Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
MTA's Janno Lieber confronts Albany with risks of underfunding transit
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Jon Campbell
Published Feb 6, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Marc A. Hermann / MTA
By
Stephen Nessen
and
Jon Campbell
Published Feb 6, 2025
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MTA Chair Janno Lieber all but dared state lawmakers Thursday to not fund the agency’s $65 billion construction plan, reminding them of the last time subway service collapsed.
During a state budget hearing in Albany, Lieber pulled out framed New York Post and Daily News covers from 2017's “Summer of Hell,” when failing infrastructure ground subway service to a halt and drove constant crowding.
“We tried not funding the MTA capital plan, see where it got us,” Lieber said, before he was scolded for bringing a prop to hearing, which is against state legislative hearing rules.
MTA officials have said they need new money — likely in the form of taxes — to borrow more than $33 billion to pay for the construction plan. The work includes extensive upgrades to the subway’s aging electrical systems, train yards and other behind-the-scenes equipment that’s decades past its useful life.
Lieber decried the annual ritual that requires him and his team to commute up the Hudson River to beg state lawmakers for funding, arguing that leaders responsible for other essential services aren’t forced to put on such a song and dance.
“It is a little bit of a mystery to me that every time the MTA capital program comes up, we treat it like ‘Oh my God, they need a bailout.’ This is no different than Medicaid and education and everything else that's done in the state,” Lieber said.
None of the lawmakers proposed ways to fund the more-than-$30-billion gap in the MTA’s construction plan. Lieber said his team is looking into other ways to fund the plan without raising taxes, but noted, “They [the Legislature] control the purse strings.”
Advocates said both sides are running short on time to find a solution.
“The governor is playing a dangerous game of political chicken with the legislature to see who will bite the bullet and propose new taxes and fees,” said Rachael Fauss, an analyst with the good government group Reinvent Albany.
Instead, lawmakers used the hearing to lodge complaints about the MTA directly to the chair.
Assemblymember Christopher Eachus, a Democrat who represents parts of Rockland and Orange counties, complained that businesses in his district are subject to payroll taxes to fund the MTA despite having little access to public transit.
“ I don't know why you consider my district to be a whipping dog, to continually collect money from it?” he asked, adding that congestion pricing is “a dagger in the heart” and “a killer for my district.”
Lieber said 80% of Rockland residents commute to Manhattan via public transit and will benefit from the improvements to the MTA funded by the tolls.
The $65 billion capital plan is primarily focused on “state of good repair” work, upgrading signals, pump rooms, electrical equipment and making more stations accessible with elevators and ramps.
Tagged
new york city
new york state
Politics
transportation
Stephen Nessen
Stephen Nessen covers transportation. Since 2008 he has reported on everything from Occupy Wall Street, the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site, Hurricane Sandy, to Trump’s campaign for president. His transportation reporting has taken him everywhere from the MTA’s secret Rail Control Center to the gleaming subways of Seoul. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
Read more
Jon Campbell
Jon Campbell covers the New York State Capitol for WNYC and Gothamist. Prior to that, he covered the Capitol for more than a decade for the USA TODAY Network. He has twice earned the Walter T. Brown Memorial Award, an honor given annually by the Legislative Correspondents Association alumni for outstanding state government coverage. Jon grew up in the Buffalo area and graduated from the University at Albany. Got a tip? Email Jon at [email protected] or Signal at JonCampbellNY.90.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC tow companies busted for ripping off drivers must give $67K in refunds, city says
Mayor Mamdani has expanded enforcement on towing scams, but the unlicensed towing industry remains largely unregulated.
By
Liam Quigley
Published Oct 2, 2026 at 4:47 p.m. ET
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
News
Off-duty NYPD officer stabbed in the Bronx, police say
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Commissioner Jessica Tisch visited the officer in the hospital.
By
Ryan Kost
DOC negligence factored in death at Rikers' Bellevue hospital outpost, jail officials say
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Conductor on NYC subway that dragged man to death may have skipped safety check, source says
By
Stephen Nessen
NYPD still searching for man who threw burning substance on victim in East Harlem
By
Ryan Kost
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .