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

Cuomo to Spend Lion’s Share of NY Bank Settlement Windfall on Highways

5:25 PM EST on January 21, 2015

Here's where Cuomo plans to spend settlement $$. Why not subways/buses? @grussian pic.twitter.com/n27LdWorWT

— Josh Robin (@joshrobin) January 21, 2015

One of the looming questions as Governor Andrew Cuomo has unveiled his budget agenda over the past few days has been how he'll divvy up the $5.4 billion windfall the state has reaped from bank settlements. At the State of the State address this afternoon, Cuomo revealed that the biggest chunk of that money will go to the Thruway Authority so highway drivers don't have to pay higher tolls.

Of the nearly $1.7 billion for road and rail projects in Cuomo's plan, more than three-quarters -- $1.285 billion -- would get sucked up by the Thruway Authority and the replacement Tappan Zee Bridge.

The MTA gets two comparatively small slices. The most significant is $250 million to bring Metro-North to Penn Station and build four new stations along the Hell Gate Line in the Bronx. This project was already in the MTA's pipeline, so the allocation should shrink the $15.2 billion gap in the agency's capital program by a small amount.

Cuomo also announced $150 million in settlement cash for parking garages at one Metro-North and two Long Island Rail Road stations -- an idea that, like the Willets Point AirTrain, he sprung on the public yesterday. This is a subsidy for suburban commuters who park and ride at what are supposed to be transit-oriented development hubs.

But that's all small potatoes compared to the chunk of change heading to the Thruway. It's still not clear how much of the $1.285 billion will be for Tappan Zee construction and how much will be to directly bail out the authority's deteriorating finances. Either way, this is money that will basically be used to keep drivers from squawking about tolls that better reflect the true cost of road building and maintenance.

Sorry, straphangers.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Congestion Pricing Will Be $15 Edition

The proposed congestion pricing toll is $15 for cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street, the TMRB said on Wednesday. Plus more news.

November 30, 2023

MTA Bus Lane Cameras Will Zap Motorists Who Double Park and Block Bus Stops

If you love blocking buses and bus stops, it's time to get a new hobby.

November 30, 2023

Eyes on the Street: Long Island City Bike Lanes Are a Good Start — But More Needed

The city unveiled three new protected bike lanes in Long Island City, but advocates want more to fill in a neighborhood-wide safe cycling network.

November 30, 2023

Eric Adams’s McGuinness Blvd. Capitulation Did ‘Nothing’ for Pedestrians, Greenpoint Pols Charge

Mayor Adams's watered down bike lane redesign of McGuinness Boulevard failed to improve pedestrian safety, elected officials charged.

November 29, 2023

Wednesday’s Headlines: We Beat the DOT Edition

We beat the DOT in court after it rejected our FOIL request. Plus more news.

November 29, 2023
See all posts