Those who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones at others concerning President Trump including no money in his proposed $4.7 trillion fiscal year 2020 budget starting on Oct. 1.
It should be no surprise to anyone that our Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to come away empty handed after meeting with Trump in making his case for the proposed Gateway Tunnel project.
Cuomo ran for another term against Trump in 2018. He spent millions on television advertising portraying Trump as an ultra right-wing conservative anti-Christ whose values will destroy New York setting us back decades.
Only Cuomo can save us from this disaster. After winning reelection, he goes to Washington hat in hand to meet with Trump on behalf of the $29 billion Gateway Tunnel. He wants Washington to pick up half the tab for the $14 billion first phase. This would pay for the replacing the Portal Bridge, two new Hudson River tunnels and rehabilitation of two existing tunnels.
The governor came away empty-handed with a photo op and no money. He forgot that you get more with honey than you do with vinegar. Cuomo should know like a good Sicilian, Trump has a long memory as to how he has been treated in the past by those who wish to kiss his ring looking for a favor today.
Both New York and New Jersey elected officials are also hypocritical in continuing to call for Washington to finance construction of Gateway Tunnel, but refusing to contribute matching local funding. Previous governors of NJ and NY found billions in hard cash for their local share to obtain Federal Transit Administration New Starts funding for other projects.
These include NJ Transit’s Hudson Bergen Light Rail Minimum Operating Segment One ($992 million), Segment Two ($1.2 billion) and Secaucus Transfer ($450 million). The MTA did the same for LIRR East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal ($11.2 billion) and Second Avenue Subway Phase One ($4.5 billion). None required a federal Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing or Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Improvement Act loans.
The Gateway Tunnel Portal Bridge ($1.6 billion) and Hudson River Tunnel ($11 billion) portions along with Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 ($6 billion) are currently in the first phase of FTA’s New Starts program known as “Project Development.”
It should not be difficult for Cuomo and Murphy to come up with several billion each toward their local share to begin both the $1.6 billion Portal Bridge and $11 billion Hudson River Tunnel and $1.4 rehabilitation for existing tunnels early phases of the overall $29 billion Gateway Tunnel. Stop crying poverty and man up. Neither governor put up a plug nickel in their current budgets toward funding this project.
Without real hard financial resources from Washington ($14.6 billion), NJ ($7.3 billion) and NY ($7.3 billion), how will the full $29 billion Gateway Tunnel be paid for? A project can’t be financed by borrowing and fare surcharges alone. Washington, Albany and Trenton all share equal blame for the lack of a real $29 billion Gateway Tunnel financing package.
Sen. Schumer is never shy around a camera or microphone. He has never held one of his famous Sunday press conferences in Albany to criticize Cuomo for his failure to fully fund his share. The same is true for Sen. Gillibrand. New Jersey Senators Booker and Menendez are also silent concerning their own Gov. Murphy when it comes to his failure to contribute.
Over the past four years, the estimated cost for the Gateway Tunnel has grown from $20 billion to $29 billion It is reminiscent of the ongoing MTA LIRR Eastside Access to Grand Central Terminal project.
In 2001, the initial estimated cost was $3.5 billion with a completion date of 2011. In 2019, 18 years later (based upon the 2016 MTA Federal Transit Administration amended Full Funding Grant Agreement) currently at $11.2 billion, could grow up to $12 billion with completion in 2022.
Will Gateway do the same and become our New York version of the infamous Boston “big dig” end up costing $40, $50 or even $60 billion and completed by 2038?
The Gateway Development Corporation reminds me of the character Wimpy who famously said, “I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
Tuesday may never come for commuters and taxpayers who use NJT and Amtrak and need a new Hudson River Tunnel to be completed within their lifetime.
Larry Penner
(Larry Penner is a transportation historian and advocate who previously worked 31 years for the US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for grants supporting billions in capital projects and programs on behalf of the MTA, NYC Transit, LIRR & Metro North, MTA Bus, New Jersey Transit and NYC Department of Transportation)
