Several leaders of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority urged the construction industry Wednesday to use its weighty voice to advocate for billions of state dollars to fund transit infrastructure.
“To be candid, and we’re among friends, the industry hasn’t been heard from all that much lately,” Lieber said to a room packed with construction executives. “If there’s going to be a big enough capital program to create the first-class, modern system the region deserves, we will need your voice.”
The MTA has an exhaustive to-do list to maintain and improve the region’s mass transit in the coming decades: High-profile expansion projects such as the Second Avenue subway and the Interborough Express, connecting Brooklyn and Queens. Modernization work to some 550 miles of signals. Upgrades to more than 490 elevators throughout the subway and commuter rails.
Carlo Scissura, president and chief executive of the New York Building Congress, which represents some 500 members, echoed Lieber’s statements.
“It’s up to all of us to get out there, educate, testify, write letters of support, policy briefings if you run an organization, write op-eds, do whatever you need to do to get people to understand,” Scissura said.
“It will provide lots of work to all of you in this room — I’ll say that again — lots of work to all of you in this room,” he added.
Transit officials said in February they were hitting the brakes on new construction contracts for major work throughout the region’s transit system as lawsuits that seek to block congestion pricing work their way through the courts. Under state law, the tolling program is designed to generate $15 billion toward MTA infrastructure needs.
Caroline Spivack , 2024-03-20 19:56:17
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