Latest news with #M.T.A.
New York Times
01-05-2025
- New York Times
Man Arrested in Fatal Stabbing on Manhattan Subway Train
A 46-year-old man was charged Wednesday with fatally stabbing a rider on a New York City subway train last week after the two got into an argument during the morning rush. The man, identified by the police as Luis Jose-Duarte, was charged with manslaughter for his role in the death of the rider, John Sheldon, 38, according to the police. Mr. Jose-Duarte was arraigned Wednesday evening and pleaded not guilty. The stabbing, the first homicide in the city's subway system this year, took place Friday morning after Mr. Jose-Duarte and Mr. Sheldon began fighting on a downtown No. 5 train, the police said. The men got into an argument after one stepped on the other's shoe, a law enforcement official said. According to a criminal complaint against Mr. Jose-Duarte, the situation escalated as the train approached the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station in Manhattan. At that point, Mr. Sheldon, who had been sitting, stood to face Mr. Jose-Duarte, the complaint says. Mr. Jose-Duarte then struck Mr. Sheldon in the chest at least once and ran off the train with what appeared to be a knife. Mr. Sheldon followed Mr. Jose-Duarte onto the subway platform, and the two men continued to fight until Mr. Sheldon stumbled backward and collapsed onto the floor, according to the complaint. Officers responding to a 911 call about a stabbing at the station arrived shortly after 8:30 a.m. to find Mr. Sheldon unconscious on the platform with several chest wounds. Emergency medical workers took him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about an hour later, the complaint says. Mr. Jose-Duarte, who the police said fled the station after the stabbing, was arrested just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, five days after the encounter. Glenn Andrew Garber, Mr. Jose-Duarte's lawyer, could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. The stabbing occurred at an important moment for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that operates the subway, which has been struggling to convince riders that the subway is safe. A series of jarring and public attacks in the system over the past two years have put some New Yorkers on edge. For months, the M.T.A. has also been locked in a standoff with the Trump administration over funding for the transit system, which is used by more than four million riders a day. The subway has been the target of frequent attacks by Sean Duffy, the transportation secretary, who has described it as lawless and dangerous, even as crime in the system has fallen. Major crime in the subway was down 18 percent in the first three months of 2025 compared with the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Police Department. As of Sunday, overall crime in the system had declined almost 8 percent so far this year, though it has risen slightly in the past few weeks.
New York Times
29-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
The M.T.A. Gets $68 Billion in the State Budget. What Will Riders Get?
A return of the Summer of Hell has been avoided. For now. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority will get $68.4 billion over the next five years as part of a state budget agreement — its largest ever capital plan — to prevent the subway, bus system and two commuter railroads from falling apart. But completion of all the projects in the budget, which was agreed to in Albany on Monday, is far from assured. The M.T.A. is counting on $14 billion of the plan from the Trump administration, which has threatened to withhold funding for transportation projects unless the state ends its congestion pricing program in Manhattan. And full details on how the state intends to pay for the plan — largely with an increased rate on an unpopular business tax — are not yet clear. Now, the onus is on the M.T.A., an agency long criticized for shaky finances, to prove its critics wrong and deliver its most ambitious plan in 45 years on time and on budget. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Monday night that the State Legislature would 'fully fund' the $68.4 billion program, most of which is dedicated to repairing or updating long-neglected components of the New York City region's sprawling mass transit network. The list includes buying new trains and buses, replacing nearly century-old equipment and making the system more accessible for riders with disabilities and families with young children. The approval of the plan came as a relief to mass transit supporters, who had warned that failure to maintain critical infrastructure would lead to a repeat of the service meltdown seen in mid-2017, when dangerous overcrowding and long delays, mostly on the subway, led then Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to declare a state of emergency. Politicians and headline writers called it the 'Summer of Hell.' Here is what the plan means for commuters and the broader economy. What's in it for you? The five-year capital plan, which runs from 2025 to 2029, is chock-full of unglamorous improvements to reduce delays and enhance service reliability. More than 90 percent of the plan is dedicated to 'state of good repair' projects. Tom Wright, the president of the Regional Plan Association, an urban planning group, said funding these projects is vital at a time when post-pandemic ridership is rebounding. The subway has around 75 percent of its prepandemic weekday ridership, with more passengers returning. Without the investment, 'we would be running