Senator Dilan Joins Transit Workers, Advocates in Opposition of Proposed $40 Million Transit Funding Sweep

Senator Dilan stood with Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 100, advocates, and colleagues in the Senate and Assembly, to demand that the Executive Budget proposal to sweep the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of $40 million in dedicated operating funds be taken off the table.

Senator Dilan echoed sentiments he made days earlier alongside transit advocates Riders Alliance and NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign. Together, the organizations released an analysis detailing service improvements that could be made if the $40 million is used as intended.

All too familiar with the lasting effects of raiding dedicated transit and transportation infrastructure funds, Senator Dilan called the latest attempt, “giving with one hand, and taking with another.”

“New York’s infrastructure continues to reap what decades of dedicated fund raids have sowed. Almost every mile of road, track and bridge across the state shows the signs of this untenable practice, including New York City’s mass transit system. The subways and trains are overcrowded. Bus routes are few and far between due to budget cuts in recent years; and the core infrastructure is still reeling from the effects of Superstorm Sandy. A $40 million raid on dedicated transit funding will only exacerbate these issues and set a terrible precedent.”