Planning and construction for the new Amtrak Gateway tunnels unders the Hudson River and the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway could grind to a halt under President Trump's proposed budget that substantially cuts capital grants programs.
In response to a question from Jerry Speyer, chairman of the New York real estate firm, Tishman Speyer, during a business leaders CEO Town Hall in Washington on Tuesday morning, President Trump, a New York City developer himself, assured him and the people of New York City "that they are in good hands." [See video clip].
That assurance may come as a surprise to elected leaders and transit planners in the New York metro region who are concerned about the 13 percent cut to the U.S. Department of Transportation in Trump's FY 2018 budget, released March 16, particularly to the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant Program that includes New Starts, Small Starts and Core Capacity Improvements
Emma G. Fitzsimmons, transit reporter for The New York Times, reports on the effect that Trump's budget would have on the $20 billion Amtrak Gateway tunnels under the Hudson River and for the next phase of the new Second Avenue subway, estimated at $6 billion.
“This is a dagger to the heart of the Gateway project that is so vital to our economy,” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, a vocal critic of Mr. Trump on many issues, said in an interview.
Mr. Schumer, a Democrat and the Senate minority leader, said he would fight the cuts to New Starts, a program that has benefited large cities with ambitious projects.
"Only projects that are already locked in with formal federal commitments, known as 'full funding grant agreements,' would get money," reported Michael Laris for The Washington Post last month. A list of those projects compiled by transit commentator Yonah Freemark was posted last month. The Federal Transit Administration also lists projects throughout the country relying on capital investment grants.
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The president spent Infrastructure Week touting a $1 trillion infrastructure investment plan that has yet to materialize, unlike the elimination of an essential grant program in his 2018 budget that will be detrimental to over 50 transit projects.
Federal Transit Grants Delayed by the Trump Administration
Congress has continued to fund transit projects despite the Trump Administration's stated desire to end federal funding for federal transit. Now it appears the Trump Administration is killing transit with bureaucracy.
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