Editorial Op-ed
The MTA’s survival
depends on Congress
to step in and help
MTA Chairman Patrick Foye talks with media. PHOTO BY TODD MAISEL
BY PATRICK J. FOYE
With New York City reopening
and ridership on mass transit
gradually increasing, it may
seem like the MTA is back on track after
the most diffi cult chapter in its history.
More than two million daily riders are using
the subway and buses, with Long Island
Rail Road and Metro-North also seeing
progress, though on a much smaller scale.
This is good news, but the reality is – our
fi nancial situation is a four-alarm fi re. The
MTA is facing estimated losses of more
than $10 billion over the next 18 months.
Without signifi cant federal relief, we’re
left with unappealing options to fi ght the
fl ames on our own.
If Congress doesn’t deliver another $3.9
billion in federal aid, we won’t survive the
impact of precipitous COVID-19-related
declines in ridership and the huge loss of
economically-sensitive taxes and subsidies
that we rely on.
To address the pending fi scal calamity,
the MTA could borrow to pay operating
expenses—the equivalent of borrowing
to pay the grocery bill. But pursuing this
path doesn’t bring a meaningful benefi t,
like a new fl eet of train cars, for example. It
would just keep things running at a cost of
up to $500 million dollars a year—money
that we frankly don’t have– just to pay borrowing
costs.
Another choice is to gut our historic
$51.5 billion 2020-2024 Capital Plan.
While this would give us solvency in
the short term, the long-term impact is
devastating. It would force us to sacrifi ce
resignalling the subways, increasing ADA
accessibility, and other vital state of good
repair work in favor of operating needs,
perpetuating a cycle of disinvestment that
has resulted in the outdated system we are
trying desperately to improve today.
Wage freezes, reducing non-personnel
expenses such as controllable overtime
and consultant spend, and scheduled fare
and toll increases are also on the table.
The last resort would be to cut service and
personnel.
An urgent infusion of federal aid is the
single best option for relief. I’m grateful
for the hard work of the New York delegation—
particularly Senator Schumer, Chair
Lowey and Representatives Espaillat and
Jeffries—in passing the CARES Act back
in March, which provided $4 billion to the
MTA. But we’ve already drawn down more
than 72 percent of those funds with half a
year left. In short, we need more federal
help. Now.
It’s not hyperbole to say that the MTA’s
very survival depends on the willingness of
Congress to act, and act quickly, to approve
another $3.9 billion in assistance to get us
to the end of this year. The House, in the
HEROES Act, already stepped up for mass
transit. Now we need the Senate to follow
suit. This is not a partisan issue. Public
transportation will be the engine that powers
our recovery, locally and nationally. To
let us fl ounder would needlessly jeopardize
the nation’s economic future. We can’t afford
to let that happen.
Foye is chair and CEO 0f the MTA.
Too soon to allow indoor dining in NYC
So far, the reopening of New York City
currently underway has gone rather
smoothly, with no signifi cant spikes
in COVID-19 cases reported as yet. Hopefully,
it stays that way.
But this week, Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Governor Andrew Cuomo threw cold water
on the indoor dining reopening, suspending
it indefi nitely out of concerns about a
potential spike. Other parts of the Phase
3 reopening for New York City, however,
remain on track.
De Blasio expressly stated that the city
would review the protocols for indoor dining,
and declined to commit that it would be
included right away when phase 3 begins.
This was a wise decision, as he cited reports
across the country of restaurant and bar
patrons becoming infected with COVID-19
after the businesses were allowed to reopen.
Currently, New York City restaurants are
able to serve customers once again with
outdoor seats. Thousands of little al fresco
cafes have popped up around the fi ve boroughs;
the city has sought to cut through
the red tape to permit these setups, which
will help restaurant owners recoup some of
the massive losses resulting from more than
three months of closure to eat-in diners.
But the outdoor cafés are a temporary
solution, only feasible during the warm
months of spring and summer. But even
that is imperfect; nobody wants to dine
outside in the middle of a heat wave or
a thunderstorm, and customers will stay
away under such conditions.
Everyone seems to acknowledge the need
for indoor dining. Those of us who trust
science, facts and reality also acknowledge
the risk of contracting COVID-19 when
gathering with others in confi ned settings.
There are concerns now that the air
conditioning units used by restaurants and
bars are not trapping COVID-19 germs,
and are actually recirculating them into the
air, putting all at higher risk of infection.
We know that keeping indoor dining
off limits will add to the strain of owning
a restaurant in New York City during the
pandemic. So the city, state and feds must
step up to help.
Give them relief for their greatest expense
next to payroll: rent. They also need
a small business tax holiday of sorts by
reducing or eliminating altogether an array
of fees charged just for doing business.
We sympathize with the eateries of New
York, and share their desire to fully reopen.
But the risk is too great right now, and public
health is too fragile and important to risk.
Publisher of The Villager, Villager Express, Chelsea Now,
Downtown Express and Manhattan Express
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