right into the teeth of more frequent failures,' he said, which would affect not only the 2.1 million riders who live near mass transit and regularly take it to work, but the broader regional economy that depends on that work force. Workers who rely on public transit to get to their jobs earn a quarter of all state wages and salaries, and their spending supports hundreds of thousands of other jobs, Mr. Wright said. The M.T.A. expects to spend $10.9 billion to buy roughly 2,000 new rail cars, an order that will include 1,500 subway cars and more than 500 for the Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road. Some of the train fleet has not been updated since at least 1980, the year of the M.T.A.'s first capital plan. Another $3.3 billion will buy and support 2,261 new buses. The plan includes $5.4 billion to modernize the subway signal system, which dates back to the Great Depression. Over the past 15 months, the antiquated system has led to an average of nearly 4,000 train delays a month, according to the M.T.A. About $7.8 billion will fix decrepit columns, stairs and other structures across transit stations, and add subway platform barriers — to deter falls and shovings onto the tracks — at 100 stations by the end of the year. About $7 billion will be used to make at least 60 more subway stations and six rail stations accessible to people with disabilities. Billions more will be spent to upgrade power substations, improve dozens of train repair shops and yards, and prevent the worst effects of climate change, by, for example, mitigating flooding along the Hudson River rail line. The new plan also paves the way for the long-awaited Interborough Express, or IBX, a 14-mile freight corridor that Gov. Hochul hopes will be repurposed to serve residents in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. A smaller line item in the budget is a reminder of a different challenge for the transit authority. The M.T.A. will spend $1.1 billion to install modern fare gates at 150 stations to prevent fare evasion. Fare evasion peaked in the spring of 2024, with 14 percent of subway riders and nearly half of bus riders failing to pay. The M.T.A. said it lost close to $800 million in fare and toll evasion last year. Fare and toll revenue makes up almost 40 percent of the M.T.A.'s $20 billion annual operating budget, a pool of money separate from the capital plan that pays for day-to-day expenses like labor and utilities. The operating budget also covers the cost of financing many agency projects, an expense that could balloon if mismanaged. The M.T.A. has recently reported progress on reducing fare evasion on trains and buses, and plans to install harder-to-bypass fare gates at 20 stations in 2025 and at another 20 the following year. That is in addition to a range of other strategies, including hiring guards to watch turnstiles, adding fare-enforcement teams at bus stops and maintaining increased police presence throughout the subway. The challenges ahead The budget is 'incredibly short on details,' especially as it pertains to the M.T.A., said Ana Champeny, the vice president for research at the Citizens Budget Commission, a civic watchdog group. One of the biggest concerns, she said, is whether the Trump administration will contribute the $14 billion that the M.T.A. has factored into its calculations. Sean Duffy, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, has threatened to withhold approvals and funding for transportation projects in the state if Ms. Hochul does not kill New York City's congestion pricing toll program by May 21. President Trump has vowed to end congestion pricing, claiming, without evidence, that it is harmful to the local economy. Such an intervention could force the Legislature to revisit the budget later this year, leaving the M.T.A. with few options. 'You either have to spend less, or go back to the same pots of money,' Ms. Champeny said. A payroll tax is one of those funding sources that officials have leaned on. Much of the capital plan, about $30 billion, will be paid for with an increase to the payroll mobility tax, an unpopular levy on businesses in New York City and surrounding counties that use mass transit. Companies with a payroll of over $10 million will shoulder a higher rate while the tax on smaller businesses will stay the same or decrease. The payroll tax was last increased for New York City businesses just two years ago to raise funding for the M.T.A., and there would most likely be limited political will to raise it again. The increased scrutiny from Washington has, in at least one instance, helped ease the M.T.A.'s budget needs. About $1.2 billion that would have been used for the reconstruction of Pennsylvania Station will instead be applied to other transit projects, now that the Trump administration has declared it will take over the transit hub's renovation. Ms. Hochul is also expecting the M.T.A. to come up with $3 billion in 'savings' to fund the capital plan, which would require the authority to find up to $150 million in annual recurring savings and borrow against it in the bond market. In a statement, Avi Small, a spokesman for the governor, said Ms. Hochul 'has shown she'll go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump to fight for every possible dollar of transit funding,' adding that it is up to Republican members of New York's congressional delegation to fight for their constituents who rely on the M.T.A. A spokesman for the M.T.A. did not respond to questions about the budget, but said the plan is expected to be discussed at a board meeting on Wednesday.
