MTA facing 'tumultuous period' with new conditions on immigration, birth rates, Chair Janno Lieber says

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is entering “unknown territory” with a new White House administration that could put unprecedented conditions on federal transportation funding, including how much it cooperates with immigration policies, the MTA’s chairman said Thursday.

Testifying at a state budget hearing in Albany, MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said his agency is “in a tumultuous period of change” following President Donald Trump’s inauguration and his appointment of new transportation secretary Sean Duffy.

Duffy, a former Wisconsin congressman, Fox News host and MTV reality show contestant, recently issued an order that preference for federal transportation funding be given to communities “with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average.”

“I don’t know what to make of that,” Lieber said. He quipped: “I do know what to call it: ‘conception pricing.’”

Asked by a lawmaker about another new DOT policy tying funding to "compliance or cooperation with federal immigration enforcement," Lieber said the MTA's response "will be guided by state policies."

It remained unclear how the new policies would effect the MTA.

A U.S. Department of Transportation spokesperson, in an email to Newsday, said: "One of DOT’s main objectives is to fund safe and efficient infrastructure throughout the U.S. As projects are evaluated, many factors will be considered, including areas with strong population growth."

Lieber’s remarks came as he made his case to state lawmakers as to why they should support the MTA’s proposed 2025-29 capital budget, which will fund infrastructure improvements throughout the transit system, including on the Long Island Rail Road. The MTA expects it will need the state to come up with about $33 billion for the program.

Asked what he expected the federal government’s role would be in helping fund the spending plan, Lieber said “there’s nobody that can give me any specific guarantee of anything.”

“We’re in unknown territory with the federal government,” Lieber said.

Also unclear is the future of the MTA’s congestion pricing program, which charges most vehicles $9 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan during peak hours. Trump has voiced his opposition to the tolls and was expected to render a decision this week as to whether he would move to repeal federal approval for the plan, according to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who said she discussed the issue with Trump last week.

At the state budget hearing, Lieber fielded criticism of the plan from state legislators, including Assemb. Jake Blumencranz (R-Oyster Bay) who called Lieber’s enthusiastic support for the program “frustrating and difficult” for residents of his district paying the tolls.

“My constituents are sick and tired of feeling like the ATM to the MTA, as far as a lack of delivery for them in our communities, waste and mismanagement, and results that aren’t seen in communities like ours,” Blumencranz said.

Lieber pushed back against the criticism, noting 80% of commuters in the region use public transportation to get into Manhattan and will benefit from transit infrastructure investments funded by the new tolls.

Lieber also cited a recently released poll from the Partnership for New York City, which supports congestion pricing, that found 59% of 1,200 registered voters responding want Trump to leave congestion pricing in place.

At the hearing, Lieber also provided an update on the long-delayed purchase of the LIRR’s next fleet of electric train cars, known as the M9-A model.

The LIRR expected to have the first 88 cars in place by 2022, replacing its fleet of 40-year-old M3 cars. But nine years after announcing its plans for the new trains, the MTA still hasn’t awarded a contract for them.

Lieber said he expected the issue to be “resolved” within six months, but signaled it might mean deciding not to go forward with the procurement.

With Keshia Clukey

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.