Tuesday, March 17, 2026, 9:30 a.m. (New York City time), 250 Broadway - 8th Floor - Hearing Room 1
Committee: Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure held its FY2027 preliminary budget hearing, taking testimony from the MTA, the Department of Transportation, the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and the Department of Design and Construction, followed by public comment. Key issues included cost shifts to the City (paratransit funding, payroll mobility tax), the MTA's lawsuit against the federal government over Second Avenue Subway funding, and repeated chair criticism that DOT again missed Streets Plan mandates and would not commit to this year's legal benchmarks or quantify needed funding. Council members also pressed DOT on declining pothole repairs, streetlight repair times, and open streets and daylighting commitments, questioned TLC on wheelchair-accessible vehicle policy and industry data, and questioned DDC on design-build progress, borough-based jails timelines, and pedestrian ramp funding. No votes were taken; the hearing consisted of testimony, Q&A, and public comment.
0:10 A second. Good morning and
0:10 welcome to today's New York
0:12 City Council preliminary
0:13 budget hearing from the
0:14 committee on transportation
0:15 and.
0:16 Infrastructure at this point
0:16 , I'd like to remind everyone
0:17 to please answer electronic
0:18 devices and no point at anyone
0:20 to approach the day we're
0:22 ready to begin. Good morning
0:24 and welcome to the committee
0:25 on transportation
0:26 infrastructure is hearing on
0:28 the fiscal 20 27 preliminary
0:30 budget and the fiscal 20 2
0:33 6preliminary mayors management
0:34 I would like to acknowledge
0:41 federal council members file
0:42 all here with us today,
0:44 council members and dinner
0:48 wits. Today we'll hear
0:48 testimony from three
0:50 transportation agencies. The
0:51 deal, t and t each plays an
0:54 essential role in the lives of
0:57 New yorkers.
0:58 Mayor laguardia famously
1:01 stated. New York didn't build
1:01 the subways
1:02 . The subways built New York
1:04 this sentiment reflects the
1:06 profound impact our
1:07 transportation systems have on
1:08 our city's culture and
1:12 vitality, effective and
1:13 efficient transportation is
1:14 vital for economic growth,
1:16 social mobility and commerce.
1:18 It also serves a crucial role
1:20 in community health and our
1:21 overall well being as a City
1:24 .I look forward to speaking
1:25 with each of these agencies
1:25 about their role in moving the
1:27 City and its residents forward
1:29 . We're also hear testimony
1:31 today from the city's primary
1:33 capital construction project
1:35 manager. The methods, means
1:37 and materials we use in
1:39 construction are so crucial
1:40 ,not only to our transportation
1:43 network, but to the
1:43 sustainability and the long
1:44 term health of our City across
1:48 all sectors first up today is
1:49 the whose calendar year 20 2
1:52 6operating budget is we will
1:55 discuss a range of issues
1:57 including the authorities 68.
2:04 4Billion 20 25 20 29 capital
2:04 plan we would also like to
2:05 explore the seemingly ever
2:06 increasing costs shifts to the
2:08 City, including increasing
2:10 bust subsidies pair transit
2:11 cause and the payroll mobility
2:13 attacks. Additionally, we plan
2:13 on exploring how the authority
2:15 plans to financially navigate
2:17 the political climate in
2:20 washington to complete
2:20 projects like the secon
2:23 davenue subway.
2:24 Well, then here from the
2:25 department of transportation
2:25 at noon on its fiscal 20 27
2:27 prelim budget of more than its
2:35 fiscal 20 27 budget in a plan,
2:38 the agency's preliminary
2:39 capital commitment plan totals
2:41 across fiscal years 20 26 2 2
2:45 030. The commitments represent
2:46 a total of 12.6% of the entire
2:49 city's capital commitment pla
2:53 n, the fiscal 20 27 preliminary
2:55 plan also includes in New
2:58 needs.
2:58 For fiscal in other
3:04 adjustments.
