With subway delays creeping ever upward and packed trains creeping ever slower, New Yorkers are getting a grim preview of where things are headed if Albany keeps starving the 
for cash: Destination, commuter hell. The says it needs to invest $32 billion over the next five years to shore up decaying infrastructure, modernize aging equipment and accommodate record-high ridership. It has just $18 billion in capital funding available — leaving a whopping $14 billion gap. And what are Gov. Cuomo and the Legislature doing to address this crisis for the mass transit system that’s critical to the region’s economy?
Nothing — apart from punting the hard but unavoidable choices to an indefinite future. Even by the standards of New York State government, the dereliction is appalling. chief Tom Prendergast made the consequences of inaction painfully clear in testimony to the City Council. Without more money, the can’t afford basic things like replacing signal systems that date back to the 1930s — let alone major expansions and upgrades. Without more money, trains will get even more crowded and steamy stations will get even more dingy and nightmare breakdowns will get even more commonplace. “In short, without a healthy capital program, the is in deep trouble,” Prendergast warned. “And that means deep trouble for New York City, too, and the millions who depend on the system to get to work, to school, to the doctor — everywhere they need to go.” The takes money wherever it can find it — including Washington and City Hall — but responsibility for properly financing it ultimately goes to Albany, and to Cuomo’s desk. But his main contribution so far was to pronounce the ’s five-year capital plan, first presented in October, as “bloated” — without specifying where it should be trimmed. Although he started the year with a $5 billion surplus from legal settlements — which ought to have gone exclusively to infrastructure — he designated almost none of it for the even as he blew big bucks on pet projects, such as universal broadband. Last week, with the legislative session ticking down to its June 17 end, the only sign of urgency from the Legislature was a letter circulated by Brooklyn Assemblyman James Brennan that declares: “Viable funding options exist to support (mass transit), and the time is now to take action.” He did not mention the single most viable funding option — the Move NY plan from transit expert Sam Schwartz. It calls for equitably tolling drivers crossing the East River bridges and heading south of 60th St. in Manhattan, while actually lowering tolls on other major crossings. That would generate $1.5 billion a year, which Schwartz would split between transit and much-needed repair of decaying road and bridges. City pols who lack the vision and courage to back that sensible plan — from Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio on down — have a duty to offer a viable alternative, and now. The and the millions of New Yorkers who depend on it each day cannot afford to wait.
Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/editorial-subways-crumble-article-1.2248423