NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York’s transit authority sued the Trump administration to unpause federal funds tied to a $7 billion project that would extend the Second Avenue subway to Harlem.
The MTA, which runs the city’s subway, bus and commuter rail lines, warned last month that it would have to take such action if it failed to receive about $60 million of federal cash for the project by March 6.
“Once again, New York has been forced to sue the Trump Administration to stop them from erratically shutting off billions of dollars in previously committed infrastructure funding,” Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Tuesday.
The suit could not immediately be confirmed in court filings.
Funds for the project have been on hold since October as the US Department of Transportation reviews whether the project meets a new federal rule that prohibits contracting requirements based on race or gender.
Without the funding, the MTA said it will be unable to enter an agreement with a contractor to begin excavating a new 106th Street subway station, which is part of the extension.
Other work will continue, but any delay could risk the MTA’s plan to provide service starting in the fall of 2032, according to the agency. The project will extend the Q-train from 96th Street to 125th Street in Harlem and build three new stations.
Similar legal suits have found success recently. A federal judge last month ordered the Trump administration to release funds it had suspended since October for a new passenger rail tunnel under the Hudson River, called Gateway. New York and New Jersey filed suit seeking to release the money as did the Gateway Development Commission, which is building the rail tunnel. Construction restarted shortly afterward.
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