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Politico
a day ago
- Business
- Politico
America's biggest rail service faces peril from both parties after years of ‘Amtrak Joe' Biden
BENEATH THE EAST RIVER, New York — Twelve years after Hurricane Sandy's brackish floodwaters poured into some of the Northeast's busiest rail tunnels, the damage is still apparent from pooling water and crumbling casing. Political leaders who mattered most — from former President Joe Biden to the region's governors — all backed a $1.6 billion repair of the Amtrak tunnels connecting Manhattan and Long Island. But now Donald Trump is president and New York is taking a more adversarial approach to Amtrak. Even though repair work started last month on the Sandy-damaged tunnels beneath the East River, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and members of her administration threw intense last-minute shade on the project. They suggested Amtrak cannot be trusted, doesn't care about its customers and compared its officials to a used car salesman. The sharp elbows suggest a new peril for the national railroad following the 'Amtrak Joe' Biden years, when the administration showered billions of dollars on the railroad and New York rail projects, including the separate $16 billion project to build new tunnels beneath the Hudson River connecting New Jersey and New York. Amtrak's leader recently stepped down in a peace offering to Trump and the railroad is facing major layoffs and renewed pressure to turn a profit. If Amtrak doesn't have the confidence of Northeastern Democrats like Hochul, whose state is home to the flagship New York Penn Station and its busiest passenger routes, it's not clear who Amtrak can count on. 'Am I confident?' Hochul said during a recent press conference. 'I don't know.' Hochul's recent criticism of the East River rehab, paired with open hostility toward Amtrak from officials at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, are yet another sore spot between the Democratic governor and the Trump administration over transit — one among many. Trump is trying to kill New York's signature congestion pricing program. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently seized control of the high-profile overhaul of Penn Station and handed it to Amtrak, under the supervision of former MTA head Andy Byford. But the tunnel clash adds animosity to what was once widely regarded as a slam dunk repair project by Amtrak to its own tunnels. Sandy flooded two of four East River train tunnels, leaving behind a salty residue that's eating away at the concrete casing. Since then, Amtrak has been working on a plan to fix the century-old tubes by closing them one after another for two-and-a-half years of repair work. The closures could prompt delays for Long Island commuters if something goes wrong in any of the other tunnels. Hochul worries those delays could shred public confidence in transit after the state is 'finally getting our footing.' 'The last thing I want to do is have a setback that can go on for years,' Hochul said. 'So I was very clear in my messaging to Amtrak: Don't screw this up.' As the tunnel repair project loomed, Hochul and the MTA asked Amtrak to rip up its closure plans and take a different approach known as 'repair in place,' which would shift the work to nights and weekends and keep the tunnels open during peak commuting times. In doing so, she and her allies have used rhetoric that would have been hard to imagine when Biden was president. 'Amtrak's track record for us is a little terrifying,' MTA CEO Janno Lieber said, citing unrelated problems with Amtrak's system that caused massive headaches for New Jersey commuters last summer. Lisa Daglian, the head of the Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA, cited a history of Amtrak system problems to suggest that if something went wrong with the East River tunnels, the 2017 'summer of hell' transit crisis in New York City would look like a 'warm spring day.' In New Jersey, Gov. Phil Murphy and members of the state's congressional delegation have expressed frustration with Amtrak, but for other reasons and in more muted terms. Murphy, a Democrat, stepped in to broker a peace between Amtrak and NJ Transit last summer after the two railroads got into a spat over who was to blame for massive delays for Garden State commuters. Now, every few months, Murphy gathers NJ Transit and Amtrak leaders in front of cameras to field reporters' questions about their joint work. Not so in New York. New York's criticism of Amtrak intensified shortly after Duffy announced in mid-April that it would be in charge of Penn Station, a move that sidelined the MTA and Lieber, who has his own particular vision for what should happen there. It's hard to know if the tunnel flare up aimed at Amtrak is part of a tit-for-tat, but it's a theory few people are discounting given that the MTA and Amtrak had been talking about the tunnel work for years. 