 2002) at page 13; Kadet, Nov. 6, 2018; Benjamin Schneider, Citylab University: Induced Demand, City L ab, Sept. 6, 2018, available at https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2018/09/
citylab-university-induced-demand/569455/.
768 Angie Schmitt, The Science Is Clear: More Highways Equals More Traffic. Why Are DOTs Still Ignoring It? StreetsblogUSA, Jun. 21, 2017, available at https://usa.streetsblog.org/2017/06/21/the-science-is-clear-
more-highways-equals-more-traffic-why-are-dots-still-ignoring-it/.
769 Id.

bus, cycle, or high occupancy vehicle lanes, can reduce traffic passengers per day than the entirety of the BQE.780 Just 10
congestion and increase attractiveness to other modes of to 13 percent of the BQE’s traffic on the cantilever is com-
transportation.770 Removing highways allows traffic to disperse prised of trucks.781 Over 80 percent of the cantilever’s other
more evenly around a city and encourages fewer people to car trips are intra-city, connecting people in Brooklyn to the
drive.771 It has also led to economic development and an other boroughs, and between 28 to 37 percent of the BQE’s
increase in property values for properties that are situated near car trips are intra-Brooklyn.782 Investments in public transit that
freeways.772 For example: better connect neighborhoods within and across the boroughs
In Milwaukee, the city replaced its Park East freeway with a could certainly convert some of these car trips to sustainable
boulevard, which freed up twenty-four acres of space in its modes of transit. But those alternative investments have yet to
downtown neighborhood and attracted $1 billion of private be considered.
investment in development projects.773 The City should study alternatives to the reconstruction of this
San Francisco replaced its Central Highway with a boulevard, Robert Moses-era six lane highway, including the removal of
which revitalized the surrounding neighborhood and caused the BQE in its entirety. A study and planning effort to overhaul
property values within that area to increase.774 According to the BQE should start with public engagement and be accom-
research, one reason for an increase in property values after panied by sufficient plans to improve public transit options and
highways are removed is the reduction of local traffic within the mitigate the impacts of truck traffic in each scenario, partic-
area.775 San Francisco also replaced its Embarcadero Freeway, ularly in environmental justice communities throughout the
which increased employment in the area by 23 percent within City. As outlined previously in this report, the overhaul of the
a decade. City’s truck routes is severely overdue. The reimagining of the
BQE should be coupled with truck route redesign effort and a
In Portland, Oregon, when the city replaced its Harbor Drive dramatic expansion of the City’s efforts to increase reliance on
Freeway with a 37-acre park, property values increased in freight.
downtown Portland by a yearly average of 10.4 percent.776
In Seoul, Korea, when the city removed one its elevated ex-
pressways, uncovering the stream that was underneath, the
stream attracted 90,000 visitors per day within 15 months of
its opening.777 Land values also increased by 15 percent and
traffic levels were reduced by nine percent after a rapid transit
bus system was implemented as part of the project.778
The city of Paris developed a policy to reduce the size of its
roads, which increased public transit usage by 20 percent
within two decades.779
Recommendation: Explore Alternatives

to Reconstruction
The City has approached this disruptive, multi-billion dollar
reconstruction project as inevitable, without pausing to mean-
ingfully consider the alternative investments in transit infra-
structure that could be pursued. The BQE in its current form
sees an average daily traffic of more than 153,000 vehicles
and plays a role in alleviating the City’s regional truck traffic;
but compared to other transit infrastructure, the BQE does not
meaningfully add capacity to the system. On a given weekday,
the Grand Central-42nd Street subway stop alone sees more
770 Sally Cairns, et al., (March 2002) at page 16.

771 Anne Kadet, Nov. 6, 2018.
772 Id.
773 Id.
774 Id.
775 Id.
776 Seattle Urban Mobility Plan, 6 Case Studies in Urban Freeway Removal (January 2008), page 6B-1, available at https://www.cnu.org/sites/default/files/Spokane%20Case%20Study%201%20-%20Seattle.pdf.
777 Id. at page 6F-1.
778 Seattle Urban Mobility Plan, 6 Case Studies in Urban Freeway Removal (January 2008), page 6F-1, available at https://www.cnu.org/sites/default/files/Spokane%20Case%20Study%201%20-%20Seattle.pdf.
779 Adam Mann, What’s Up With That: Bigger Roads Actually Makes Traffic Worse, Wired, Jun. 17, 2014 available at https://www.wired.com/2014/06/wuwt-traffic-induced-demand/.
780 M.T.A., Average Weekday Subway Ridership, available at http://web.mta.info/nyct/facts/ridership/ridership_sub.htm (last accessed Feb. 25, 2019)
781 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Brooklyn Queens Expressway Origin-Destination Study (2016), available at https://9670f26306f0aa722eb1-bf8a0720b767c6949515361a19a9737f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/
uploads/document/document/87/Appendix_C_Origin-Destination_Study__NYCDOT__2016.pdf.
782 N.Y.C. Department of Transportation, Brooklyn Queens Expressway Origin-Destination Study (2016), available at https://9670f26306f0aa722eb1-bf8a0720b767c6949515361a19a9737f.ssl.cf2.rackcdn.com/
uploads/document/document/87/Appendix_C_Origin-Destination_Study__NYCDOT__2016.pdf.

