NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) -- New York officials are calling on the federal government to deliver more aid to New York City’s public transit system, even as the Trump administration ramps up its threats to roll back funding.
Governor Kathy Hochul asked Washington to increase its funding contribution to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, according to a March 24 letter sent to President Donald Trump, US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and other Congressional Republicans from New York.
The MTA carries 43% of the nation’s mass transit riders, but its share of the federal-funding formula is 17%, representing a “fundamental misalignment,” Hochul said in the letter.
“We are asking for your commitment during the next five-year authorization of surface transportation programs to align New York’s federal formula funding for the MTA with our share of ridership,” the letter says.
The ask follows a contentious week between the state and the Trump administration over its public transportation system. First, Duffy demanded the MTA provide details on its plan to reduce crime on the subway system. Then, just days later, the administration reiterated its call for the agency to halt its congestion pricing program. Hochul rebuffed that mandate.
A representative for Hochul provided a copy of the letter, which was also signed by state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Leader Carl Heastie.
“New York is doing our part to improve public transit — now it’s time for federal officials to step up to the plate, do their part and give New York our fair share of federal dollars,” Avi Small, a spokesperson for the governor, said in an emailed statement.
Duffy called Hochul’s request “outrageous.”
“The federal government is not a blank check,” Duffy wrote in a Tuesday post on X, which included a photo of the letter. Duffy said that before funding changes can be considered, the MTA should make the subways more reliable and safer.
Janno Lieber, the MTA’s chief executive officer, said in a statement that the NYPD is responsible for subway safety and there has been a 30% reduction in crime in the last year.
The request for more funds comes months after the MTA outlined a $68 billion, multi-year capital plan to help modernize its crumbling system and provide better service. The agency needs to replace thousands of rail cars that are reaching the end of their useful life, update aging power substations and rehabilitate Grand Central Terminal’s more than 100-year-old train shed that’s falling apart.
That plan already counts on $14 billion of federal aid. New York lawmakers have floated ways to help fill the $35.4 billion funding gap as part of the current budget negotiations, including an increase to a tax on New York City businesses. The governor and legislative leaders have yet to agree on or announce a solution publicly, as the April 1 deadline for the state budget looms.
— With assistance from Michelle Kaske and Laura Nahmias