Better days ahead for NYC commuters with Democrats in control of Congress, MTA chair says

MTA Chair Janno Lieber said Thursday that he’s optimistic the end of the “anti-city” movement has arrived and that more federal funding for public transportation projects is on the horizon after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm election.

Since President Donald Trump took office in 2025, his administration has repeatedly withheld funding from New York and the MTA. The Trump administration attempted to shut down congestion pricing, threatened to pull funding for the Second Avenue Subway extension project and took over the redesign of Penn Station.

“Obviously, having a Democratic Congress led by two New Yorkers and with the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee led by (Sen.) Kirsten Gillibrand, we are hopeful that we can do much, much better than that historical short-changing,” Lieber said during a special appearance on WNYC’s On The Way.

He was referring to Rep. Hakeem Jeffries and Sen. Chuck Schumer, who are frontrunners to serve as House speaker and Senate majority leader, respectively.

“I think we have more confidence that the existing projects will be funded, and we would like to now start pursuing money for new big projects,” Lieber said.

“But the bigger issue is is a mandate in Congress right now to stop this anti-city campaign that has been in effect in Congress and in Washington for the last couple of years,” Lieber added.

Lieber will speak about the future of mass transit in New York in a special event at WNYC’s The Greene Space on Nov. 17.

One pool of funding MTA officials are seeking to tap is the Surface Transportation Reauthorization bill, which expired in September. Some $256 million went to the MTA through former President Joe Biden’s infrastructure bill. Lieber said he’ll be looking to the Democratic Congress to reauthorize that money to fund vital accessibility signal upgrade projects.

The MTA has other major projects in the works that will require further federal funding, like the extension of the Second Avenue Subway west across 125th Street and building the Interborough Express, a light rail line connecting Brooklyn and Queens together that is only half-funded.

Tom Wright, the president of the Regional Plan Association, said with new pro-transit New York representatives headed to Washington, securing funding for bigger projects should be a priority.

“If through the new Congress there is money for mass transit, the IBX ought to be at the front of the line because it is such an excellent project,” Wright said. “And I think that that's what our delegation needs to be focused on.”