'We were surprised by this sudden disavowment of a plan that we had worked together on for a long time,' said Laura Mason, Amtrak's executive vice president for capital project delivery. New York contends it has long harbored worries about Amtrak's plan to close one tunnel for 13 months of repairs, reopen it and then close the other for 13 more months. The East River tunnels are used by Amtrak, the MTA's Long Island Rail Road and NJ Transit, which sends trains to Queens so they can be ready to head back to New Jersey during rush hour. NJ Transit has not raised a ruckus over the tunnel project. But LIRR, which is part of the MTA, is the biggest user of the tunnels. And its leader, Rob Free, is worried because it sends more than 450 trains and 125,000 customers through them each day. In early May, Amtrak handed LIRR an easy anecdote to bash it with even before repairs began: Poor quality control meant one of the tunnels wasn't ready to go after an overnight outage, inconveniencing tens of thousands of Long Island commuters. If another tunnel had been closed for repair when that happened, there would have been even more delays and cancellations. 'The governor of New York seems to be more concerned about Amtrak customers than they do,' Free, the head of LIRR, said during a press conference in remarks that echoed Hochul's own. Mason of Amtrak responded that the critique 'didn't hurt because it wasn't true,' but she was frustrated by Free 'misrepresenting the collective effort that went into these plans.' Mason said that while the MTA has had concerns, it has been part of the project for years — the MTA has helped get the money for the project, signed off on the design and participated in the procurement. But there's been a bipartisan group of New York members worried about Amtrak for a while, including everything from Amtrak's service cuts to the full closure of the tunnels. Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's ideas about how to run a railroad also loom over the dispute. To avoid a shutdown of the L subway line in 2019, Cuomo's administration instead shifted most of the work to nights and weekends. He was hailed as a sort of hero at the time and wanted to use that same repair-in-place approach on other projects, including Gateway. Now Hochul wants to use the idea for the East River tunnels. Amtrak recently fought back against it by offering a rare media tour of one of the East River tunnels to show just how fragile the tunnels are and why it considers repair-in-place unworkable. The tour began on a recent Thursday with a descent into Tunnel 2 at 1 a.m. Down there, travelling on the back of a truck in an otherwise empty tunnel dozens of feet below Manhattan's 1st Avenue and the East River itself, Amtrak officials pointed to the extent of the damage done by time and Sandy. Rickety catwalks meant for escape in an emergency seemed questionable at best. Water dripped from the ceiling, pooling near tracks in a way that could force trains to slow or stop. Cast-iron casing crumbled in one Amtrak worker's hand. The tunnel repairs Amtrak is making should ensure people can escape in an emergency. It won't stop all the dripping, but it's expected to prevent puddles from shutting down service and will upgrade the tunnel's interior and electrical work. 'What we're designing is a tunnel that helps itself,' said Liam McQuat, Amtrak's vice president of engineering services. 'This has been 12 years in the making.' The biggest impression Amtrak made was just how hard it would be to cram in work on nights and weekends: It seemed hard enough to get a gaggle of reporters in and out of the tunnel — no trains could travel in the tunnel that had to be blocked off and powered down for safety. The message Amtrak sent was that trying to get hundreds of workers and all their equipment in and out of the tunnel each night and have the tunnel reopened in time for the morning commute would be challenging and inefficient. It could also triple or quadruple the time it would take to make the repairs. In a press conference the next day, Free dismissed Amtrak's tour as the work of a car salesman. 'The salesman pulls the car up, you sit in the car, pulls at your heartstrings, pulls at your emotions,' Free said. 'But at the end of the day, it's about the details, it's about what's the bottom line.'
