Res. No. 460

Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor to fully fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the State’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2024 Budget in an effort to ensure that: public transit riders have effective, affordable public transportation; the MTA maintains fiscal stability in the face of a looming fiscal cliff; and the MTA operate more frequent bus and train service statewide.

By Council Members Farías, Louis, Menin, Hanif, Restler, Holden, Won, Cabán, Marte, Ung, Moya, Hudson, Nurse, Ayala, Krishnan, Sanchez, Abreu, Gutiérrez, Joseph, Ossé, Williams, Avilés, Riley, Stevens, Narcisse, Richardson Jordan, Schulman, Brannan, Feliz, Velázquez, Salamanca, De La Rosa, Brooks-Powers, Bottcher, Lee, Powers, Dinowitz and Hanks

Whereas, The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) operates critical transit service for millions of New Yorkers, including for those in New York City (NYC); and

                     Whereas, As of November 22, 2022, daily subway ridership was estimated to be about 3.54 million riders, just 60.8% of comparable ridership pre-pandemic on the same day, and daily bus ridership was estimated to be about 1.23 million riders, just 53.7% of comparable ridership pre-pandemic on the same day; and

                     Whereas, More than two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, weekday ridership has continued to remain almost half of pre-pandemic levels, helping deprive the MTA of billions in farebox revenue annually, with the MTA projecting that, at its current pace of spending and ridership, it will lose almost $4 billion in expected fare and toll revenue through 2026; and

                     Whereas, As federal aid runs out, the MTA, with proposed actions, faces an annual budget fiscal cliff of $1.2 billion starting in 2024 and 2025, and $1.6 billion in 2026, which could threaten thousands of jobs and reduce service for millions of daily subway and bus riders; and

Whereas, In addition, the New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has warned of “serious structural budgetary imbalance” in the MTA, of which the MTA must address, as the more money required to fill budget gaps, the higher strain on the MTA’s capital plan to update and repair the systems; and

Whereas, Fully funding the MTA in the State budget during this looming budget crisis could: prevent future service cuts and delays, which might further depress farebox revenue; and ensure the fiscal stability of the MTA in the future; and

Whereas, In October of 2021, former-NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer published transit data and recommendations regarding the COVID-19 pandemic’s impacts on the City’s workforce and commuting patterns; and

Whereas, The recommendations made included the following: calling on Congress to pass the “Stronger Communities through Better Transit” Act; re-balancing the 12-county Metropolitan Commuting Transit District gas tax; calling on the NYC Department of Transportation to add 35 miles of dedicated bus lanes and busways per year; and calling on the MTA to implement the “New York City in Six” plan; and

                     Whereas, The “New York City in Six” plan, which is also supported by the Riders Alliance, would cost about $300 million in operating funds in the next State budget, and would increase subway, bus and commuter rail frequencies all day, every day, such that each subway line and the 100 highest ridership bus routes run at a minimum of every six minutes throughout the day, seven days a week; and

                     Whereas, This plan, along with other investments and recommendations, could both stabilize and expand transit operations, while decreasing the average time of service on subways and buses, with some predictions citing that the “New York City in Six” plan could result in a 15% rise in system wide ridership, and thus, increased farebox revenue; and

                     Whereas, As the City struggles to recover, advance equity, and fight climate change, New York needs to leverage existing transit infrastructure and operations to ensure that the MTA and the City has effective, reliable and affordable transit options; now, therefore be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calling on the New York State Legislature and Governor to fully fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the State’s upcoming Fiscal Year 2024 Budget in an effort to ensure that: public transit riders have effective, affordable public transportation; the MTA maintains fiscal stability in the face of a looming fiscal cliff; and the MTA operate more frequent bus and train service statewide.

KK

LS 11563

12/5/22