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Can Trump Still Kill Congestion Pricing After U.S. Lawyers Showed Doubt?
The Trump administration inadvertently showed its cards when its own lawyers released a confidential document expressing grave doubts about their legal fight with New York to end congestion pricing. But does that mean Washington's whole case will go bust? It started when lawyers representing the U.S. Department of Transportation filed a detailed memo in federal court that laid out why the agency was likely to lose. The memo, which should not have been filed because it is subject to attorney-client privilege, was on the docket for less than an hour Wednesday night before it was pulled. But by Thursday morning, the letter had been widely shared online. Hours later, the agency effectively fired its legal team of lawyers from the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York after suggesting that the disclosure may have been politically-motivated sabotage. A spokesman for the Southern District said the disclosure was an accident. It is now up to a federal judge whether the 11-page letter, which provides a road map for blowing up the Transportation Department's legal defense, should be permanently sealed and excluded from the court proceedings. On Thursday, backers of congestion pricing asked the court whether the letter might be unsealed and made part of the case. Some legal observers said, however, that whatever the court decides about the letter, the better question is whether the damage is already done. 'The cat's out of the bag,' said Michael Gerrard, a professor at Columbia Law School who supports congestion pricing. 'Everyone knows the contents of the letter, regardless of whether it's sealed.' In February, the transportation secretary, Sean Duffy, said his agency was withdrawing approval for the plan, which had been authorized by the Biden administration. He demanded that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates congestion pricing, stop the tolls. The M.T.A. immediately sued in federal court to prevent Mr. Duffy's intervention. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York vowed to keep the toll cameras on. Mr. Duffy has said congestion pricing goes beyond the scope of the federal program used to authorize it — known as the Value Pricing Pilot Program — because it does not offer a toll-free option for drivers entering the area. He has also argued that revenue from the toll should not be used to subsidize mass transit projects. But the confidential memo, written by three assistant U.S. attorneys in Manhattan representing the Transportation Department, warned that Mr. Duffy's arguments were 'exceedingly likely' to fail in court. The lawyers said that neither of Mr. Duffy's arguments were likely to persuade the court, partly because the federal judge overseeing the M.T.A.'s lawsuit, Lewis J. Liman, had recently dismissed elements of those theories in other cases related to congestion pricing. The government's lawyers instead urged a new direction. In response to the letter becoming public, the Transportation Department made the remarkable decision to remove those lawyers from the case and released a statement suggesting that the team was either incompetent or motivated by politics. The lawyers, however, apologized in a letter to the judge and asked that the file be sealed. Mr. Duffy and the Transportation Department will now be represented by lawyers from the civil division of the Department of Justice in Washington, a team that will have to work quickly to get up to speed on the case. In a news media interview on Thursday, Mr. Duffy downplayed the release of the memo, adding that he remained confident in his department's legal strategy. He said that the congestion pricing toll remains 'fundamentally unfair.' A spokeswoman for the agency on Friday said there would be 'no change in Secretary Duffy's fight to terminate the congestion pricing program.' Mr. Duffy has already threatened to withhold federal funding and approval for a number of transportation projects in the city and state, if Ms. Hochul does not comply with his demands. Judge Liman is expected to decide after next week whether the memo should be included in the case. Supporters of congestion pricing, including two nonprofits involved with the lawsuit, have questioned whether it makes sense to seal the document. 'Once it is public, it necessarily remains public,' Dror Ladin, a lawyer representing the supporters, wrote in his letter to the court. The release of the memo was the latest setback for Mr. Duffy, who has sought to halt congestion pricing despite a chorus of legal experts who have said his agency lacks the authority to do so. The congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the nation, charges most drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak traffic, to cut down on gridlock and pollution and raise funds for the region's mass transit system. After years of federal, state and local review, the plan was approved under the Biden administration in November 2024, and tolling began on Jan 5. President Trump has promised to end the toll, arguing, without evidence, that it would harm the local economy. The disclosure of the memo, while embarrassing and 'a lawyer's nightmare,' was unlikely to be a deciding factor in the M.T.A.'s lawsuit, said Eric A. Goldstein, a senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, which supports congestion pricing. Mr. Goldstein added that very little in the memo was new or surprising, and that Judge Liman was already well versed on the issue after presiding over four other congestion pricing cases brought by opponents. One telling detail to emerge from the letter, however, was that the Department of Transportation might try to terminate its approval of congestion pricing by citing 'changed agency priorities.' But, for that argument to prevail, the judge would have to agree that the federal government can renege on commitments made by a previous administration, said Joe Carlile, an appropriations consultant and former associate director at the Office of Management and Budget during the Biden administration. 