Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Andrew Cuomo

Legislature Passes on Deficit Fix, Putting MTA Raids In Cuomo’s Hands

2:01 PM EST on December 2, 2010

Now that the legislature has passed on deficit reduction, the fate of the MTA's finances are in Andrew Cuomo's hands. Photo:
Current state law lets New York Governor Cuomo determine state DOT's list of capital projects before the state legislature has gotten a chance to see it.

In Albany this week, legislative leaders declined to take action to close the state's current $315 million budget deficit. That pushes the problem into 2011, when a new governor and likely a Republican State Senate will be in power. Whether dedicated MTA funds will still be used as a piggy bank, at the expense of transit riders, will be up to next year's leadership.

Governor Paterson had been urging the legislature to pass a deficit reduction package similar to the one that passed this fall, which sliced away $16.7 million from the MTA. Under the same formula, the MTA stood to lose more than $18 million in dedicated funds if the legislature had followed Paterson's wishes.

The legislature's inaction grants the MTA a short reprieve, but doesn't remove the fundamental pressure that the state budget places on the MTA. The current deficit, which Comptroller Tom DiNapoli warns may actually be as high as $1 billion, must be closed by the end of the state's fiscal year on March 31. How the new state leadership decides to tackle it will be an early indicator of their willingness to protect transit funding.

Will Cuomo propose a budget fix that includes further transit raids, or will he protect dedicated funds and look for extra savings elsewhere? Will Senate Republicans, who loathe the payroll mobility tax, continue to allow that billion dollar revenue stream to be exempt from state raids?

Cuomo has already suggested that he's comfortable with shifting dedicated transit funds around through the budget. By the end of March, we'll know whether he's willing to let straphangers absorb another hit.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Can We Just Keep Cars Off the Queensbridge Baby Greenway?

Why do we allow car drivers to park on greenways, in parks and on tree beds?

March 29, 2024

Maximum Rage: Delivery Workers Protest Low Wages, App ‘Lockouts’

Couriers with bikes and signs urge the city to step in as Uber Eats, GrubHub and DoorDash withhold work, they say.

March 28, 2024

The Toll of History: MTA Board Approves $15 Congestion Pricing Fee

New York City's congestion pricing tolls are one historic step closer to reality after Wednesday's 11-1 MTA board vote. Next step: all those pesky lawsuits.

March 28, 2024

Company That Fought McGuinness Safety Project Wants to Seize Bklyn Street for Private Backlot

Broadway Stages to Greenpoint residents: "Street safety for me, not for thee."

March 28, 2024
See all posts