Impartial mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo proposed Tuesday that the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority hand over a few of its energy to town.
Cuomo’s plan could be to have town management the subway system’s capital building and upkeep, which incorporates main constructing initiatives, station enhancements, the system’s outdated sign system, accessibility measures and the acquisition of latest prepare automobiles.
The proposal, which Cuomo introduced at a breakfast by the Affiliation for a Higher New York, would wish approval from the MTA board, of which simply 4 out of 17 are appointed by the mayor. Cuomo argued that he might, as mayor, do a greater managing billions of {dollars} below the MTA’s management than the state-run company.
“Imagine if you could actually spend it,” the ex-governor stated of the huge $40 billion funds for metropolis capital initiatives.
“That is hundreds of stations remodeled, hundreds of stations, ADA compliant. That is a massive physical shift in this city. And if you want to talk about one thing that can change people’s minds and attitudes quickly, it is that subway system.”
The previous governor continues to path front-runner Zohran Mamdani in preelection polling, which present his odds of successful to be skinny so long as GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa stays within the race. Mamdani, a democratic socialist, has made his marketing campaign promise of free buses a central subject.
Cuomo left a combined legacy of his time answerable for the MTA as governor, dealing with backlash for rising subway delays. In 2016, his administration got here below fireplace when it directed the MTA to redirect money to state-run ski resorts that have been struggling.
East Facet Entry Undertaking
Barry Williams for New York Every day Information
FILE – Gov. Andrew Cuomo (middle) and Janno Lieber, chief growth officer of the MTA (rght), discuss to members of the media below Grand Central Station within the East Facet Entry challenge Thursday, Could 27, 2021 in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams for New York Every day Information)
As proof he might perform a metamorphosis of the system, Cuomo pointed to his work serving to information the development of Moynihan Practice Corridor, LaGuardia Airport and the Kosciuszko Bridge, in addition to avoiding an L prepare shutdown in 2019.
The proposal noticed some speedy backlash from transit recommendation teams.
“The disgraced former governor decries mismanagement of the transit system that he recently controlled for 11 years, ignoring service as train delays quadrupled,” Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance. “Never a New Yorker enough to actually ride the subway, he’s not yet given up mining it for personal advantage.”
Town was answerable for the subway system after Metropolis Corridor bought the non-public operators that ran trains within the 5 boroughs in 1940. However the metropolis was unable to steadiness each the fiscal price of upkeeping and creating the system and the political points of working, and, after a few decade, authority over the system was handed to the state.
At present, the MTA has an annual working funds of practically $20 billion. The state gives the majority of that funding. The state additionally gives billions for the MTA’s five-year capital applications, funding the sorts of initiatives Cuomo would search to maneuver below town’s management.
New rail automobiles are the most important a part of the MTA’s present $68 billion capital plan, with roughly $9 billion put aside for brand new subway automobiles. $5.4 billion is earmarked for continued set up of contemporary signaling techniques on parts of seven prepare traces.
The plan additionally contains $7.1 billion to make extra subway stations accessible in accordance with a settlement reached in 2022.
Initially Revealed: October 21, 2025 at 2:09 PM EDT