CONCLUSION
The MTA’s current structure robs New York City of the authori- has to come from the top. Making the Mayor responsible for
ty to provide a sustainable and equitable transportation system transit success and giving the City the authority to properly
to the City’s residents, businesses, and visitors. Subway and oversee and invest in our systems will allow City leaders to
bus ridership in the City is falling, and streets are becoming rebuild our transportation system into the appealing and ac-
more congested. New York City is falling behind its global cessible system it should be. It will take courage form City and
peers in investments that make our transit systems sustainable State leaders, but a shared commitment to improving the lives
and our neighborhoods greener. After decades of the MTA’s of all New Yorkers should bring every leader to the table that is
failure to properly invest and responsibly plan New York City’s considering how to make municipal control of New York City’s
transit, the system must be radically reformed, and municipal subway and buses possible.
control of the subway and buses is the only solution that gives The City also needs to envision and implement a comprehen-
City residents an effective voice in making New York the most sive and strategic street design plan that meets the needs of
livable big city in America. all New Yorkers—not just drivers—and break the car culture
This report outlines how municipal control of the subway and that threatens the health and safety of the City’s residents.
buses is not only feasible, but it also provides new opportu- While the City can accomplish much of this on its own, munic-
nities to invest in transportation alternatives that help the City ipal control of the subway and buses would provide significant
meet its commitment to establishing a more sustainable and opportunity for better coordination and integration of mass
accessible New York. transit into its overall transportation planning.
While serious reform is never easy, New York cannot allow the
City’s transit system to fall any further into disrepair. Change
Conclusion 92
APPENDIX:
DEDICATED TAXES IN
MTA WATERFALL AND
STATE/LOCAL SUBSIDIES
Dedicated Taxes in MTA Waterfall ($ in millions)
2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Dedicated Taxes
Metropolitan Mass Transportation Operating Assistance 1,840 1,918 1,999 2,039 2,080
Petroleum Business Tax 637 637 637 650 663
Mortgage Recording Tax 470 485 499 509 520
MRT Transfer to Suburban Counties (6) (7) (7) (7) (7)
Reimburse Agency Security Costs (10) (10) (10) (10) (10)
Interest 5 5 5 5 6
Urban Tax 603 604 616 629 641
Other Investment Income 1 1 1 1 1
Payroll Mobility Tax 1,668 1,739 1,811 1,847 1,884
Payroll Mobility Tax Replacement Funds 244 244 244 249 254
MTA Aid (Licensing Fees, Taxi Tax, Auto Rental charge) 308 309 310 316 323
TOTAL 5,762 5,926 6,107 6,229 6,353
State/Local Subsidies 2020 ($ in millions)

MTA Bus Total to Percent
MTA NYCTA SIRR Company BAT to BAT
New Funding Sources
NYC Transporation Assistance Fund $385 $360 $360 93%
State and Local Subsidies
State Operating Assistance 188 158 1 159 84%
Local Operating Assistance 188 158 1 159 84%
Station Maintenance 181 0 0%
Other Funding Agreements
City Subsidy for MTA Bus Company* $492 $500 $500 102%
City Subsidy for Staten Island Railway 54 54 54 101%
CDOT Subsidy for Metro-North Railroad 121 0 0%
NYCT Charge Back of MTA Bus Debt Service (12) -12
Forward Energy Contracts Program - Gain/(Loss) (0) 0
Committed to capital Program Contributions (205) -205
Drawdown of GASB 45 OPEB Reserves 0
Total State and Local Subsidies $1,608 $459 $55 $500 $1,014 63%
*Excludes State 18-B Funding
Appendix: Dedicated Taxes in MTA Waterfall and State/Local Subsidies 94

