Transportation Equity Act discussed at Oct. 10 PWC lunch. (Transcripts).

A cogent examination of "New York State's Strategy for the Federal Reauthorization of TEA-21," was presented by Professional Women in Construction (PWC) on Oct. 10 at The Yale Club as part of the organization's ongoing series of breakfast seminars on transportation issues that impact the metropolitan area.

TEA--21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, is the largest public works bill in history. Signed into law in 1997, the legislation authorized $218 billion in federal funds over a six-year period ending in 2003, for highway and transit systems throughout the nation.

Elliot "Lee" Sander, director of the Rudin Center for Transportation and senior vice president of DMJM + HARRIS, Inc., the moderator for the program, opened the discussion by noting that "for 50 years, the downstate metropolitan region has done little to expand its transportation system.

Some argue that this has had a negative economic impact." Sander then enumerated a group of initiatives that are currently in the planning stages including: East Side access, an MTA project that would link LIRR to Grand Central Terminal; Second Avenue Subway, an MTA project to construct a line from 125th Street to Lower Manhattan; an extension of the no. 7 subway line from Times Square to the Javits Center; and a subway shuttle from Jamaica, Queens, to the World Trade Center site. Noting that TEA-21 brought $21 billion to the New York metropolitan area, he opened the floor to the morning's speakers.

Leslie Maeby, project director for the New York State Department of Transportation, tackled the question on the reauthorization of TEA-21 funds saying, 'We'll know more after the election results are in."

Maeby noted that several factors differ from the late 1990's: the leadership in Congress has changed; we're in a deficit spending mode now; and, since 9/11, safety and security have become the top priorities in government.

The current strategy is to create public/private partnerships, to strengthen existing coalitions and build new ones. She noted too that our strongest line of defense is to argue that "transportation moves the economy. Transportation means jobs."

Chris Boylan, deputy executive director of the MTA, told the audience that the MTA, the "largest transit provider in the Western hemisphere" which serves eight million customers a day, includes NY City Transit, HER, LI Bus, Metro North RR, and the bridges and tunnels. Boylan said that the MTA's $7.3 billion annual operating budget contains "no federal dollars," but a $17.1 billion 5-year capital plan depends on federal funds and on TEA-21's reauthorization.

There is a need to fight against a "New York gets all the money mentality." The "good news" is that TEA-21's transit program does not have a New York cap, that there is good New York State intergovernmental coordination, good New York committee positioning, and "lingering good will" towards the State and the metropolitan area in Washington.

Patricia Noonan, senior director, research & policy, New York City Partnership, noted that 9/11 made the City's business leaders "acutely aware of the importance of transportation." One CEO remarked, "What September 11th did is remind us that Manhattan is an island." Since getting employees to and from work safely and efficiently as well as transporting mail and other shipments "could no longer be taken for granted," Noonan said that the time is right to "channel that interest" in transportation into support for the reauthorization of federal funds.