'I don't know if it's an open-and-shut case, one way or the other,' Mr. Carlile said, adding that if this strategy works, it could have a chilling effect on private sector investment in government projects. 'That would throw long-term capital projects into disarray,' he said. Several lawyers said the Trump administration could still prevail against the tolling program in court, though not necessarily before Judge Liman. Corey Bearak, a lawyer who advises clients on public policy issues and opposes congestion pricing, said that mistakes happen and that by replacing the lawyers in the case, the Trump administration had sent a message 'that they are serious about the litigation.' He urged the Trump administration to consider other legal avenues, including joining efforts by opponents who are also fighting congestion pricing in state court. Brian D. Carr, a lawyer for the Trucking Association of New York, which filed one of the lawsuits opposing congestion pricing before Judge Liman, said he has not read the memo out of principle. He said he has previously received a confidential email from other lawyers by mistake that might have helped his case. 'I immediately delete it because there but for the grace of God go I,' he said. 'I would hope that I would get the same respect from an adversary.'
New York Times
17-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
Embattled Congestion Pricing Program Gets Boost From Federal Judge
The federal judge who could decide the fate of congestion pricing dismissed on Thursday a number of arguments in lawsuits seeking to stop the toll, a move likely to strengthen New York State's defense of the program in its fight against the Trump administration. The judge, Lewis J. Liman of Federal District Court in Manhattan, who had previously denied requests to halt the January start of congestion pricing, rejected more arguments from opponents of the program in an exhaustive, 98-page decision. The opponents, including two coalitions of New York City residents, an influential teachers' union and a trucking association, contend that the plan was not properly vetted, that it is unfair to drivers and that some communities could see more traffic as motorists avoid the tolls, among other complaints. The decision bodes well for the state. Judge Liman is also presiding over a related congestion pricing case between the federal government and the toll operator, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. That case promises to be the most consequential of all the lawsuits under review. The ruling on Thursday could mean the federal government will have a narrower legal path in its efforts to block the toll, said Justin Backal Balik, a former city transportation official and a vice president at Evergreen Action, an environmental advocacy group. 'What we're seeing in this ruling is further evidence of what we already knew to be true, which is that New York followed the law and the process,' said Mr. Balik, a supporter of congestion pricing. Federal transportation officials had demanded that the state end the tolling program, which charges most drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak traffic times, by March 21. President Trump has promised to terminate the toll, which he stated, without providing evidence, would hurt the local economy. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who controls the M.T.A., has vowed to keep the toll cameras on, leading Sean Duffy, the secretary of transportation, to extend the deadline to April 20, Easter Sunday. In veiled threats, he has suggested that his agency could withhold federal funding from New York if it does not comply. But the federal government has already conceded in a legal filing that the toll could stay on for several more months, as its case against the M.T.A. wends through the courts. The federal Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On social media, an account representing the agency wrote last week that it stands behind its April 20 deadline and 'will not hesitate to use every tool at our disposal in response to noncompliance.' John J. McCarthy, the chief of policy and external relations at the M.T.A., said the transit authority was pleased with the judge's ruling, noting that the program had already undergone 'multiple years of study' that produced a lengthy environmental review, as well as two re-evaluations. Avi Small, a spokesman for the governor, added: 'Congestion pricing is working. Business is up, traffic is down and the cameras are staying on.' New York's congestion pricing program, the first of its kind in the United States, began Jan. 5 with the goals of reducing traffic and pollution along some of the most