APPENDIX:
CURRENT MTA TAX AND
SUBSIDY REVENUE SOURCES
• Transit Tax Revenue. The MTA is funded, in part, with 96th Street, starting in 2019. The surcharge is anticipated
tax revenues from the Metropolitan Mass Transportation to generate about $415 million in 2019 and $435 million
Operating Assistance Account (Metro Account), the Petro-
leum Business Tax (PBT), and the Urban Mass Transpor- annually in the outyears, providing $342 million in 2019,
tation Operating Account (Urban Account). The revenues $301 million in 2020, and $300 million annually thereafter
from these accounts are projected to total $3.48 billion to maintain the level of effort started with the Subway Ac-
in 2019, which is $86 million greater than the November tion Plan (SAP); another $50 million is earmarked for outer
2018 forecast amount of $3.4 billion. The Urban Account borough transportation projects, and any remaining funds
consists of two separate taxes, the Mortgage Recording from the surcharge, currently expected to be $23 million in
Tax (MRT) and the Real Property Transfer Tax (RPTT). 2019 and $85 million annually thereafter, will be distributed
• Payroll Mobility Tax and MTA Aid. The Payroll Mo- directly to the MTA. As a result, the net impact is favorable
bility Tax and MTA Aid is projected to be $2.15 billion in to the MTA by $365 million in 2019 and $385 million per
Calendar Year 2019, a slight increase from the estimated year starting in 2020.
$2.07 billion in 2018. In 2012, the State Legislature passed • The City’s Contribution. For Calendar Year 2019, the
a law granting the City authorization to establish a “Hail City’s contribution to the MTA, excluding capital com-
accessible inter-borough licenses” (HAIL licenses) for livery mitments, is approximately $1 billion. Estimated City
cabs to provide hail services in certain underserved areas subsidies include the following: $45 million for the NYC-
of the City. After overcoming legal challenges, the law TA school fare subsidy, $15.5 million for the elderly and
was implemented during the second half of 2013, and is disabled subsidy, $172.8 million for paratransit reimburse-
anticipated to result in increased MTA Aid revenue for the ment, $187.9 million to match State Operating Assistance,
Authority as the City phases in the additional vehicles. $528 million for MTA bus subsidy, $54 million City subsidy
• Paratransit. Pursuant to an agreement between the City for SIRTOA, $118.6 million for the maintenance and opera-
and the MTA, the NYCTA assumed operating responsi- tion of LIRR and Metro North Railroad stations in the City,
bility for all paratransit services required under the federal $11.5 million for E-Z Pass Payments for City vehicles, and
Americans with Disability Act of 1990. The City reimburses $3.5 million for Transit Police.
the NYCTA for 33 percent of net paratransit operating
expenses less fare revenues and urban tax proceeds.
Total paratransit revenue is expected to be $215 million in
Calendar Year 2019, which includes $172.8 million from
City reimbursements.
• State Subsidies. For Calendar Year 2018, the State’s
subsidy to the NYCTA’s budget is expected to be $187.9
million. Of this amount, $25 million is for school fare reim-
bursement and $187.9 million is to match City operating
assistance. This funding does not include State dedicated
tax revenues to MTA of more the than $5.6 billion (includ-
ing the Payroll Mobility Tax) expected in 2019.
• For-Hire Vehicle Surcharge. The State’s Fiscal 2019
Adopted Budget included legislation to establish a
surcharge on For-Hire Vehicle (FHV) trips (including app-
based services such as Uber and Lyft) that begin, end, or
pass through a congestion zone in Manhattan south of
Appendix: Current MTA Tax and Subsidy Revenue Sources 95

APPENDIX:
CURRENT OPERATING
BUDGET OF BAT COMPONENTS
NEW YORK CITY
TRANSIT AUTHORITY
The NYCTA, a subsidiary of the MTA, provides bus and for non-labor expenses. In addition, the Operating Budget in-
subway service to New York City. The NYCTA is responsible cludes non-cash depreciation expenses of $1.9 billion and oth-
for providing safe, clean, and reliable public transportation er post-employment benefit expenses of $1.4 billion, including
services to all persons traveling within the City. The NYCTA pension expense adjustment of $296.4 million.
employs approximately 51,400 workers who are responsible Operating Revenue/Expense Projections. The NYCTA
for the operation and maintenance of 5,725 buses and 6,400 projects $6.3 billion in operating revenues for Calendar Year
subway cars. About 2.4 billion people ride the City’s subway 2019, which is primarily derived from farebox revenues of
and buses each year. $4.4 billion, capital and other reimbursements of $1.5 billion,
Budget. As approved by the MTA Board, the NYCTA Op- and other revenues of $479 million. These funds will support
erating Budget (reimbursable and non-reimbursable) before the NYCTA’s proposed reimbursable and non-reimbursable
depreciation and other post-employment benefits is approx- expenditures of $10.2 billion, excluding depreciation and other
imately $10.2 billion for Calendar Year 2019. Of that amount, post-employment benefits, in 2019.
approximately $8 billion is for labor costs and $2.3 billion is
Appendix: Current Operating Budget of BAT Components 96