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuomo and Mamdani tear into each other in final New York City mayoral debate
Andrew Cuomo and Zohran Mamdani bitterly clashed over age and experience Thursday in the final debate before New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, as Cuomo warned that the progressive state assemblyman is unprepared for the job and Mamdani hammered the former governor over scandals during his time in Albany. Cuomo, Mamdani and five other candidates squared off just before Saturday's start of early voting ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary. The fiery exchanges between the universally known Cuomo and fast-rising Mamdani reflected how many see the race as increasingly competitive — and how the two view each other as a threat. Cuomo said it would be 'reckless and dangerous' to elect a 33-year-old state assemblyman to a role that requires negotiating with city, state and federal lawmakers, standing up to President Donald Trump, responding to natural disasters and more. Mamdani retorted with a laundry list of the 67-year-old Cuomo's scandals in the governor's office, including the sexual harassment allegations that forced him out of office in 2021. 'I've never had to resign in disgrace,' Mamdani said, while also taking shots at Cuomo's handling of Medicaid and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. 'I have never hounded the thirteen women who credibly accused me of sexual harassment. I have never sued for their gynecological records. And I have never done these things because I am not you, Mr. Cuomo.' Cuomo shot back: 'Mr. Mamdani is right. He's never done anything, period.' 'He's accomplished nothing,' he said, criticizing Mamdani's four years as a state assemblyman. 'He has zero accomplishments, and now he thinks he's going to be ready to be mayor of the city of New York. It is laughable. It is laughable and it is dangerous.' Earlier Thursday, Cuomo's campaign had launched a television advertisement pointing to Trump sending troops to Los Angeles amid protests over deportations, and portraying Mamdani as 'dangerously inexperienced' and unprepared to take on the president. Mamdani, meanwhile, ripped Cuomo for repeatedly mispronouncing his name and spelled out his last name to make the point. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a longtime Cuomo rival, said on X during the debate that Cuomo 'is REALLY scared' of Mamdani. 'He's not even faking it,' de Blasio said. 'And Andrew is REALLY disrespecting all the New Yorkers who support Zohran.' In deep-blue New York City, the primary is often the decisive contest. This year, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected four years ago as a Democrat, will be on the ballot in November as an independent. Curtis Sliwa, who lost to Adams four years ago, is again the Republican nominee. Other candidates sought to offer Democratic voters a path besides Cuomo and Mamdani. New York's primary is a ranked-choice contest, which means candidates are also competing to be voters' second- or third-favorite contender, even if they don't win their first-place votes. New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, who largely sought to remain above the fray, also questioned Mamdani's experience. She pointed to her experience crafting the city's budget and leading the council. 'Given what I've just laid out, do you think you're more qualified than me to lead the city?' she asked Mamdani. Scott Stringer, a former New York City comptroller, said Cuomo has experience and Mamdani has vision — but 'my experience and my vision, when you combine it, is the third lane to win this race.' New York City Comptroller Brad Lander might have landed the sharpest blows on Cuomo. He highlighted the specifics around Cuomo's resignation and the findings of the attorney general's office's investigation that concluded he sexually harassed multiple women and violated state law. Lander said he wouldn't want to have to tell college students, 'Don't go work at city hall because the mayor is a sexual harasser.' Cuomo responded that five district attorneys investigated the allegations against him and 'nothing has come of them whatsoever.' 'This is disqualifying. The man resigned. It should be obvious. The problem is that we do not get to address the issues that New Yorkers care about because we're talking about his past,' said state senator Zellnor Myrie. The candidates also clashed over police and public safety, as Cuomo described New Yorkers as 'afraid on the streets.' 'They feel unsafe,' he said. 'You can quote statistics all day long, they get afraid walking into the subway, they get afraid walking down the street when they see a mentally ill homeless person.' Cuomo sought to use his tough talk on public safety, much like Adams did in 2021, to differentiate himself from the Democratic field. He pointed to a 2021 plan to cut $1 billion in police funding from the city budget and accused his rivals of supporting efforts to 'defund the police.' 'That was the chant, and $1 billion was taken from the police department,' Cuomo said. He touted a proposal to add 5,000 police officers to the NYPD. Mamdani said he wants more social workers so that the NYPD can focus on serious crime but does not want to slash police funding. 'I will not defund the police. I will work with the police,' he said. Mamdani is running to be the city's first Muslim mayor. He was sharply attacked over his criticism of Israel's war in Gaza – which he has called a 'genocide' – as well as his support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and his calls for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's arrest. Former hedge fund executive Whitney Tilson accused Mamdani of being a leader 'inciting these mobs' at Columbia University, where he said protests disrupted students' educations. 'When you use words referring to the only Jewish state in the world like 'genocide' and 'apartheid,' when you call for divestment and all, that is inciting these mobs,' he said. Mamdani said he is being 'smeared' and 'mischaracterized' for positions with which he says many Jewish voters agree. 'I say these things because far too often, we take what can be a place of disagreement and start to broach beyond that,' he said.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Cuomo's bridge lights hit the auction block