backed-up roads in the country and raising $15 billion for improvements to the city's subway, buses and two commuter railroads. But the plan has faced multiple legal challenges in recent years from opponents who have argued that the program penalized drivers, was not properly reviewed for its potential environmental effects, shifted traffic to other areas and disproportionately affected some poor and minority communities. Judge Liman presided over four of those cases: one brought by Michael Mulgrew, the president of the United Federation of Teachers, and Vito J. Fossella Jr., the Staten Island borough president, and others by two separate groups of New York City residents and by the Trucking Association of New York. Last June, Judge Liman rejected claims by plaintiffs that federal transportation officials had allowed the tolling program to move forward without a comprehensive environmental review or adequate mitigation of its potential adverse effects. Then, in December, he denied requests for an injunction, allowing the toll cameras to turn on in January. Jack L. Lester, a lawyer who represents one of the groups of residents suing over the tolls, New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax, said that the latest ruling on Thursday was not surprising, given the judge's past statements. But Mr. Lester said his clients would continue to fight congestion pricing, and were pursuing legal options to require the state and federal governments to conduct a socioeconomic impact study of the tolls. The program has 'placed disproportionate socioeconomic burdens' on working-class New Yorkers who have no choice but to drive, he said. Alison Gendar, a spokeswoman for the teachers' union, said the group was 'reviewing the decision and considering our next steps.' While the toll has been active for only four months, early data points have been promising. Since the program began, the toll zone has had six million fewer vehicles, or a 12.5 percent reduction in traffic, compared with an analysis of 2022 and 2023 data, according to Juliette Michaelson, the deputy chief of policy at the M.T.A. Deterring residents from driving during peak traffic times has most likely pushed more people to take mass transit. Subway ridership, while still below prepandemic levels, rose nearly 7 percent in the first quarter of 2025, Ms. Michaelson said. Yellow taxi trips, which charge riders a smaller fee within the congestion zone, were up 25 percent in the first three weeks of February, compared with the same period last year, she said. Fears that the toll would tank business in Manhattan have not been borne out. In March, foot traffic within commercial districts in the congestion zone was up more than 3 percent, compared with the same time last year, which was a larger increase than in business districts elsewhere in the city, according to the New York City Economic Development Corporation. The program is also on track to raise $500 million through toll revenue in its first year, which will be used to borrow billions more to finance long overdue maintenance projects across the region's transit system. The program remains unpopular with a large share of New Yorkers, though there are signs that acceptance is growing. A Quinnipiac poll of registered New York City voters in March found that, while 54 percent of respondents opposed the toll, 49 percent disagreed with the president's attempt to end the program — more than those who agreed with his actions. A more recent survey by Marist found that nearly six out of 10 New York State residents said the toll should be eliminated, because 'it is an unfair tax on working commuters.' But among those polled, New York City dwellers — the ones whose commutes are most likely to be affected — were the most likely to approve of it.
New York Times
04-04-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
A Miracle Underground: Sean Duffy Rides the Subway. (He Survived.)
For weeks, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has derided the New York City subway, repeatedly making fear-mongering assertions that the nation's biggest transit system is unsafe. He has characterized the subway as a hellscape, even though it is used by more than four million riders a day and underpins the financial and cultural capital of the United States. He has threatened to withhold federal funding for the trains unless crime rates decrease, even though crime rates are decreasing. And on Friday, he and Eric Adams, the increasingly Trump-aligned mayor of New York City, rode the subway together, at Mr. Adams's invitation. Where or when, exactly, was a bit of a mystery. What ensued was a cat-and-mouse game involving Mr. Duffy; Mr. Adams; Janno Lieber, the head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority; and a cadre of angry train supporters seeking to confront Mr. Duffy on their home turf. 'So far, no show, it's been a 'Where's Waldo' game,' said Mr. Lieber, who, with his pro-transit posse, was left pursuing whatever tips they could glean from the internet, and their own network of sources. He spoke to reporters who had gathered expectantly on the platform at the Brooklyn Borough Hall station. After noting that the M.T.A. carries more people in a day than the country's aviation system, Mr. Lieber expressed hope that Mr. Duffy would get a proper briefing. He then got on a No. 4 train and went on his way. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
