The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is developing the next 2020-2024 Five Year Capital Program. It will be reviewed and approved by the state Capital Program Review Board.
This four-member committee is composed of one representative appointed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
The mayor’s representative can only vote on New York City projects. Democrats control all four votes. Three of four come from New York City. The fourth, Westchester state Senate Majority Leader Cousins, has to deal with 23 of her 39 members who come from New York City districts.
Historically, Long Island Rail Road riders concerns were protected by a Republican state Senate majority and nine-member GOP Long Island delegation.
Past Republican state Senate Majority leaders Warren Anderson from Binghampton, along with Ralph Marino, Dean Skelos and John Flanagan (all from Long Island), appointed one representative to the CPRB. It was usually a Long Island Senator such as John Cammerer or Norman Levy.
Who will Cousins appoint as her voting representative to the CPRB replacing outgoing Brooklyn GOP Sen. Marty Golden?
Will it be someone from the 23 New York City-based members of her caucus? Or will she want to protect her suburban base by appointing Sen. Anna Kaplan, Todd Kaminsky or another member from Long Island or Westchester?
If all four members of the CPRB are from NYC, the LIRR could end up with less money for projects and programs in the upcoming 2020-2024 MTA Five Year Capital Plan.
Assume the next MTA Five Year 2020-2024 Capital Program Plan starts out at $30 billion. First, they intend to program $2.265 billion, bringing total funding for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 up to $4 billion. This is necessary to leverage $2 billion in Federal Transit Administration New Starts dollars to support a total project cost of $6 billion.
The backlog of unfunded NYC Transit safety and state of good repair bus and subway projects far exceed $30 billion.
How will the MTA find $19 billion more on top of $30 billion toward funding NYC Transit President Andy Byford’s proposed 10-year 37 billion plan? He calls it Fast Forward: The Plan to Modernize NYC Transit subway and bus system.
Some want billions more to accelerate bringing more of the 471 subway stations into compliance with Americans With Disabilities Act. Others want billions more to increase the numbers of new and rehabilitated subway cars and buses.
Elected officials from New York City will have the edge to deliver given the numbers of voters, riders and offices they hold. Long Island counterparts will end up with whatever crumbs fall off the table.
There may be no funding for Central Branch electrification, running east of Hicksville on the Ronkokoma line to Babylon.
This would provide additional options for thousands of Babylon riders. They could travel this route to Jamaica via the Main Line Third Track. Central Branch electrification could afford creation of new north/south scoot service, running from Huntington via Hicksville to Babylon.
There would be no funding for Port Jefferson branch electrification beyond Huntington, Montauk line from Babylon to Speonk, the Ronkonkoma line from Ronkonkoma to Yaphank and the Oyster Bay line to Mineola. All five combined easily cost over $1 billion. This does not include several hundred million for a new storage yard on the Port Jefferson branch east of Huntington to support electric multiple unit MU cars.
Without extending electrification on these five branches, there would be no one seat ride via electric MU cars for service to Grand Central Terminal and Penn Station.
This investment would improve reliability making the LIRR more attractive to current and future riders.
Otherwise, commuters will continue to change at Jamaica.
Height restrictions in the 63rd Street tunnel built decades before construction of the current East Side Access project began in 2006 prevents the LIRR from running dual mode locomotives and double-decker coaches into Grand Central Terminal.
Larry Penner
Great Neck
(Larry Penner is a transportation historian, advocate and writer who previously worked 31 years for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 NY Office)
