On Nov. 14, 2021, Washington, D.C. worked. President Biden signed the landmark, bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) into law. After decades of trying, investing in infrastructure was finally more than a campaign promise: it was the law of the land.
I’m proud to have ensured New York received an historic investment of nearly $27 billion in that bill. And since no infrastructure is more essential to New Yorkers than public transit, the bill sent $10 billion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), alongside further investments in roads, bridges, tunnels, and climate resiliency.
Every New Yorker knows the MTA is the lifeline of New York City and the region surrounding it. Yet transit had been an afterthought in previous surface transportation bills. This time, things were different as I worked with advocates to fund it at record levels in the IIJA.
Three years later, Washington politics have changed. But our need for fast, safe, and reliable public transit hasn’t. Now, it’s up to our state government in Albany to run with the ball and secure the MTA’s future.
When Gov. Hochul and the state Legislature begin their session in January, they can show New Yorkers they’re ready to govern in the second Donald Trump era by immediately funding the MTA’s 2025-2029 Capital Plan. That Plan is a blueprint for ensuring our transit infrastructure can meet current and future demands, while also safeguarding our city against climate-related threats. It will build on the IIJA’s legacy and keep New York moving — no matter what happens in Washington.
This plan is more than just an investment in keeping New Yorkers moving. It’s an investment in our entire regional economy.
New York City’s economic health is inextricably linked to the MTA. Over the past century, the MTA network has served as the lifeblood of the city, successfully powering the region into global prominence. A study by the Partnership for New York City estimated that the last Capital Investment Strategy would generate $62 billion in economic output, and support 57,400 jobs per year, many of them union jobs. This 2025-2029 plan is larger, more ambitious, and poised to provide an even greater economic impact.
Moreover, the vision set by the MTA will create a system that adapts to how New Yorkers move today. The inclusion of the Interborough Express will reconnect neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens once connected via the trolley system. Reinstituting rail service between these growing boroughs will realign our system with the way people travel around the city today.
Building the IBX while we advance the Cross Harbor Freight Tunnel allows the region to completely re-engineer our traffic patterns to reduce traffic, clean up our air, and allow people and goods to move more efficiently.
Climate change poses huge challenges to our transit network, and we’ve witnessed firsthand how climate events have impaired it in recent years. As we experience more frequent and severe weather events, the need for a resilient transit network grows. MTA’s most recent Resilience Roadmap charts a path forward for hardening our system. The IIJA provided crucial funding for that effort, but it’s a big job.
One thing our recent history has taught us: investing in resilient infrastructure is easier, cheaper, and smarter than being forced to rebuild a shattered system after a major storm. Fully funding the Capital Plan will make those investments now — and keep us moving no matter what comes next.
Congestion pricing, which secured its final federal approval last month, will enhance these efforts to keep our system functional. Its implementation is vital for delivering the capital improvements necessary to make the MTA more reliable. This includes ADA accessibility throughout the system, upgraded signal systems, Phase 2 of the Second Avenue Subway, infrastructure upgrades, and much more.
And congestion pricing will boost our economy by liberating people, goods and services from the most suffocating traffic tie-ups in the entire country.
But congestion pricing can’t save public transit on its own. Neither can the IIJA. Our transit system faces escalating pressures from changing ridership, century-old infrastructure, and, importantly, the looming threat of climate change.
It’s up to Albany to take the next step to save transit by passing the 2025-2029 Capital Plan next year. I urge them to move quickly and decisively. Together, we can help realize a resilient transportation network that supports our economy, protects our environment and serves all New Yorkers for generations to come.
Nadler represents New York’s 12th Congressional District, covering the center of Manhattan.