3:05 Local law hundred 85 20 19,
3:06 also known as the streets plan
3:07 or the transportation master
3:09 plan was passed in October
3:12 2019, notably deal once again
3:13 failing to meet the legal
3:15 mandates the council
3:16 established several years ago
3:16 in the streets plan as chair
3:19 of this committee. I want to
3:20 do everything in the council's
3:21 power to help support lt and
3:23 help them meet these man
3:25 requirements two weeks ago at
3:27 our streets plan here in the I
3:29 asked lt was specific
3:31 budgetary items needed in
3:32 terms of funding and had
3:33 account to meet the legal
3:34 mandates of the streets plan
3:37 . At the hearing. They decline
3:38 to answer and postpone the
3:39 response until today's
3:40 preliminary budget hearing. I
3:41 look forward to finally
3:43 hearing their answer, so the
3:44 members of this council can
3:44 get to work to ensure that all
3:46 their needs are met in this
3:47 year's budget, and they can
3:48 finally fulfill their legal
3:51 requirements
3:52 . Unfortunately, there are a
3:53 few declining metrics
3:53 indicated in the pmr that we
3:56 will discuss, including
3:57 potholes, in the first fou
3:58 rmonths of this fiscal year
3:59 deal, t crews repaired 5 1 5
4:03 1% fewer potholes on local
4:04 streets and the arterial
4:08 highway system when compared
4:08 to the same period in fiscal
4:11 20 25. This has risked this
4:13 recently had fatal
4:14 ramifications a
4:15 . 46 Year old man was thrown
4:18 to his death after hitting a
4:19 pothole while riding a
4:20 motorized scooter and ozone
4:21 park, queens, last week only
4:23 after he wasn't pronounced
4:24 dead at jamaica hospital. The
4:26 deal crews come by until fill
4:29 pothole. I look forward to
4:30 discussing how this year's
4:31 budget will ensure that can
4:33 meet his legal requirements
4:34 and more effectively serve
4:36 community citywide. Then we
4:37 will hear from the taxi
4:38 limousine commission at two p.
4:40 M. On its fiscal 20 26
4:42 preliminary budget, which
4:43 totals we would like t
4:46 oexplore their enforcement
4:47 capacity as well as get an
4:49 update on their vehicle
4:51 accessibility over the last
4:52 decade, this industry has
4:54 experienced tremendous change.
4:55 Particularly since the
4:57 introduction of based for hire
4:58 vehicles to the City, the
5:01 council remains committed t
5:01 oremoving barriers that prevent
5:02 drivers from earning an honest
5:04 living while they provide
5:06 essential services to New
5:07 yorkers and we look forward t
5:08 odiscussing how this budget
5:09 further empowers drivers t
5:13 osucceed. Finally, we'll hear
5:14 from three p. M
5:15 . On there 20 27 preliminary
5:17 budget, which totals which is
5:22 less than its fiscal 20 26
5:26 adopted budget in the
5:27 preliminary commitment plan.
5:28 There is in capital projects
5:32 is managing for the City
5:33 agencies and entities, which
5:35 is 20% of the City capital
5:37 community plan today. I plan
5:39 to act about the major capital
5:40 projects the agency is leading
5:44 from borough based jails, too.
5:45 Pedestrian ramp upgrades, but
5:46 I also hope to discuss how is
5:49 accomplishing its projects,
5:51 for example, how the agency is
5:55 innovating to advance projects
5:55 more quickly and efficiently
5:57 and how is maximizing
5:59 coordination with utility
6:00 companies on joint ventures
6:01 before we begin with testimony
6:03 . I'd like to thank my
6:03 committee staff and the
6:06 committee for their hard wor
6:09 kand in preparing this hearing
6:10 quickly, my deputy chief of
6:11 staff and legislative and
6:13 budget director agent europol
6:14 sitting to my right, principal
6:16 financial alice of the
6:17 committee, then croup,
6:20 assistant director of the
6:21 council of finance division
6:26 chima obie, chair, deputy
6:27 director of the council's
6:29 finance division mark chen,
6:30 senior counsel to the
6:31 committee, theodore miller,
6:32 counsel to the committee and
6:33 Kevin kata skin. John brazil
6:34 senior policy analyst
6:38 . I would like to als
6:38 orecognize we've been drawn by
6:39 council members. Wong I will
6:40 now ask the committee counsel
6:41 to go over some procedural
6:43 items and swear in the
6:43 representatives from the just
6:58 one second. Okay. Thank you.
