Trump will release funds for Second Avenue Subway extension
Photo by Shinya Suzuki on Flickr cc
The Trump administration on Thursday agreed to release nearly $60 million in federal funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension, ending a monthslong dispute that began during October’s government shutdown. According to the New York Times, in a letter filed in Federal Claims Court, a lawyer for the government said the administration would resume payments to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority after the agency sued in March over the withheld funding. The funds were initially held while the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) reviewed the MTA’s race- and sex-based contracting requirements, which the agency now says have been satisfied.
“We took the Trump Administration to court after they illegally froze funding for the Second Avenue Subway,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement on X.
“Today, they backed down. The freeze is over. For East Harlem and every New Yorker who relies on our subways, release our money immediately.”
The federal government owes more than $58 million for the project, as work on the $7.7 billion second phase has only recently begun. Slated for completion in 2032, the project will extend the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street in East Harlem, delivering long-awaited subway service to a historically transit-deprived area, as 6sqft previously reported.
The project, which received a $2 billion tunnel-boring contract in August, the largest in MTA history, will create three fully accessible Q train stations at 106th Street, 116th Street, and 125th Street, with tunneling expected to begin in 2027. In 2023, the U.S. DOT approved a $3.4 million grant for the extension, covering about half of its estimated $7.7 billion cost, as 6sqft reported at the time.
New York state agencies such as the MTA are required to award a portion of construction contracts to minority- and women-owned businesses. In October, the federal government issued an interim rule challenging those requirements as part of a broader attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
The MTA has said it has complied with the updated federal requirements since their implementation. After warning the administration in late February that it would sue if funding was not released within a week, the agency filed a lawsuit in early March for breach of contract over delayed reimbursements, arguing that further delays could stall the long-planned expansion.
Danna Almeida, a U.S. DOT spokesperson, said the government was satisfied with its review but declined to comment on the MTA’s claim that it had already been in compliance, according to the Times.
The funding was released moments before a federal judge was scheduled to hear oral arguments in the MTA’s lawsuit. While the U.S. DOT said it had found “troubling” information regarding the MTA’s DEI contracting policies, it said it had reached a deal to release the funds.
In a statement, MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber celebrated the Trump administration’s reversal, saying “transit justice” is on the way for East Harlem residents.
“It shouldn’t have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here, but with the federal government’s concession today on the courthouse steps, the MTA can now confidently forge ahead with Second Avenue Subway Phase 2. The billion-dollar contract approved at our March Board meeting is being awarded and contractors are mobilizing right away,” he said.
“Today’s MTA is determined to expand our network and give riders more and better service. Long-awaited transit justice for East Harlem is just the beginning.”
The Gateway Project, another major transit project connecting New York and New Jersey, also faced a similar dispute. Funding was halted in October, prompting the two states to sue the federal government in February to recover the money.
Following an appeal by the administration, a judge allowed the funding freeze to continue temporarily until February 12. Work resumed later that month.
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