NYCTA Financial Plan 2019-2022 ($ in millions)
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Non-Reimbursable
Final Adopted
and Reimbursable Actual Projected Projected Projected
Estimate Budget
Operating Revenue
Farebox $4,487 $4,438 $4,391 $4,404 $4,394 $4,397
Other Revenue 424.879 445.618 479.275 491.012 504.602 512.696
Capital & Other Reimbursement. 1375.752 1,417 1,458 1,341 1,230 1,231
Total Operating Revenue $6,290 $6,301 $6,328 $6,236 $6,128 $6,141
Operating Expenses
Labor Expenses 7,453 7,882 7,956 8,102 8,211 8,436
Non-Labor Expenses 2,057 2,149 2,257 2,232 2,259 2,306
Other Expenses Adjustments 0 0 0 0 0 0
Operating Expenses Before
$9,510 $10,031 $10,212 $10,335 $10,470 $10,743
Depreciation, OPEB & ER 1
Depreciation 1,682 1,828 1,878 1,928 1,978 2,029
Other Post Employment Benefit Liab
1,103 1,350 1,437 1,529 1,627 1,731
Adj.
GASB 68 Pension Expense Adjust-
($221.21) ($305.53) ($296.40) ($303.17) ($308.94) ($308.94)
ment
Environmental Remediation 8.537 0 0 0 0 0
Total Operating Expenses $12,082 $12,904 $13,231 $13,488 $13,765 $14,194

Net Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
($5,792) ($6,603) ($6,902) ($7,252) ($7,637) ($8,052)
Before Debt Service
Debt Service $1,279 $1,294 $1,325 $1,368 $1,444 $1,491
Net Operating Surplus/(Deficit)
($7,071) ($7,897) ($8,227) ($8,620) ($9,081) ($9,543)
Including Debt Service
Dedicated Tax, State & Local
4,072 4,579 4,418 4,384 4,304 4,500
subsidies

Deficit after
($2,998) ($3,318) ($3,810) ($4,236) ($4,777) ($5,044)
Projected Subsidies
Conversion to Cash
Less - Depreciation, OPEB, GASB
2,572 2,873 3,018 3,154 3,296 3,451
& ER Adj.
Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) 2 ($427) ($446) ($791) ($1,082) ($1,481) ($1,592)
Source: MTA 2019 Final Proposed Budget November Financial Plan 2019-2022, Volume 2

STATEN ISLAND RAIL ROAD
The SIR operates and maintains 63 subway cars over a 14.3 route miles and 28.6 miles of mainline track that serves 22 stations
located primarily on the south shore of Staten Island.
Operating Revenue/Expense Projections. The SIR’s operating revenue for Calendar Year 2019 is projected to be $14 million,
which includes farebox revenue of $7 million and other operating revenue of $2.4 million. The budget projects a combined reimburs-
able and non-reimbursable expense before depreciation and other post-employment benefits of $69.75 million. These expenses
include $53.8 million in labor costs and $16 million in non-labor costs. The depreciation expense and the other post-employment
benefit expenses are projected to be $12 million and $7.5 million respectively.
Staten Island Rail Road Financial Plan 2019-2022 ($ in millions)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Non-Reimbursable and Reim-
bursable Final Esti- Adopted
Actual Projected Projected Projected
mate Budget
Operating Revenue
Farebox $6.89 $6.96 $7.04 $7.08 $7.06 $7.06
Other Revenue $2.54 $2.45 $2.47 $2.47 $2.47 $2.47
Capital & Other Reimbursement. $3.07 $2.12 $4.55 $4.58 $4.66 $4.75
Total Operating Revenue $12.50 $11.53 $14.06 $14.13 $14.19 $14.28
Operating Expenses
Labor Expenses $48.62 $50.58 $53.76 $51.93 $52.51 $52.96
Non-Labor Expenses $24.96 $12.88 $16.00 $12.32 $11.24 $11.50
Other Expense Adjustments $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
$73.59 $63.45 $69.75 $64.24 $63.75 $64.46
Depreciation $10.47 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00 $12.00
$7.08 $7.50 $7.50 $7.50 $7.50 $7.50
Adj.
$0.46 $0.60 $0.50 ($0.10) ($1.10) ($1.10)
ment
Environmental Remediation $0.08 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total Operating Expenses $91.68 $83.55 $89.75 $83.64 $82.15 $82.86