ALBANY, New York — The saga of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bridge-lighting boondoggle is finally drawing to a close — and from a financial perspective, the end is shaping up to be dim. Cuomo, who's now running for New York City mayor, first signaled in 2016 that he would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to decorate the city's bridges in flashing lights as a way to boost tourism. A year later, subway delays plagued the city in what came to be known as the 'Summer of Hell,' prompting critics to question the wisdom of forcing the financially stressed Metropolitan Transportation Authority to spend an estimated $250 million on a decorative lighting project. Cuomo, though, did not give up on his 'Harbor of Lights' vision. All told, the state and the New York Power Authority spent at least $108 million on bringing it to life — all to no avail. Now, years later, the power authority is finally auctioning off the lights after POLITICO inquired about their fate. The minimum bid? $25. So far, there are no takers — a far cry from what Cuomo had hoped for nearly a decade ago. 'They'll all be synchronized, they can all be the same color, they can operate in series — I mean it is really limitless,' he said at the time. The Kosciuszko Bridge linking Brooklyn and Queens got the light show treatment — and a Mother's Day 2017 unveiling — that Cuomo heralded as the first stage of his grand plan. 'Harbor of Lights' was to be choreographed together, synced with other iconic city landmarks and set to a soundtrack, making for an 'international tourist attraction," Cuomo promised. The plan was shelved soon after, but the power authority had already spent $106 million, including on the lighting equipment and design costs. The authority was ultimately reimbursed by taxpayers. But it held onto the lights and equipment needed for the pet project — and that has come at an additional cost. The authority has paid $300,000 annually — at least $2.1 million — over more than 7 years to store the lights, according to power authority spokesperson Lindsay Kryzak. Days before Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 due to sexual harassment allegations he denies, his spokesperson said the bridge lighting project would still move forward. That spokesperson, now working for Cuomo's mayoral campaign, declined to comment for this story. A government watchdog said Monday that the saga of the lights highlights a need for more oversight of the governor's office and state authorities. 'It's a complete fiasco,' said John Kaehny, executive director at Reinvent Albany. 'This is a case study in abuse of power and gaping holes in transparency and accountability.' Cuomo officials offered shifting explanations of how the bridge lights would be paid for as public scrutiny mounted. The MTA wouldn't be paying, a Cuomo spokesperson said, after the power authority's board had been told otherwise. At one point, the administration suggested the state's economic development agency would provide the funding. It wasn't unusual for Cuomo to focus on the aesthetics of infrastructure projects — he added millions of dollars in costs for blue and white tiling in tunnels. While governor, he also tapped the state power authority to support various projects, including the lighting and display screens at the Moynihan Train Hall. The power authority finances energy efficiency projects, and customers — public entities like the MTA — agree to reimburse the authority. But the bridge lights were such a large expense — without a clear path to reimbursement — that they prevented the authority from issuing long term debt for years. Then-power authority president and CEO Gil Quiniones told the governor's office at the time that the shortfall would have to be disclosed ahead of a planned bond issuance, according a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to speak with POLITICO about sensitive details. To avoid that public disclosure, a deal was reached for the state to reimburse the authority. The last payment from the state was made in 2021, as POLITICO reported at the time. Most of the lighting equipment — which cost about $37 million, according to public records — has remained in storage since it was purchased in 2017. Power authority officials did not believe it could be sold since the state paid for it, according to the person who was granted anonymity. In 2021, a spokesperson for the authority said it would seek to use the lights for other projects. More recently, after POLITICO inquired about the fate of the bridge lights, the authority listed them for auction. 'As you know, we have tried to repurpose these lights,' power authority spokesperson Kryzak said in a statement. 'Despite these efforts to identify new uses across the State, demand was not what was expected, so the next logical step is to auction the lights." Kaehny recommended that voters take this 'escapade' into account when voting in the Democratic mayoral primary, where Cuomo is the leading candidate. 'He's not been held accountable in part because they were able to keep this a secret for so long,' Kaehny said. 'This is a great example of governance by whim and ego storm.'