7:29 Sorry for the delay, um, first
7:30 panel will be from the do you
7:32 affirm to tell the truth, the
7:34 whole truth and nothing but
7:34 the truth before this
7:36 committee and to respond
7:37 honestly to Council Member
7:39 again. Okay. Good morning and
7:48 thank you. Had an opportunity
7:50 to have some preliminary
7:51 discussions and it's obvious
7:52 that you have hit the ground
7:55 running in this in your New
7:57 role and I've also had an
7:58 opportunity to talk briefly
7:59 the speaker, mennen and some
8:01 of them know many years. So we
8:03 are thrilled to be working
8:05 with this New council
8:07 leadership as we go forward. I
8:07 also want to thank council
8:10 member dinner wits council
8:12 showman and and Council Member
8:15 , one for inviting us this
8:19 morning. I'm janet lieber. I'm
8:21 the I'm joined by chief
8:24 financial officer patel, chief
8:26 customer officer should ae for
8:29 riera and chief of policy and
8:30 external relations john
8:31 mccarthy. We're all glad to be
8:32 here to share with you. An
8:34 update of the mt. And glad t
8:35 obe first on.
8:36 What sounds like a very long
8:40 day. Um, so thank you for all
8:41 that. Listen, the headline is
8:44 the shape 20 25, was arguably
8:46 our best year in history for a
8:49 number of reasons, the hugely
8:51 successful implementation of
8:54 congestion pricing the
8:54 enactment of the largest ever
8:56 capital plan. Thank you,
8:58 governor. Hopeful surgery,
9:00 ridership and customer
9:01 satisfaction best ever subway
9:03 crime stats and record setting
9:06 construction of subway
9:08 accessibility projects. It's
9:08 safe to say that we have come
9:10 a long, long way since
9:11 coverage shutdown down New
9:12 York six years ago when I took
9:14 this job in 20 22 a two and a
9:19 half billion dollars annual
9:23 deficit on a $20 billion
9:25 lesson and then in 19 or $18
9:28 billion total budget. That
9:29 shortfall was like 14 2 15% of
9:32 our budget, you know, stuff
9:33 that you guys are dealing with
9:35 right now at the City level
9:38 .um, but today, thanks to
9:39 governor hogan vocal rallying
9:41 albany and some very
9:43 aggressive cost cutting on our
9:44 part, which to date has
9:46 yielded savings of $500
9:48 million annually in our
9:52 operating budget because of
9:52 all that we have balanced the
9:53 budget for the third year
9:56 running.
9:57 The most recent audit of
9:57 this agency shows that in real
9:58 terms and I emphasize this
10:01 always we are actually
10:03 spending less 3% less overall,
10:05 then back in 20 19 before
10:09 covid.
10:09 Even as we have dramatically
10:11 increased subway bus and
10:12 commuter rail service more
10:14 service on fourteenth subwa
10:16 ylines, a $35 million increas
10:18 eof bus service in queens and
10:21 40% more service on the long
10:23 island railroad. Much of which
10:24 is going to increase service
10:26 within the City of New York
10:29 out your deficits at the have
10:31 shrunk to half of 1% arliss
10:36 and wall street has clearly
10:36 noticed since the rating
10:37 agencies keep upgrading this
10:41 still some costs are
10:42 increasing and these are
10:43 issues that you alluded to in
10:45 your initial remarks, some of
10:48 them.