Net Operating Deficit/(Deficit)
($79.18) ($72.02) ($75.69) ($69.52) ($67.96) ($68.58)
Before Debt Service
Debt Service $0.55 $1.28 $3.72 $8.94 $15.94 $20.49
($79.73) ($73.31) ($79.41) ($78.46) ($83.90) ($89.06)
Dedicated Tax, State & Local
$58.21 $63.76 $56.49 $59.64 $59.34 $65.74
subsidies
.
Deficit after Projected Subsi-
($21.52) ($9.54) ($22.92) ($18.82) ($24.56) ($23.32)
dies
Conversion to Cash
Depreciation, OPEB, GASB & ER
$18.10 $20.10 $20.00 $19.40 $18.40 $18.40
Adj.
Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) 2 ($3.42) $10.56 ($2.92) $0.58 ($6.16) ($4.92)

MTA BRIDGE & TUNNEL
MTA Bridges and Tunnels (B&T) serves more than 868,000 vehicles each weekday and 310 million vehicles annually on its seven
bridges and two tunnels. Surplus revenues from B&T’s tolls help support MTA public transit services.
Operating Revenue/Expense Projections.The B&T’s operating revenue for Calendar Year 2019 is projected to be $2 billion,
which includes toll revenue of $2 billion, capital and other reimbursements of $24 million, other operating revenue of $19 million, and
investment income of $1 million. The budget projects a combined reimbursable and non-reimbursable expense before depreciation
of $598 million. These expenses include $296 million in labor costs and $302 million in non-labor costs. The depreciation expense
and the other post-employment benefit expenses are projected to be $148.4 million and $67.7 million, respectively. This also in-
cludes a pension expense adjustment of $12.6 million.
MTA Bridge & Tunnel Financial Plan 2019-2022 ($ in millions)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Non-Reimbursable
and Reimbursable Final Adopted
Estimate Budget
Operating Revenue
Toll Revenue $1,912 $1,967 $1,984 $1,990 $1,998 $3,998
Other Revenue $20 $19 $19 $19 $19
Capital & Other Reimbursement. $21 $24 $24 $25 $25 $26
Investment Income $1 $1 $1 $1 $1 $1
Total Operating Revenue $1,955 $2,011 $2,028 $2,035 $2,044 $2,044
Operating Expenses
Labor Expenses $270 $271 $296 $300 $307 $316
Non-Labor Expenses $242 $305 $302 $304 $313 $325
Other Expenses Adjustments $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
$512 $576 $598 $604 $621 $641
Depreciation $241 $139 $148 $159 $170 $182
Other Post Employment Benefit
$72 $64 $68 $71 $75 $78
Liab Adj.
GASB 68 Pension Expense
$6 $10 $13 $15 $16 $17
Adjustment
Environmental Remediation $0 $0 $0 $0 $0 $0
Total Operating Expenses After

$831 $789 $827 $849 $881 $919
Depreciation and GASB Adjs.
Less: Depreciation, OPEB, GASB
$319 $214 $229 $225 $261 $277
& ER Adj.
Net Operating Surplus/
$1,443 $1,435 $1,430 $1,431 $1,423 $1,403
(Deficit) Before Debt Service
Debt Service $299 $281 $301 $316 $345 $364
$1,145 $1,154 $1,129 $1,115 $1,078 $1,039
Less: Debt Serv NYCT & CRR $278 $382 $392 $391 $388 $376
Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) 2 $867 $772 $737 $724 $690 $663

MTA BUS COMPANY
The MTABC was created in September 2004 pursuant to an agreement between the City of New York and the MTA to consolidate
the operations of seven private franchise bus companies. The purpose of the takeover was to improve the quality and efficiency of
bus service formerly provided by the private bus franchise operators. The agreement calls for the City to pay MTABC the difference
between the actual cost of operating the bus routes and all revenues and subsidies received by the MTABC and allocable to the
operation of the bus routes. As a result, the costs of MTABC operations are fully reimbursable by the City to the MTA.
Operating Revenue/Expense Projections. The MTABC’s operating revenue for Calendar Year 2019 is projected to be $248 mil-
lion, which includes farebox revenue of $221 million, capital and other reimbursements of $5.9 million, and other operating revenue
of $20.7 million. The budget projects a combined reimbursable and non-reimbursable expense before depreciation of $824.1 million.
These expenses include $580.5 million in labor costs and $243.6 million in non-labor costs. The depreciation expense and the other
post-employment benefit expenses are projected to be $54.3 million and $100.15 million, respectively. This also includes a pension
expense adjustment of $85.9 million.
MTA Bus Company Financial Plan 2019-2022 ($ in millions)