Politico
09-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Politico
Cuomo's bridge lights hit the auction block
ALBANY, New York — The saga of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's bridge-lighting boondoggle is finally drawing to a close — and from a financial perspective, the end is shaping up to be dim. Cuomo, who's now running for New York City mayor, first signaled in 2016 that he would spend hundreds of millions of dollars to decorate the city's bridges in flashing lights as a way to boost tourism. A year later, subway delays plagued the city in what came to be known as the 'Summer of Hell,' prompting critics to question the wisdom of forcing the financially stressed Metropolitan Transportation Authority to spend an estimated $250 million on a decorative lighting project. Cuomo, though, did not give up on his 'Harbor of Lights' vision. All told, the state and the New York Power Authority spent at least $108 million on bringing it to life — all to no avail. Now, years later, the power authority is finally auctioning off the lights after POLITICO inquired about their fate. The minimum bid? $25. So far, there are no takers — a far cry from what Cuomo had hoped for nearly a decade ago. 'They'll all be synchronized, they can all be the same color, they can operate in series — I mean it is really limitless,' he said at the time. The Kosciuszko Bridge linking Brooklyn and Queens got the light show treatment — and a Mother's Day 2017 unveiling — that Cuomo heralded as the first stage of his grand plan. 'Harbor of Lights' was to be choreographed together, synced with other iconic city landmarks and set to a soundtrack, making for an 'international tourist attraction,' Cuomo promised. The plan was shelved soon after, but the power authority had already spent $106 million, including on the lighting equipment and design costs. The authority was ultimately reimbursed by taxpayers. But it held onto the lights and equipment needed for the pet project — and that has come at an additional cost. The authority has paid $300,000 annually — at least $2.1 million — over more than 7 years to store the lights, according to power authority spokesperson Lindsay Kryzak. Days before Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 due to sexual harassment allegations he denies, his spokesperson said the bridge lighting project would still move forward. That spokesperson, now working for Cuomo's mayoral campaign, declined to comment for this story. A government watchdog said Monday that the saga of the lights highlights a need for more oversight of the governor's office and state authorities. 'It's a complete fiasco,' said John Kaehny, executive director at Reinvent Albany. 'This is a case study in abuse of power and gaping holes in transparency and accountability.' Cuomo officials offered shifting explanations of how the bridge lights would be paid for as public scrutiny mounted. The MTA wouldn't be paying, a Cuomo spokesperson said, after the power authority's board had been told otherwise. At one point, the administration suggested the state's economic development agency would provide the funding. It wasn't unusual for Cuomo to focus on the aesthetics of infrastructure projects — he added millions of dollars in costs for blue and white tiling in tunnels. While governor, he also tapped the state power authority to support various projects, including the lighting and display screens at the Moynihan Train Hall. The power authority finances energy efficiency projects, and customers — public entities like the MTA — agree to reimburse the authority. But the bridge lights were such a large expense — without a clear path to reimbursement — that they prevented the authority from issuing long term debt for years. Then-power authority president and CEO Gil Quiniones told the governor's office at the time that the shortfall would have to be disclosed ahead of a planned bond issuance, according a person familiar with the situation who was granted anonymity to speak with POLITICO about sensitive details. To avoid that public disclosure, a deal was reached for the state to reimburse the authority. The last payment from the state was made in 2021, as POLITICO reported at the time. Most of the lighting equipment — which cost about $37 million, according to public records — has remained in storage since it was purchased in 2017. Power authority officials did not believe it could be sold since the state paid for it, according to the person who was granted anonymity. In 2021, a spokesperson for the authority said it would seek to use the lights for other projects. More recently, after POLITICO inquired about the fate of the bridge lights, the authority listed them for auction. 'As you know, we have tried to repurpose these lights,' power authority spokesperson Kryzak said in a statement. 'Despite these efforts to identify new uses across the State, demand was not what was expected, so the next logical step is to auction the lights.' Kaehny recommended that voters take this 'escapade' into account when voting in the Democratic mayoral primary, where Cuomo is the leading candidate. 'He's not been held accountable in part because they were able to keep this a secret for so long,' Kaehny said. 'This is a great example of governance by whim and ego storm.'
