Quote:
Originally Posted by BrownTown
NYC doesn't have enough money to build what it already has going, let alone to start a new line. Given the current difficulties with transportation projects in NYC this is a pipe dream.
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Not really. NYC is likely to enact congestion pricing in the next year or two, which will generate billions. And DeBlasio has signaled a willingness to spend city money on transit (currently the MTA budget is almost 100% state money; as the MTA is a state agency, not a city one). Governor Cuomo has also signaled a willingness to fund expansion projects.
If the city and state really want to build the full Utica Ave. subway line, it can happen, quite easily. But there has to be the will. The money is not the issue, at all, it's the commitment.
And MTA's current funding difficulties have absolutely nothing to do with expansion plans. They're two separate pots of money. The Second Avenue subway and various projects have zero to do with MTA funding gaps.
The Utica Ave. line has been discussed for nearly a century. It would generate huge ridership and would completely transform transit in Brooklyn. I really, really hope this happens.