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Non-Reimbursable
and Reimbursable Final Esti- Adopted
mate Budget
Operating Revenue
Farebox $217.16 $219.32 $221.40 $221.98 $221.09 $221.20
Other Revenue $19.83 $20.54 $20.66 $20.80 $21.51 $22.37
Capital & Other Reimbursement. $4.38 $5.96 $5.93 $5.87 $5.97 $6.15
Total Operating Revenue $241.38 $245.81 $247.99 $248.65 $248.56 $249.71
Operating Expenses
Labor Expenses $558.19 $579.03 $580.54 $573.91 $580.73 $608.99
Non-Labor Expenses $217.59 $239.80 $243.55 $212.95 $227.02 $232.57
$775.78 $818.83 $824.09 $786.85 $807.75 $841.56
Depreciation $58.59 $54.34 $54.34 $54.34 $54.78 $56.16
$61.68 $100.15 $100.15 $100.15 $100.15 $103.30
Adj.
$66.05 $46.30 $85.90 $28.20 $18.70 $19.20
ment
Environmental Remediation $0.22 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Total Operating Expenses $962.31 $1,019.62 $1,064.48 $969.55 $981.38 $1,020.21

Net Operating Deficit/

($720.93) ($773.81) ($816.50) ($720.90) ($732.82) ($770.50)
(Deficit) Before Debt Service
Debt Service $15.13 $12.99 $25.65 $29.43 $35.08 $38.76
($736.06) ($786.80) ($842.14) ($750.33) ($767.89) ($809.26)
City Subsidy for MTA
$461.50 $549.20 $528.00 $492.00 $519.30 $554.20
Bus Company*

Deficit after
($274.56) ($237.60) ($314.14) ($258.33) ($248.59) ($255.06)
Projected Subsidies
Conversion to Cash
Depreciation, OPEB, GASB
$186.53 $200.79 $240.39 $182.69 $173.63 $178.66
& ER Adj.
Net Cash Surplus/(Deficit) 2 ($88.03) ($36.81) ($73.75) ($75.64) ($74.97) ($76.40)
APPENDIX:
CURRENT 2015-2019
CAPITAL PROGRAM
State law requires the MTA to submit 2015-2019 MTA Proposed Capital Program ($ in millions)
to the New York State Capital Program
Review Board (CPRB), for its approval, Program 2015-2019
successive five-year capital programs for
the Transit System and MTA Staten Island Core Capital Program
Railway and the Commuter System. MTA New York City Transit $16,742
Bridges and Tunnels (MTA B&T) and MTA Bus 376
MTA Bus undertake their own capital
Commuter Rail and MTA Interagency 5,564
planning that is not subject to the CPRB
approval. While not required to do so by Core Subtotal $22,682
statute, the MTA has consistently included Network Expansion Projects 7,652
five-year capital programs for MTA B&T Total 2015-2019 CPRB Program 30,334
covering the same period. The Authority’s Bridges and Tunnels 2,936
$33.3 billion 2015-2019 Capital Plan was
Total 2015-2019 Capital Program $ 33,270
amended and approved by the Review
Board on May 31, 2018. The Plan in- Source: MTA Capital Program 2015-2019, Amendment No. 3, May 31, 2018
cludes funding to purchase 440 new sub-

way cars and 1,381 new buses, replace
72 miles of subway track, replace 127 signal switches, install new
elevators at 22 stations, replace 42 elevators, fund signal improve-
ments under the Subway Action Plan, and upgrade and mod-
ernize signal technology. It also provides for the expansion of the
MTA network by continuing two ongoing projects and launching a
third, specifically completing the funding commitment for the East
Side Access, launching Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway
to extend the new line from 96th to 125th Streets, and to begin the
expansion of the Metro North Railroad’s New Haven Line service
into Penn Station.
The MTA current Capital Program is primarily funded with bonds
(borrowing) at 31 percent ($10.4 billion), followed by State funding
at 26 percent ($8.6 billion), federal funding at 22 percent ($7.3
billion), other MTA Source funding at 13 percent ($4.3 billion), and
City funding at eight percent ($2.7 billion).
Appendix: Current 2015-2019 Capital Program 101

