COLUMNS Is Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 Worth $7.69 Billion?

In April 2019, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority Office of Capital Construction President Janno Lieber claimed that the MTA could save between $500 million to $1 billion in costs for the proposed Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. This would have reduced the overall tab down to almost $5 billion. Promised cost savings were based upon reduction in excavation for the 125th Street Station and building the 116th Street Station in space no longer needed for other project work. Fast forward to February 2022, and instead the cost increased to $6.9 billion, Under the $51 billion 2020 - 2024 Five Year Capital Plan, the cost increased by $1 billion. The previous federal share of $2 billion or 33 percent has now been assumed to be 50 percent or $3.4 billion. There is no guarantee that the final cost could not end up billions more. This is based upon future advancement of design and engineering, construction contractors responses to the procurement process for contract(s) award followed by change orders during construction due to unforeseen site conditions or last minute changes in scope.

The March Federal Transit Administration Annual Report on

Penner Station

Larry

Penner

Funding Recommendations for Fiscal Year 2024 now estimates the project cost of $7.69 billion. A significant portion of this cost increase is attributable to financing debt service costs and programming of contingency funding to deal with unforeseen costs. The MTA has a history of lowballing project costs by hiding both financing and debt service payments under the agency operating rather than capital budget. They also frequently program insufficient contingency funding. These funds are needed to cover costs when contractor bids come in higher than the engineer’s cost estimate. They also pay for contract change orders during the course of construction due to unforeseen site conditions or scope changes requested by various maintenance, operations and other user groups.

New York Senator Charles Schumer claim that the $496 million under this bill can quickly be used to start construction once the FTA and MTA come to terms on a Capital Investment Grant Full Funding Grant Agreement is wishful thinking on his part. A legal Federal Transit Administration Full Funding Grant Agreement (FFGA) to fund Second Ave Subway Phase 2 which would cap federal participation at $3.4 billion still remains an open question. The FTA has yet to identify the remaining $2.9 billion balance which would make up the full federal commitment. The MTA would be legally responsible to pay for any cost increases above $7.69 billion. The FFGA for Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 remains one to two years away from approval. All the FTA has provided to the MTA is permission to advance final design and engineering. The project still faces a myriad of hurdles. It will cost hundreds of millions per block to advance the subway from 96th to 125th Street. Is this a sound investment for commuters and taxpayers? MTA Chairman

Janno

Lieber has made clear that without both the proposed $3.5 billion new financial bailout from New York State plus implementation of Congestion Pricing, the money is just not there to begin work on the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. Fully funding the $51 billion MTA 2020 - 2024 Five Year Capital Plan is dependent upon receipt of $15 billion generated by Congestion Toll Pricing. There is no guarantee that this will be implemented by June 2024, which would be 4 1/2 years later than previously assumed. The Federal Highway Administration has yet to complete the National Environmental Protect Act (NEPA) project review process. It will be finished when FHWA issues a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI). The MTA Traffic Mobility Review Board has yet to meet. They will determine who will pay how much in tolls for those driving south of 60th Street in Manhattan. Various constituencies will be lobbying for exemptions or reductions. The current Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 budget is still evolving. The most critical issue to be resolved is identifying and securing the $4.35 billion local share toward the total project cost. It is a basic legal requirement to leverage

Birds And Native Plants, Part 2

If you want to help birds survive use native plants. Also if you want to observe birds go where there are native plants. You should visit Planting Fields Arboretum’s extensive native plant garden called a bird garden. It’s also worth a visit to one of the best native plant gardens, the NY Botanical Garden in the Bronx, which has a large stunning native plant section. On Long Island there are native plant gardens at Science Museum of Long Island, The Manes center at Nassau County Museum of Art, Garvies Point Museum and Preserve, Cow Neck Peninsula Historic society, Dodge House in Port Washington, TR Bird Sanctuary in Oyster Bay and Manorhaven Preserve. Visit in each different season to see what plants you like. That will help you decide what native plants you want to grow to help birds. April is a good time to plant which is why I am writing about it now. Birds and insects such as bees and butterflies depend on native plants for many reasons and discussing native plants now may be helpful for

All About Birds

readers who want to remove some lawn or non-native, invasive plants and replace them.

You also need to know what conditions the plants you choose prefer. Do they want a wet or dry area, sun or shade or partial sun or shade? You also want to spread the blooming season over three months so you want plants that bloom in Spring, Summer or Autumn. Some native plants are better for birds than others. The best plants are oak trees, which support over 500 insects. The next best is a very under-appreciated wild or black cherry tree. The best perennials are goldenrod and aster because they support many insects. To get more help in choosing plants you can go to a professional such Anthony Marinello, who lives and works on Long Island, and can be contacted at anthony@ dropseednativelandscapesli.com. Two other organizations that have volunteers who are glad to help you choose plants are Rewild and North Shore Audubon Society.

Native plants are sold at Bayles Garden Center in Port Washington and there are several plant sales run by non-profit organizations such as Rewild at Dodge house and other locations, North Shore Audubon Society at Garvies Point Museum and Preserve and at TR Bird Sanctuary in Oyster Bay. Check their websites soon because the plant sales are in April or the beginning of May. The Town of North Hempstead is offering to give a stipend of at least $300 to purchase native plants. Contact them for more information.

Lawn grass is not native and future FTA capital funding under an approved FFGA to support advancement of the project. The MTA must also demonstrate that they have the financial capacity to pay for any unanticipated cost increases or funding shortfalls. How do they do this when the agency continues to face a multi year multi billion dollar financial shortfall? The MTA must also demonstrate that they will have sufficient operating and maintenance funds to support the next phase of proposed new subway service. not beneficial at all for insects and birds. If you want to remove part of your lawn there are techniques to do this before you plant. You can put cardboard over a section of lawn and cover with mulch or wood chips. You can plant right in that area after a few weeks. I also have a huge list of invasive , non-native plants that you should remove such as English ivy, vinca, mugwort, Norway maples, burning bush, barberry and garlic mustard.

The MTA $51 billion 2020 - 2024 Five Year Capital Plan was adopted in late 2019 under the assumption that $15 billion would come from Congestion Price Tolling. Not a dime will appear until June 2024 or the last six months of the current MTA Capital Program. How will the MTA raise $15 billion over six months rather than five years? Will the MTA still be able to provide $4.35 billion in local funding to leverage $3.4 billion or more from Washington to pay for the $7.9 billion Second Avenue Subway Phase 2?

The odds continue to grow favoring Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 being postponed until the next MTA 2025 - 2029 Five Year Capital Plan is adopted.

To read why you should plant native plants go to NorthShoreAudubon.org but there are many other resources as well.

A great facebook page is Long Island Native Plant Gardening Group with thousands of members, all very helpful. Contact me at nsaudubonsociety@gmail.com if you want to read more or have questions.