Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

infrastructure

infrastructure

  • Promising Projects Faster and Cheaper, Adams Administration Pursues Capital Construction Reforms

    Mayor Adams hails housing construction (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New York City’s infrastructure construction process is broken and Mayor Eric Adams wants to fix it. 

    The city’s capital budget funds infrastructure projects across the five boroughs, including new construction, maintenance, and repairs to everything from parks, schools, hospitals, and libraries to mass transit, sewers, courts, jails, police precincts, and more. But as New York City is in desperate need of sweeping infrastructure upgrades,

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  • The Future of New York's Middle Class is Built on Investment in Growth and Union Labor

    On the construction site (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    While it’s no secret that the pandemic and looming recession have taken a toll on all New Yorkers, they have been particularly detrimental to low- and middle-income communities, as they’ve only exacerbated theongoing shrinking of the middle class and troubling

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  • Fast-Tracking New York’s Transit Future

    CM Brooks-Powers, left, with MTA CEO Lieber (photo: William Alatriste/NYC Council)


    This week President Biden visited New York to celebrate a major milestone. 

    More than a decade after Superstorm Sandy badly damaged the century-old train tunnels between New Jersey and New York, we’refinally

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  • Adams Administration Officials Outline Preparations for Massive Influx of Federal Infrastructure Funding

    Infrastructure underway (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The $1.2 trillion infrastructure law enacted in November by Congress and President Joe Biden is expected to funnel about $27 billion to New York State, with a hefty portion of that funding flowing to New York City. The City Council wants to ensure that those resources will be used well and distributed equitably across the city, and at a hearing on Tuesday, Council members sought plans from Mayor Eric Adams’ nascent administration to accomplish that goal. 

    Tuesday’s joint hearing was held by the Council’s Committee on

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  • City Council to Examine Adams Administration's Preparations for Spending Billions in Federal Infrastructure Funding

    Infrastructure in action (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In November, Congress approved President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan, which is expected to deliver tens of billions of dollars to New York City for crucial needs. As the city prepares for the influx of federal funds, experts are pointing to several priorities that they believe Mayor Eric Adams should pursue, and the new Democratic mayor will no doubt be evaluating his priorities as he continues to map out his own infrastructure plans, including through budget negotiations with the

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  • How Health Care, Tech, and the New Federal Infrastructure Law Must Connect

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    Getting health help through infrastructure (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    President Biden and Congress took a significant step in shoring up access to health care by enacting the infrastructure bill.

    The COVID-19 crisis shined a spotlight on broadband inequity and its impact on access to health-care services. While our country leapt forward on digital health, some of the neighborhoods and families who need it most were left out.

    In July 2020, EmblemHealth surveyed New Yorkers and found nearly one-third of Black-led and almost

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  • Infrastructure Implementation: Apprenticeship Programs are Vital to Building New York Back Better

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    Construction workers (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayoral Photo Office)


    With the federal infrastructure bill now law, New York is primed to receive more than $100 billion in direct investment in public works projects across the state, inclusive of upgrades to mass transit systems, roads, highways, and bridges, and other essential and critical elements of New York’s future.

    The diverse array of infrastructure projects soon to break ground statewide also comes with a greater demand for skilled work – work that members of the unionized construction

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  • New Analysis Details Just How Late and Over-Budget City Infrastructure Projects Run

    bloomberg visits epa

    Infrastructure projects (photo: Edward Reed/City Council)


    New York City’s capital budget for building and maintaining essential infrastructure is dense, complicated, and opaque, making it difficult to examine how the city spends its funds and on what projects. It is well known, though, that the city’s capital budget process has been notoriously inefficient and rife with cost overruns and delays, leading to many questions about how the city is spending tens of billions of dollars on essential infrastructure maintenance, upgrades, and

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  • Max Politics Podcast: Hurricane Ida, Climate Change & Where We Go Next in New York

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    After Ida (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    September 3, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Hurricane Ida, Climate Change & Where We Go Next in New York

    Three experts joined the show to discuss Hurricane Ida's impact in New York City, climate change, resiliency, policy-making, and where we go next. Guests Maritza Silva-Farrell of ALIGN, Danny Harris of Transportation Alternatives, & Rob Freudenberg of Regional Plan Association shared their thoughts on what's been going wrong and right, and

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  • Skills Training is Integral to the Success of the Federal Infrastructure Plan and New York’s Construction Sector

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    Construction workers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    From the first day of its introduction, the Biden infrastructure plan has been cast as a critical tool to transform our nation’s economy after the upheaval caused by the coronavirus pandemic.  

    This bipartisan deal aims to pump $1.2 trillion over the course of eight years into repairing and building new roads, bridges, broadband, and electric vehicle infrastructure, creating millions of new, good-paying jobs that will accelerate the covid recovery. 

    With the influx of

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  • City Launches Site Detailing $134-Billion Ten-Year Infrastructure Strategy

    City Launches Website Detailing $134 Billion Ten-Year Capital Strategy

    The mayor and others cut ribbon at new park (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    The New York City Department of City Planning on Tuesday unveiled a new website that details its ten-year strategy for building and enhancing city infrastructure, including everything from housing and schools to transit systems, roads and bridges, parks, and water and sewage piping. 

    The ten-year capital strategy

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  • Schumer Says Big Infrastructure Package is on Deck; What's on New York City's List?

