Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Richard Ravitch

Ravitch: Big Business, Cuomo Have Failed to Lead on Transportation

Richard Ravitch pointed the finger at the business community and the governor's office for not standing up in support of transportation infrastructure. Image: Wikimedia.

New York's infrastructure is dangerously underfunded and threatening to cripple the region's economy, warned former lieutenant governor and MTA chairman Richard Ravitch in a speech on Thursday.

Having taken the helm of the transit authority in 1979, at the system's absolute nadir, Ravitch knows a thing or two about what it takes to bring the MTA back to fiscal health. Unlike in the 80s, he said, what's missing today is leadership from the business community and the governor's office.

In the early days of Ravitch's tenure running the MTA, as he tried to pass the agency's first five-year capital plan and start rebuilding the system, he needed the authorization of the state legislature. "The Republican State Senate had a very difficult time," Ravitch recalled. (Ravitch did note that, at the time, "the senators from Long Island were all for it." Today, Long Island senators like Lee Zeldin and majority leader Dean Skelos have led the fight against transit funding in the form of the payroll mobility tax.)

The turning point in winning over the Republicans, he said, was a phone call to Chase Bank CEO David Rockefeller, whom Ravitch asked to accompany him on a 5 a.m. tour of the subway system. When Rockefeller said yes, Ravitch pressed his luck and asked him to invite the chairmen of MetLife and AT&T as well. All three showed up for the tour, where they observed crumbling tracks and aged subway cars. Recalled Ravitch, "David Rockefeller called Warren Anderson, who was the majority leader of the State Senate, and said 'Give Ravitch what he wants.'"

The business leaders of today, Ravitch argued, lack the public spirit of that earlier generation, and he expressed little optimism that they would eventually become advocates for the infrastructure of their city. "Their preoccupation on the whole is, honestly, keeping the Bush tax cuts, keeping the government from regulating them and making sure they're too big to fail," said Ravitch. Indeed, who has heard current Chase CEO Jamie Dimon ever mention the MTA?

Ravitch also subtly criticized Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has reduced dedicated transit funding multiple times while leaving the MTA's capital plan unfunded for three of its five years. In response to a question about why Albany hasn't adequately funded infrastructure, Ravitch began by contrasting Jimmy Carter's unsuccessful attempts to pass an increase in the gas tax with Ronald Reagan's successful passage of a larger gas tax hike in 1982. When the press tried to attack Reagan, who'd promised to cut taxes, for the gas tax increase, Ravitch said, "Reagan turned to the reporter and said, 'This is not a tax, it's a user charge.' It got reported as a user charge."

Concluded Ravitch, "It takes leadership. It takes executive leadership. And I'm not going to say anything more."

Ravitch also specifically criticized the end-of-year deal to cut the payroll tax by $320 million a year. "It's the first time in the history of this state," he said, "that after having enacted a revenue to support capital borrowing they have reduced that revenue stream in a subsequent year."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

NJ’s Plan to Widen the Turnpike Can Really Break Your Heart

"I've lived in a lot of places and all of them have had neighborhoods destroyed by turnpike expansion. New Jersey is no exception," said one activist.

June 2, 2025

Car Harms Monday: ‘Gridlock Sam’ Says We Have Lost Our Lives to the Automobile

Take it from the former head of the city's Department of Traffic: If we restore valuable public space to the people, the result will be a healthier, happier, and more humane city.

June 2, 2025

Monday’s Headlines: Critical Mass of Rage Against the NYPD Edition

Scores of New Yorkers rode on Friday to protest the Police Department's criminal crackdown on cyclists. Plus other news.

Talking Headways Podcast: Bike Guides to Build Your City

Let's talk bike lane design guides, the importance of history, political will, and the stress of being an expert witness in court.

June 2, 2025

Cyclist: Cop Pulled a Taser During Summons Chase

In a dramatic escalation of the NYPD's criminal crackdown on bike riders, a police officer pulled a stun gun while chasing a cyclist for allegedly running a red light on a regular bike.

May 30, 2025
See all posts