MTA Capital Plan Approved, But Still Raises Three Billion Questions

This rubber stamp is missing its ink pad.

An obscure state panel issued a widely anticipated approval of the MTA’s next five-year renovation plan — but the capital improvement program is still short $3 billion that the transit agency says it’ll save with unspecified efficiencies.

The Capital Program Review Board’s approval climaxed a tumultuous period that began in December when Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins rejected the capital plan on the grounds that it wasn’t fully funded.

Months later, Gov. Hochul proposed a payroll tax increase to cover most of that funding gap, leaving just $3 billion.

The MTA says it will save that much over the next five years — continuing its recent success in reducing construction costs, despite past failures on such projects as the Second Avenue Subway.

“The MTA has reduced construction costs by limiting unnecessary customization, improving planning around service outages, and pursuing reductions on cost drivers like insurance,” said the MTA, referring to $3 billion the agency saved in the last capital plan.

But the new efficiencies were already baked into the 2025-29 plan, meaning that the MTA will now have to tighten the ship even more to save an additional $3 billion.

It’s only recently that the MTA can boast of saving money on long-term projects. The 2015-19 capital plan, for example, was so underfunded by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo that projects were delayed and, as a result, their budgets swelled.

The result? The Summer of Hell.

Advocates said that they’re confident that the MTA is back on track.

“We lost the muscle memory for building, but we’re regaining it,” said Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance.

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the Board’s approval was the final stop on a long journey to stabilizing “our $1.5-trillion transit system.”

“This was the first capital plan in agency history to be based on a full-scale, comprehensive review of the infrastructure and components,” he said, “and the first to truly prioritize state of good repair.”

The approved plan includes necessary improvements such as signal repairs and elevator installations, all of which are unglamorous, but play a crucial role in maintaining the reliability of the system and the economic stability of the region, added Lisa Daglian, the head of the MTA’s Citizens Permanent Advisory Committee.

“The plan is not only important for those who ride the MTA’s subways, buses, and trains, but also to businesses whose customers use these services,” she said.