Rep. Maloney Applauds MTA’s Latest Capital Plan

New York, NY – Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY) applauded the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s 2010-2014 capital plan, which will fully fund the first phase of the Second Avenue Subway and the completion of East Side Access.  Maloney has long championed the transit projects, which will be located almost entirely within her congressional district.

“Even in these challenging economic times, the MTA is maintaining its strong commitment to completing the Second Avenue Subway and East Side Access --and that’s a huge win for New York straphangers,” said Rep. Maloney.

Earlier this year, Maloney issued a report outlining the jobs and other
economic benefits created by the construction of the Second Avenue
Subway and East Side Access.  Please click here for a full copy of
Maloney’s report; highlights can be found below.

 

Highlights of Maloney’s Report:

●          Every dollar spent on public infrastructure increases GDP by an estimated $1.59.

●          Second Avenue Subway has already:

            ●          Created 16,000 jobs

            ●          Generated $842 million in wages

            ●          Produced $2.87 billion in economic activity

●          East Side Access has already:
 

            ●          Created 22,000 jobs

            ●          Generated $1.176 billion in wages

            ●          Produced $4 billion in economic activity

●          During construction:

            ●          Second Avenue Subway will generate $4.347 billion in economic activity

            ●          East Side Access will generate $12.275 billion in economic activity

●          Following completion, these projects will save commuting time in the region with the longest commutes in the nation.

●          Transit projects generate approximately 570 direct and indirect jobs for every $10 million in capital expenditures
 

●          Transit projects generate roughly $30 million in sales for every $10 million in capital expenditures.

Background

In November 2007, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and the MTA
signed a full-funding grant agreement for the Second Avenue Subway,
which will provide $1.3 billion in federal funds to build the subway’s
first leg.  In February 2009, Congress passed an omnibus appropriations
bill that included a $277.7 million funding installment for the
subway. 
 

In December 2006, the FTA and the MTA signed a full-funding grant
agreement for East Side Access, which will provide $2.6 billion in
federal funds for the project.  February’s appropriations bill also
included $209.6 million for East Side Access.

Full-funding grant agreements are commitments by the federal government
to provide a total amount of funding, delivered in installments, over
the life of a project. 

In the mid-1990s, Rep. Maloney began a campaign to resuscitate the
Second Avenue Subway after the project had lain dormant for decades. 
The subway project, as planned, would run primarily through the 14th
Congressional District, which Maloney represents.

The full-length Second Avenue Subway will be an 8 ½ mile two-track line
beginning at 125th street and ending in Hanover Square in lower
Manhattan.  The subway’s first segment will include stops at 96th, 86th
and 72nd Streets, and tunnels from 99th to 62nd Streets. At 63rd
Street, the new subway line will link onto the existing Q-line tracks,
providing a one-seat ride from the Upper East Side to Times Square,
Wall Street, and Brooklyn.  Construction of the full-length subway has
been divided into four phases.  Once completed, the first subway phase
will carry more than 200,000 riders each day and relieve massive
congestion on the most overcrowded subway routes in the nation: the 4,
5, and 6 Lexington Avenue IRT trains on Manhattan's East Side.

East Side Access will bring the Long Island Rail Road to Grand Central
Terminal, carrying approximately 163,000 average weekday boardings.