Our student debt problem
Looking ahead to big MTA rail projects
COURIER LIFE, F 20 EBRUARY 11-17, 2022
EDITORIAL
OP-ED
We often get colorful responses
to our editorials,
especially when the
reader chooses to disagree with
our points. There’s nothing
wrong with that, of course; this
is America, and everyone’s entitled
to their opinion.
After we wrote an editorial
call on the state and federal governments
to do more to address
crushing student debt — in New
York, 2.4 million people owe
more than $91.6 billion in student
loans — we got an email of
disapproval from an individual
named Sam (last name withheld).
“I went through college in
better times, in the 70’s, when
college was much more affordable.
When I applied, I did think
about being able to manage my
college education. I had to work
weekends, summer breaks, to
do it,” Sam wrote. “It seems to
us that kids these days don’t do
the proper evaluations.”
Sam seems to lay the blame
of crushing student debt at the
feet of an entire generation of
American students who, as he
assumes, simply didn’t know
any better. In our opinion, that’s
a wholly unfair generalization
to make.
Recent generations of college
students haven’t had it easy. Yes,
the costs of college have skyrocketed
since the 1970s. But
wages have also dropped, and
it’s become harder for graduates
to fi nd a job right out of college
for salaries suffi cient to meet
the standard of living.
Look at the Affordable Care
Act passed in 2010, which allowed
parents to keep their children
on their health care plans
through age 26. That wasn’t done
for the hell of it; it was borne out
of necessity because so many
young Americans were unable
to afford health insurance on
their own after college.
COVID-19 made things
worse for folks with outstanding
student loans. In New York,
the average borrower owes $393
a month in student loan payments.
Though those payments
have been in forbearance for
nearly two years thanks to government
intervention, sooner
or later, the obligations will resume
— and it’ll deal a crushing
economic blow to the debtors.
We can’t be so fl ippant or ignorant
of the student debt problem
before us.
Our country is a consumer
economy that depends on people
making and spending money.
Student debt threatens to throw
a serious wrench into that economy
because the debts, if left
unresolved, will force people to
avoid buying homes, starting
businesses or making other investments.
Whether Sam likes it or not,
this is as much our problem as
it is the borrowers’ — and if governments
ignore it, we will all
share the economic pain..
BY JANNO LIEBER
The holidays are typically a
time for refl ection, but this year
I’m more focused on what’s to
come in the next 12 months.
2022 is going to be a historic
year for the MTA, with many
important projects that will
help bring our system into the
21st century slated to hit major
milestones.
Top of list is East Side Access,
which ran its fi rst passenger
test trains a few weeks
ago. ESA will allow LIRR customers
to travel directly to
Grand Central, signifi cantly
reducing commuting time for
Queens and Long Island commuters.
Our new facility below
the existing station will
be the fi rst major railroad terminal
opened in the U.S. since
the early 1950s – and by itself,
LIRR Grand Central service
is expected to constitute one of
the biggest commuter railroad
operations in the country.
Next year, LIRR riders can
also start reaping the full benefi
ts of our expansive Third
Track project. The work that’s
been completed so far – like
the eight grade crossings we’ve
eliminated to date and the eight
new stations (including the justfi
nished Carle Place station) – is
already making a difference.
The fi nished project will allow
for an even greater increase
in peak service between Manhattan
and Long Island, and,
for the fi rst time, meaningful
reverse commuting service to
give Long Island businesses
access to the incredible talent
pool in NYC.
Then there are the projects
we are starting in 2022. The
MTA is on the verge of awarding
contracts to build Metro-
North Penn Station Access, the
marquee megaproject that will
add four new Metro-North stations
in the East Bronx (Co-op
City, Morris Park, Parkchester
and Hunts Point) and connect
that railroad to Penn Station for
the fi rst time. Once completed,
it’ll be a gamechanger for residents
in one of the city’s driest
transit deserts and for Westchester
commuters headed to
Manhattan’s West Side.
Slightly further south in
East Harlem, we’re hoping to
get moving on Second Avenue
Subway Phase 2 using federal
funds from the Biden Infrastructure
Investment and Jobs
Act. The legislation doubled the
amount of grants available for
transit expansion projects nationwide,
and the MTA intends
to compete for every last dollar.
We already submitted a grant
request for the project, which
will add three new stations
along Second Avenue at 106th
St, 116th St and 125th St. This
expansion, like Metro-North
Penn Station Access, can unlock
our incredible potential to
give underserved communities
the transportation equity they
deserve.
Next year we also look forward
to locking up federal approval
for the MTA’s fi rst-inthe
nation congestion pricing
program. Implementing this
plan is not only an environmental
imperative, it will go
a long way to improve quality
of life in our city by reducing
street congestion and harmful
pollution.
Everything we do goes
back to our core mission post-
COVID, which is to bring riders
back to mass transit and
lead New York’s economic recovery.
That starts with service.
Performance metrics
are up at every MTA agency,
especially the subways, and
we are determined to make
buses move much faster. We
continue to work with the City
to add new busways and bus
lanes, install cameras that
keep private cars and trucks
from blocking the buses, and
also, implement transit signal
priority, so our buses spend
less time waiting at red lights.
Public transportation has
been a lifeline for millions
throughout this challenging
past year, and we want our
system to be there for NYC
and thrive for 100 more. Here’s
to 2022.
Janno Lieber is acting chair
and CEO of the MTA.
MTA Acting Chief Janno Lieber holds up a MetroCard and stickers celebrating the subway’s birthday at an Oct.
27 press conference at the Fulton Center. MTA / Jessie Mislavsky