2015-2019 MTA Capital Program Funding Sources ($ in millions)
Proposed 2015-2019

Total 2015-2019 Program costs $33,270

Funding Currently Projected
Federal Formula, Flexible/CMAQ, and Misc. $6,701
Federal Core Capacity 100
Federal New Starts 500
MTA Bonds 7,968
Pay-as-you-go Capital (PAYGO) 2,145
State of New York Capital 8,640
City of New York Capital 2,666
Asset Sales / Leases 1,018
Other MTA Sources 595
Sub-total $30,333
Bridge & Tunnels Bonds ($2.4b) & PAYGO ($551m) 2,936
Total 2015-2019 Funds Available $33,270
Funding Gap $0
Source: MTA Capital Program 2015-2019, Amendment No. 3, May 31, 2018
The May 2018 amendment to the 2015-2019 Capital Program priations, and a future Plan amendment to make available the
increased the Capital Program by 2.5 percent from $32.5 bil- additional local funding required for the New Starts application
lion to $33.3 billion. Changes to the program include updating process.
project assumptions to reflect the cost estimates and timing MTA Bonds. The proposed plan includes $8 billion in new
of ongoing projects, consolidation of the City of New York MTA bonding capacity for 2015-2019, including $285 million in
sponsored stations budgets in the NYCT program, reflection bond proceeds generated by savings due to the use of low-in-
of emerging new needs across the agencies, reallocation of terest federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financ-
funds within the East Side Access and Regional Investment ing (RRIF) loan for the Authority’s Positive Train Control (PTC)
programs, updates to B&T’s capital program, and identifica- projects. The use of RRIF loan financing generally enables the
tion of capital program elements with ten percent issues that
require CPRB approval to progress work. MTA to borrow at the U.S. Treasury rate and pay it back on a
longer maturity and flexible terms.
Federal Formula, Flexible, and Miscellaneous Funding.
The MTA is assuming the 2015-2019 federal formula funding of Pay As You Go (PAYGO) Capital. The MTA plans to use
$6.7 billion, a decrease of $255 million from the previous Cap- $2.3 billion in PAYGO capital to leverage new debt service
ital Plan assumption. Based on the recent federal transporta- capacity until fully exhausted by the debt service needs of the
tion bill reauthorization by Congress, this amount is consistent Authority’s bonds.
with the MTA’s current level of federal grant funding receipts. State Capital Funds. The capital plan includes $8.6 billion
Federal Core Capacity. The amended 2015-2019 Capital in capital funding from the State to support the plan, including
Plan includes a $100 million in federal core capacity funding. $250 million to fund the Penn Station Access project and an
The funding will be used to advance the Authority’s Canarsie additional $174 million of new capital funding to support the
Line power and station improvements project. NYCT Subway Action Plan.
Federal New Starts. The amended 2015-2019 Capital Plan New York City Funds. The revised 2015-2019 program cur-
includes $500 million in federal New Starts funding for Phase rently includes an additional $174 million of new capital funding
2 of Second Avenue Subway. This is in addition to the $535 to support the NYCT Subway Action Plan.
million in local funding currently assumed for this project, and Asset Sales/Leases. The MTA anticipates $1 billion from
it will provide support for the project’s commitments during the other non-bond sources (asset sales and lease), including
2015-2019 period. This proposed New Starts funding is sub- proceeds from the East and West Rail Yards Payments in Lieu
ject to further discussion with the FTA, Congressional appro- of Sales Tax ($190 million), proceeds from the proposed de-

velopment of MTA Madison Avenue property pursuant to the from savings due to the issuance of lower cost Payroll Mobility
Vanderbilt Corridor re-zoning ($110 million), and resources from Tax-backed bonds.
the disposition of assets including properties jointly owned Bridge and Tunnels Bonds. The MTA plans to use $24 bil-
with the City ($300 million). lion in TBTA bonds and $551 million in PAYGO capital to fund
Other MTA Sources. The MTA Plan anticipates $595 million its bridge and tunnel projects over the five years period.
in “other” bond and PAYGO sources, including $530 million
State/Local Subsidies 2020 ($ in millions)