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    Senator Chuck Schumer at City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    As Mayor Bill de Blasio celebrated the passage of President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which will deliver $6 billion in direct aid to New York City government and many additional billions to New Yorkers, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer had more good tidings to offer as he promised that a massive infrastructure program is next on the agenda. 

    Biden has proposed a $2 trillion “Build Back Better” plan to invest in infrastructure and combat climate change. It’s

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  • What's The [Data] Point? 800,000 - New Life for Gateway

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 103 -- 800,000 - New Life for Gateway, with John D. Porcari [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    With President Biden now in office and New York Senator Chuck Schumer as Majority Leader, there is new life for the Gateway Program, a massive set

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  • New York City Should Start Preparing Now for a Biden Infrastructure Plan

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    New Yorkers at work (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    A major new federal infrastructure investment seems increasingly likely this year. During the campaign, then-candidate Joe Biden proposed a $2 trillion infrastructure plan to boost the economy and tackle climate change. President Biden now has signaled that he intends to move his Build Back Better plan forward later this month, and it could have bipartisan support.

    New York City should start preparing to seize this opportunity. 

    Few other cities would benefit more from a public

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  • Cuomo Concludes 2021 State of the State Speeches Invoking ‘New Deal’ with Infrastructure Plan

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    Gov. Cuomo delivering his fourth 2021 State of the State (photo: Mike Groll/Governor's Office)


    In his fourth and final 2021 State of the State speech, Governor Andrew Cuomo committed New York to an ambitious infrastructure program worth hundreds of billions of dollars that he said will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and put the state on the path to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

    Announcing infrastructure projects spanning the state, Cuomo cited the New Deal under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, which helped revive the nation’s

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  • Rebuilding Smarter After Hurricane Isaias Devastated New York City’s Utility Infrastructure

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    Repairing vital infrastructure (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Despite a $3.5 billion investment to protect New York City from a repeat of the Hurricane Sandy disaster, Hurricane Isaias just revealed we remain deeply vulnerable to infrastructure failure. In terms of power outages, Isaias was the second most destructive storm in New York’s history, knocking out power to 267,000 people in New York City and Westchester County. Weeks later, many are still waiting for the lights to come back on. 

    We’re barreling towards another man-made disaster ahead of what

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  • Infrastructure Investment Can Restart the Economy, But Prioritize Fixing What We Have

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    Existing infrastructure needs major investment (photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Governor Cuomo traveled to Washington on Wednesday to meet with President Trump, where he pitched the president on infrastructure investments like an expanded Second Avenue Subway and a new Penn Station. The governor is right to push for a national public works program, which would get thousands of newly unemployed Americans working again while tackling urgent infrastructure needs. 

    The last time the nation embarked on a major public works program, it produced dozens

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  • The Amazon Delivery We Still Need: Invest in Public Infrastructure, Not Corporate Welfare

    gov cuomo mayor amazon queens

    (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    This week marks the one-year anniversary of the cancellation of the Amazon ‘HQ2’ Queens deal, which presents an opportunity for New Yorkers to reflect. That these types of destructive corporate welfare deals are still possible and that Amazon is still coming to New York City, albeit in a smaller footprint with fewer public subsidies involved, shows there is a lot still to be discussed around what - and who - our government prioritizes.

    With the quick success last

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  • Lessons from Amazon 'HQ2': Corporate Tax Incentives and Affordable Housing Need to be a Package Deal

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    The planned Amazon site (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    This week marks the one-year anniversary of Amazon’s contentious withdrawal from its Long Island City plans. Meanwhile, the construction of 'HQ2’ is making steady progress in Arlington County, Virginia, and

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  • A Better Trail to New Rail and Parkland in Queens

    queenslink rendering

    QueensLink rendering


    The Rockaway Beach Branch right-of-way is a 3.5-mile, skinny strip of land that holds the key to transforming our borough in two fundamental ways. First, it will connect north and south Queens with the rest of the city in an environmentally sustainable way. Second, it will create up to 33 new acres of park space adding value to local neighborhoods and the entire city.

    This dual-purpose project is called QueensLink.

    It was disappointing to read “...

  • What’s the [DATA] Point? 1.28 Cents, the Prospect of a Vehicle-Miles Traveled Fee to Fund Transit Infrastructure

    whats the data point


    What's The [Data] Point? Episode 74 -- 1.28 cents, Patrick Orecki [You can download What's The [Data] Point? wherever you get your podcasts, including on iTunes]

    patrick orecki cbcNew York State is underfunding upkeep of its roads and bridges to the tune of billions of dollars a year. There are several reasons for this, and potential fixes, including a vehicle-miles traveled fee, which

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  • A Vision for the Future of the Tri-State Region

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    New York, New Jersey and Connecticut must reform their governing institutions, overhaul and integrate their transit networks, fight climate change, and make it less costly to live in the region. Those are the four major thematic prescriptions of the Fourth Regional Plan, a comprehensive vision released on Thursday by the Regional Plan Association (RPA), a prominent urban think tank that has advocated for comprehensive urban development projects in the tri-state region for more than 90 years.

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  • On Election Day, Federal Policy & Funding Stakes High for New York City

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    Clinton & de Blasio (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump will be in New York City on election night, and one of them will be the next President of the United States. Through the results of the presidential election, which comes down to one native New Yorker and one New York transplant, and with the congressional elections on the ballot, there’s a great deal at stake for New York City.

    According to the fiscal year 2017 ...