John Petro

NY Gubernatorial Candidates Silent on MTA

It is arguably one of New York State’s biggest assets, but the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the mass transit system it controls has been chronically neglected in state budgets for decades. As a result we have the MTA’s enormous debt burden and annual debt payments of $1.4 billion a year. And the debt continues to grow; by 2013 the MTA will be making annual debt payments of over $2.4 billion.

But the candidates for governor—despite making “reform” part of their campaign pledges—have so far remained pretty silent about how they would fix the MTA’s long-term, structural budget problems.

Front-runner Cuomo only mentions the MTA once in his 252-page “policy book,” and then only in passing. Paladino has been completely silent on the MTA. As for Lazio, he has said that he would repeal the payroll taxes that are used to support the MTA, not exactly a solid plan to put the MTA on better financial footing.

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Posted at 3:20 PM, Aug 31, 2010 in Urban Affairs
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