Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Kathy Hochul

Derailed? Gov. Hochul May Rip Up MTA Capital Plan

The gridlock governor — who already blew a $15-billion hole in the MTA capital budget — now is suggesting that the next capital plan is too big.

Streetsblog Photoshop Desk|

This is on her.

Nice capital plan you've got there, shame if someone were to shrink it down.

Gov. Hochul on Monday said that she might not fill the $33-billion hole in the proposed 2025-2029 MTA capital plan because it might just end up smaller than the $68.4-billion package that the MTA Board approved last week.

Transit advocates were apoplectic at the suggestion that the number isn't final, given that Hochul has already blown up the current capital plan by pausing congestion pricing.

"Transit riders and workers elected the governor to do hard things and confront tough challenges," said Riders Alliance Director of Policy and Communications Danny Pearlstein. "It's her job to make sure our transit system is properly funded so that we can finally have the reliable, accessible, resilient service we've long been denied but that we need and deserve. Gov. Hochul is trying to pass the buck, but she's out of luck. She controls the MTA. The buck stops with her."

Hochul is right that there's a second board that has to take a vote on the plan, the appropriately-named Capital Plan Review Board. The panel, which has 90 days from Wednesday to approve the capital plan, is comprised of the governor, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Mayor Adams (or appointees of same).

A rejection vote from any member of the CPRB would mean the plan is scrapped. Hochul's predecessor, disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, did have his representative on the CPRB veto the 2015-2019 plan, causing the MTA to shave off $2 billion. But rejecting the plan would be Hochul's only option to force the agency to cut any projects from it.

If she were to do that, the MTA would have to gut a capital plan it has pitched as desperately needed to fix the rotting subway system, including unseen aspects like power substations and visible-but-struggling pieces like giant elevated train tracks. Despite the largest price tag, outside observers praised the MTA for focusing almost the entire capital plan on state of good repair needs with only $3 billion set aside for expansion.

If the governor wants to cut the plan, these experts suggested she take the political hit of cutting her own highly touted project, the Brooklyn-Queens transit link known as the Interborough Express.

"It's rich coming from someone who blew a $15-billion hole in the 2020-2024 capital plan," said Rachael Fauss, the senior policy analyst at Reinvent Albany. "If she wants to cut the plan, given all the repair needs, her Interborough Express should come first."

The MTA declined to comment on the governor's statement.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

MONEY TALKS: Business Interests Call the Shots in Eric Adams’s New York

Forget the bribery charges — you don't have to break the law to buy influence in the Big Apple.

August 28, 2025

‘Safety for Sale’: How City Hall Corruption Hurt New Yorkers and Slowed Bus Riders

The mayor's interventions into DOT projects at behest of campaign donors hurt New Yorkers — literally.

August 28, 2025

GHOSTING: Drivers with ‘Ghost Plates’ Are Speeding Through New York City Streets

Cars with fake, obscured, or mismatched license plates continue to wreak havoc on city streets, a City Council report revealed.

August 28, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines: ‘Blessed’ By Duffy and Byford Edition

Sean Duffy became the latest in a long line of politicians to make big promises about New York Penn Station. Plus more news.

August 28, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines: Mastro of None Edition

The Adams administration put the brakes on yet another long-awaited DOT initiative as it crossed the finish line. Plus more news.

August 27, 2025

City Hall Pauses Upper West Side ‘Smart Curb’ Parking Reforms Amid Predictable Driver Backlash

DOT's nascent effort to convert 70 curbside spots on the Upper West Side from free to metered parking is on hold after drivers threw a fit, City Hall said.

August 26, 2025
See all posts