Esta Letter To Paterson Et Al

May 1, 2009 The Honorable David A. Paterson The Honorable Sheldon Silver The Honorable Malcolm Smith Governor of the State of New York Speaker Majority Leader Executive Chamber New York State Assembly New York State Senate Albany, New York 12224 Albany, New York 12248 Albany, New York 12247 The Honorable Brian Kolb Minority Leader New York State Assembly Albany, New York 12248

The Honorable Dean Skelos Minority Leader New York State Senate Albany, New York 12247

Dear Governor Paterson, Senate Majority Leader Smith, Assembly Speaker Silver, Senate Minority Leader Skelos and Assembly Minority Leader Kolb: As talks over a bailout package for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the region’s transit system progress, we write to express our growing and deep concern that the current plan as proposed in S.4487-A may not adequately addresses the capital needs facing the transit system in the coming years. We are pleased to see talks progressing, and recognize the delicate circumstances under which negotiations are being conducted. However, we strongly urge you to reject any bill that does not meet the needs of fixing and rebuilding the region’s subway, bus and commuter rail system. The consequences of an underfunded transit capital program are severe. The MTA is facing a huge capital shortfall – with no money in hand for its next $25 billion-plus fiveyear rebuilding plan and already some $2.7 billion worth of station rehabs, new buses, trains cars and signals eliminated from the 2005 – 2009 construction program. Completion dates for projects that will provide thousands of jobs and spur economic investment like the Second Avenue Subway, East Side Access LIRR Third Track and Metro-North Penn Station Access are being pushed farther into the future. The delay of these and future projects will mean further job loses and a deteriorated, less reliable system. We should not forget that lack of funding past capital programs, and the necessity of the MTA to borrow against future fares to pay for desperately needed new rail cars, buses and renovated stations helped lead the agency to the current crisis. By 2012, one in every five of the MTA’s operating dollars will go towards paying off debt. After payroll, debt payments are the MTA’s largest expense. We simply cannot rely on this form of financing to fund future repairs and projects, nor can we allow all the progress to date to come to a standstill, along with the jobs and economic stimulus the program provides. The current worsening of the MTA’s finances combined with the difficulty of passing new sources of revenue in election years, like next year, adds up to a very real threat. As members of the business, civic and labor community, we call on the state’s leadership to act on a final package that responsibly and adequately provides a long term source of funding for the transit system’s rebuilding needs. Now is the window of

opportunity. The future health of the transit network and the region itself depend on the state meeting these long term needs. Very truly yours,

Kevin A. Corbett Co-Chair, ESTA

Robert D. Yaro Co-Chair, ESTA

Cc: Larry Schwartz Marc Shaw Timothy Gilchrest Shelly Mayer Angelo Aponte Roman Hedges Dean Fuleihan Members of the Empire State Transportation Alliance include: Regional Plan Association, NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign, General Contractors Association of New York, Environmental Defense Action Fund, Tri-State Transportation Campaign, New York State Laborers’, ACEC New York, Citizens Union Foundation, Campaign for New York’s Future, Construction Industry Council of New York, Long Island Contractor’s Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, New York State Building and Construction Trades Council, New York League of Conservation Voters, Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to MTA, Transportation Alternatives.