While the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's $29 billion
Mayor Bill de Blasio and local elected officials are upset that the pared-down program for 2015 through 2019, which the MTA board approved Oct. 28, will mean further delays in the extension of the Second Avenue subway development north of 96th Street into Harlem.
"Look, we invested heavily the MTA in a way the city hasn't done before. We insisted on some key reforms," de Blasio told reporters Nov. 3. "I think we were all surprised to hear some of the changes around the Second Avenue subway, and I think that's a conversation that must continue."
MTA Chairman Thomas Prendergast said the new program, which a state review board must approve, includes $535 million over four years for design, planning, environmental review, property acquisition, utility relocation and construction preparations to bring the subway line to East Harlem.
"This reflects the work we can realistically accomplish in the next four years given the regulatory and engineering constraints on heavy construction in a densely populated section of Manhattan," Prendergast said in a statement.
According to Prendergast, the MTA could amend the capital program if it can speed up the schedule to begin tunneling the East Harlem phase.