Newsweek
30-05-2025
- Business
- Newsweek
New York's $68 Billion Plan to Revive Subway System
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Officials in New York have approved a $68.4 billion investment in the city's subway system. On Wednesday, the board of the state's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) approved the plan, which would refurbish Grand Central Terminal and upgrade parts of the rail system that are more than 100 years old. Newsweek contacted the MTA via email for more information on the decision. Why It Matters New York uses its sprawling transit system to move millions daily. The new plan is the largest capital investment in the MTA's history, according to the agency, but parts of the funding are yet to have a source, despite contributions from the city and the federal government. What To Know The $68.4 billion capital plan, covering 2025 to 2029, is set to fund upgrades across subways, buses, bridges and tunnels. The investment forms a significant portion of the city's public infrastructure spending, though it remains a fraction of the city's overall annual operating budget of roughly $100 billion. The plan projects $1.4 billion in annual funding from the increased payroll mobility tax, alongside a $3 billion city contribution and an anticipated 20 percent from the federal government. However, a $3 billion gap still exists in the funding, which authorities have said could be plugged by cutting costs on prior projects and selling surplus real estate. "We expect we'll accomplish work more cheaply," MTA Chair Janno Lieber said during the approval meeting, Gothamist reported. People waiting to board a train at the 34th Street-Herald Square subway station in New York on April 29. People waiting to board a train at the 34th Street-Herald Square subway station in New York on April 29. Getty Images The plan calls for the purchase of 1,500 new subway cars, upgraded signaling, the installation of modern turnstiles to prevent fare evasion and major accessibility improvements at 60 subway stations. It also allocates $2.75 billion to the Interborough Express, a new line linking Brooklyn and Queens. The MTA expects the work to span five years, subject to final approval from the Capital Program Review Board. The approval came after months of political negotiations and past funding setbacks. In December, the state Legislature initially rejected the plan because of funding ambiguities. New York has also seen ongoing legal challenges, including a lawsuit with the Trump administration over congestion pricing and subway safety, that may make securing the federal funding trickier. What People Are Saying New York Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick said in a news release on May 13: "The MTA is vital not only to New York City residents who depend on it for their daily commute, but for the entire metro area. Many New Yorkers rely on the MTA to enter the city to work, dine, and recreate. Fully funding the MTA capital plan will provide the resources that are needed to expand and modernize services, while increasing the environmental benefits gained by supporting a reliable public transit system." Jamie Torres-Springer, the head of the MTA's construction and development, said in September: "If we don't keep up with investment in state of good repair in a 100-year-old system that serves so many people, we cannot continue to provide safe and reliable service." What Happens Next The MTA awaits final approval from the Capital Program Review Board before work begins. If approved, the agency will start the upgrade cycle in 2025, with a 2029 completion goal.