10:48 Most significantly the cost
10:49 of the the emptier of running
10:52 accessorize our power transit
10:53 system. I want to be clear the
10:55 cost per trip has gone down
10:56 because of the way we are
10:58 managing it, but the total
11:00 operating costs to the has
11:03 gone way, way up and that's
11:05 because paratransit a
11:06 ridership has exploded in the
11:07 last few years as we have
11:11 dramatically improved on time
11:13 performance and also switched
11:15 70% of our trips to four hir
11:19 evehicles, so it's no longer
11:19 all the big blue and white
11:21 fans. It's mostly in liver,
11:24 liver vehicles and black cars,
11:26 but the reality is that the
11:28 city's contribution of power
11:31 transit has not kept pace with
11:32 that growth in ridership,
11:34 there's no reason why the
11:36 should be punished financially
11:37 for fixing an operation that
11:39 the City dumped on us a while
11:42 ago.
11:42 I also want to talk about a
11:43 few other areas of concern
11:45 with respect to the City
11:46 budget. I know that's where
11:47 your heads are at that could
11:50 impact on our shared goal
11:52 first
11:52 . Faster buses. We are
11:53 thrilled that the Mayor is
11:55 starting to revive bustling
11:56 projects that were abandoned
11:59 or delayed by the path
12:01 administration now it's time
12:02 to kick things into high gear,
12:04 which will require not only
12:05 more miles of bustling mores
12:10 ,cameras, but also here's the
12:11 punch line
12:12 . Dedicated funding for
12:13 traffic enforcement to keep
12:15 the lanes clear of private
12:18 vehicles. There are hotspots.
12:18 There are bottlenecks all over
12:21 the City where we need the
12:23 traffic agents to keep a
12:24 possible for buses to move
12:26 number two affordability. I
12:30 always say the end, you know,
12:31 mass trades is one of the few
12:32 things that makes New York
12:34 affordable
12:34 . And we are huge supporters
12:36 of the fair fares program
12:39 . And were disappointed to see
12:40 that the mayor's budget
12:42 actually reduces its funding
12:43 by $25 million for years, we
12:46 at the have been joining the
12:49 council, your predecessor
12:53 counsel in urging expansion of
12:55 eligibility so that more
12:56 people can get the benefit of
12:58 their fares. It doesn't make
13:00 sense that today a person
13:01 working full time for minimum
13:05 wage is actually making too
13:06 much to qualify for fair fares
13:08 that doesn't make sense and
13:09 we'd like to see the
13:13 eligibility threshold raise.
13:14 Our transit system as I say
13:15 is one of the few things that
13:16 actually makes New York
13:17 affordable. So but if there is
13:21 money that is being talked
13:23 about increasing affordability
13:24 .
13:24 Let us prioritize people who
13:25 are struggling to make ends
13:27 meet whether they use the bus
13:29 or the subway or paratroopers.
13:33 And we also need your help,
13:34 making sure that we are
13:35 preparing for the next
13:38 generation of student omni
13:38 moves it, moving from the
13:42 physical passes to digital, a
13:43 tleast for the high school kids
13:45 who have overwhelmingly do
13:46 have access to phones. Student
13:48 omni has been an unbelievable
13:51 success offering young New
13:51 yorkers a lot more flexibility
13:54 and getting around, not jus
13:54 tduring the school year, but 2
13:59 4765, it's going to take
14:01 continued close collaboration
14:02 with the public school system
14:04 to ensure a smooth rollout of
14:06 the New virtual student
14:10 ,omnicom. And we need. D'oh! We
14:12 two prioritize getting ready
14:13 for this New faith, especially
14:15 training their own staff and
14:16 I'm just being honest, we have
14:18 real concerns we had an
14:19 understanding with that, they
14:20 were going to be ready. We
14:22 were all going to be ready for
14:23 next school year and that is
14:24 starting to be a big question
14:26 mark. So I'm putting that on
14:27 on everybody's radar onto onto
14:32 number three climate
14:33 resiliency, specifically storm
14:34 water management and the
14:35 city's role in this. I have
14:37 spoken to cheat and speaker
14:39 mention about this every big
14:41 frequent torrential rainfallng
14:45 overwhelms the City sewer
14:48 capacity, causing backups that