The Trump administration is being dragged into courtroom once more within the newest funding battle over a key New York transportation venture.
The MTA on Tuesday filed a lawsuit that accuses the federal authorities of withholding $60 million in contractually obligated cash for the practically $7 billion extension of the Second Avenue Subway from the Higher East Aspect to East Harlem.
“We intend to get every cent of what has been promised and frankly, based on the agreements, what’s owed to New Yorkers,” Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and chief government stated Tuesday whereas testifying earlier than the Metropolis Council. “And we’re not afraid to fight for it in court, just as we have successfully taken on the feds over congestion pricing.”
The newest authorized scrap comes weeks after a federal decide rejected the Trump administration’s makes an attempt to terminate the Manhattan vehicle-tolling plan launched in January 2025. It additionally comes on the heels of building resuming final month on Gateway, the large Hudson River rail tunnel venture whose funding had been frozen by the feds final yr, main to a different courtroom battle and a short shutdown to work on websites in New York and New Jersey.
Gov. Kathy Hochul stated Trump had been warned that extra authorized motion was probably over the freeze on funding. The lawsuit landed because the subway growth venture is on the verge of getting a contract awarded for excavation on Second Avenue.
The MTA launched renderings of the Second Avenue Subway extension to one hundred and twenty fifth Avenue. Credit score: Rendering through MTA
“We told Donald Trump that if he did not restore the funding for this project, we’d see him in court — today, we are doing just that,” Hochul stated in an announcement. “Just like Gateway, Donald Trump has two options: restore the money now, or wait for a judge to force him to.”
The second section of extending the Q line from 96th Avenue to new stations at 106th, 116th and one hundred and twenty fifth streets would ship on decades-old commitments to carry subway service to East Harlem after elevated strains over Second and Third avenues have been demolished within the mid-Twentieth century. The primary stretch — with stations at 72nd, 86th and 96th streets — opened Jan. 1, 2017.
“Second Avenue Subway is an incredibly worthy project, long overdue transit justice for East Harlem, promised since the 1940s,” Lieber stated. “And Phase 2 is well underway.”
Two of the 4 contracts have already been awarded for the subway growth venture, which is partially funded by income from congestion pricing.
The primary contract was awarded in January 2024 for the relocation of underground utilities, whereas one other adopted final August for building of a brand new tunnel north from 116th Avenue. The second section of the Second Avenue venture may also make use of a tunnel constructed within the Nineteen Seventies that has sat dormant for greater than half a century.
It as an alternative has develop into the newest New York megaproject to be tousled with the Trump administration, which has been vital of building prices. The feds put funding on ice final fall for the Second Avenue line, in addition to Gateway, questioning whether or not the tasks adjust to a a USDOT rule on deprived enterprise enterprises.
“USDOT is committed to ensuring hardworking taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly,” a spokesperson for the federal Transportation Division stated in an announcement. “We are considering all legal avenues.”
Brian Fritsch, of the Everlasting Residents Advisory Committee to the MTA, cited the feds’ spotty monitor document on courtroom fights over congestion pricing and the Gateway rail tunnel venture, including, “This crap is getting old.”
“You’d think [U.S. Transportation] Secretary [Sean] Duffy would get tired of losing lawsuits for clearly unlawful behavior, but here we are again,” he stated. “We’re confident the court will find in the MTA’s favor and applaud Gov. Hochul and MTA leadership for standing up to Washington again.”
The Second Avenue Subway was initially proposed in 1929 and Hochul has extra not too long ago floated the concept of extending the road west beneath one hundred and twenty fifth Avenue.
Lieber stated the funding freeze has but to have an effect on ongoing building on the subsequent section, however stated the time for the feds to pay up is now.
“I am very confident the Second Avenue project is going to keep moving forward,” he stated. “We just need to get through this process with the federal government.”
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