MTAs $68.4B capital program is pure fiction unless Hochul steps up

Last week, the state-controlled Metropolitan Transportation Authority unveiled its next five-year capital-infrastructure plan: $68.4 billion.It feels like the 1970s — a lot of ideas, and no way to pay.The MTA’s latest plan includes $47.8 billion for subways and buses, including replacing railcars and continuing to digitize signals.It would spend another $6 billion each on the region’s two commuter-rail systems, and $3 billion to maintain bridges and tunnels.Finally: $1.7 billion to rebuild the nuts and bolts of Grand Central Terminal, and $2.8 billion to build the “interborough” light-rail line between Brooklyn and Queens.These are sound concepts.We should continue to upgrade signals, something other global cities did decades ago.

We shouldn’t let Grand Central fall down, and outer-borough light rail could alleviate traffic.But it’s all fiction — unless and until Gov.Hochul becomes a firmer leader.The MTA usually identifies a mix of revenues for its capital plans, some speculative, but most realistic.

This time, it hasn’t.Yes, the bridges-and-tunnels portion takes care of itself, as tolls fully fund it.The MTA expects at least $13 billion in federal funds, based on past plans, and expects to borrow $10 billion.But this leaves more hole than plan: $45 billion-ish in ..

.we’ll figure it out later.Worse, it’s not clear that the MTA can borrow $10 billion.

It already owes $47.8 billion, and starting halfway through the next capital plan, it will face half-a-billion-dollar annual deficits, making it harder to pay interest on those loans.Plus: it’s not just the next capital plan that’s unfunded.With three months left on the current capital plan, the MTA is still missing billions of dollars for it.The MTA was supposed to get $3.1 billion directly from New York state’s budget for the current plan — but has only received $500 million of that allocation.All told, of the current five-year, $55.4 billion capital plan, only $21.8 billi...