Total Municpal
MTA Bus Municipal Control
Subsidies MTA NYCTA SIRR Company Control Percentage
New Funding Sources
NYC Transporation Assistance Fund $385 $360 $360 93%
State and Local Subsidies
State Operating Assistance 188 158 1 159 84%
Local Operating Assistance 188 158 1 159 84%
Station Maintenance 181 0 0%
Other Funding Agreements
City Subsidy for MTA Bus Company* $492 $500 $500 102%
City Subsidy for Staten Island Railway 54 54 54 101%
CDOT Subsidy for Metro-North Railroad 121 0 0%
NYCT Charge Back of MTA Bus Debt Service (12) -12
Forward Energy Contracts Program
- Gain/(Loss) (0) 0
Committed to capital Program Contributions (205) -205
Drawdown of GASB 45 OPEB Reserves 0
Total Dedicated Taxes & State and Local
Subsidies $1,608 $459 $55 $500 $1,014 63%
Inter-agency Subsidy Transactions
B&T Operating Surplus Transfer $649 $262 $262 40%
Total Subsidies $2,257 $721 $55 $500 $1,276 57%
Dedicated Taxes Breakdown ($ in millions)

2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Dedicated Taxes
Metropolitan Mass Transportation Operating Assistance (MMTOA) 1,840 1,918 1,999 2,039 2,080
Petroleum Business Tax (PBT) 637 637 637 650 663
Mortgage Recording Tax (MRT) 470 485 499 509 520
MRT Transfer to Suburban Counties (6) (7) (7) (7) (7)
Reimburse Agency Security Costs (10) (10) (10) (10) (10)
Interest 5 5 5 5 6
Urban Tax 603 604 616 629 641
Other Investment Income 1 1 1 1 1
Payroll Mobility Tax 1,668 1,739 1,811 1,847 1,884
Payroll Mobility Tax Replacement Funds 244 244 244 249 254
MTA Aid (Licensing Fees, Taxicab Tax, Auto Rental Surcharge) 308 309 310 316 323
TOTAL 5,762 5,926 6,107 6,229 6,353

Corey Johnson 'Let's Go' Transit Plan

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Corey Johnson 'Let's Go' Transit Plan

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LET’S

NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL

HOW WE GOT HERE................................................................................................................................ 17

LOCAL TRANSPORTATION POLICY.................................................................................................................................... 30

A VISION FOR MUNICIPAL CONTROL...................................................................................................32

BALANCING THE BUDGET................................................................................................................................................... 43

COST SAVINGS AND CAPITAL SPENDING......................................................................................................................... 48

A COMPREHENSIVE TRANSPORTATION VISION FOR THE CITY.......................................................67

APPENDIX: DEDICATED TAXES IN MTA WATERFALL AND STATE/LOCAL SUBSIDIES...................94

APPENDIX: CURRENT MTA TAX AND SUBSIDY REVENUE SOURCES..............................................95

APPENDIX: CURRENT OPERATING BUDGET OF BAT COMPONENTS..............................................96

APPENDIX: CURRENT 2015-2019 CAPITAL PROGRAM..................................................................... 101

A Master Plan for City Streets

TO IMPROVE BUS SERVICE:

TO CREATE LIVABLE STREETS:

TO ENCOURAGE SAFE, SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION:

TO ADDRESS CLIMATE ADAPTATION:

Rethinking the BQE

2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Subway 1,655 1,708 1,751 1,763 1,757 1,727

Bus 788 803 793 777 764 725

Taxis/For-Hire Vehicles 429 426 432 450 480 543

Bike 107 127 141 152 159 164

Total 3,009 3,095 3,149 3,173 3,194 3,195

Better Transit is Better for the Economy

A Greener New York

HOW WE woefully insufficient to handle massive

GOT HERE Health to help combat the spread of

did not wane, problems continued.43

first underground project was done in

Early Mass Transit Policy

How We Got Here 18

51 Derrick (2001) at pages 35-37.

How We Got Here 19

80 Id. at pages 103.

How We Got Here 20

How We Got Here 21

How We Got Here 22

How We Got Here 23

How We Got Here 24

How We Got Here 25

How We Got Here 26

How We Got Here 27

How We Got Here 28

How We Got Here 29

How We Got Here 30

How We Got Here 31

A Vision for Municipal Control 33

A Vision for Municipal Control 34

MTA Subsidiary and Affiliate

BUILDING A BETTER BOARD

A Vision for Municipal Control 35

In addition, there should be Members with the follow-

The Mayor’s appointees, including the Chair, would

A Vision for Municipal Control 36

A Vision for Municipal Control 37

A Vision for Municipal Control 38

320 N.Y. Public Authorities Law § 1269-a(2).

A Vision for Municipal Control 39

A Vision for Municipal Control 40

339 N.Y.C. Charter § 96.

A Vision for Municipal Control 41

A Vision for Municipal Control 42

WHAT MTA DEBT SERVICE