Rubenstein Associates, Inc.
Public Relations
Contact: Bud Perrone (212) 843-8068

For Immediate Release

NEW YORK, March 30, 2005 –The Board of Directors of the New York Building Congress today reiterated its call on Albany to fully fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) 2005-2009 Capital Program by identifying and approving dedicated sources of revenues. At today's meeting, the Building Congress Board stated that urgent action is required by Governor George Pataki, Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, if disastrous consequences for New York City's transportation network and its economy are to be averted.

“The threat to New York's economy is very real. If current trends in Albany continue, the MTA will not be able to maintain a state of good repair. New starts will be cancelled and/or delayed. The system could fall into decline and New York's economy with it,” said Frank J. Sciame, President/CEO of F. J. Sciame Construction Company and Chairman of the Building Congress.

“Albany's timing could not be worse,” added Richard T. Anderson, President of the Building Congress, whose members comprise leading companies in design, construction and real estate. “With the City's population expected to grow by more than one million in the next 20 years, now is the time that the State Legislature must address the serious structural deficiencies in how the region's transportation network is funded. Instead, Albany proposes insufficient funding, including a one-shot bond act that will only add to the State's long-term debt woes, if it is able to pass a public referendum.”

Dominick M. Servedio, a Building Congress Vice Chairman and Chairman/CEO of STV Incorporated noted, “With Albany refusing to implement user fees and other sources of dedicated funds, the only option for the MTA is to cut its Capital Program. The result could be the elimination of new starts such as the Second Avenue subway, East Side Access and the Number 7 extension.” He added, “Without these projects, long-awaited growth throughout the City, but especially in areas such as Harlem, Long Island City, and the Hudson Yards, is severely handicapped.”

The Board addressed the longstanding competition between upstate and downstate legislators by stressing that Albany needs to come to terms with the importance of the MTA not just to the New York City metropolitan area but to the entire State.

The billions of dollars in new starts, now imperiled, in the MTA Capital Program not only feed the economic engine that funds Statewide programs but also represent upstate jobs. The MTA purchases millions of dollars of goods from manufacturing plants across upstate New York. Albany is effectively killing those jobs and businesses with its misguided funding proposals.

Making matters worse, Albany's actions threaten the availability of $4 billion in federal funding for transportation projects.

“At a time when budgets are tight, the Legislature is being penny wise and pound foolish,” said Mr. Anderson. “If Albany fully invests in the Capital Program, the federal government stands ready to invest $4 billion in the network. New York will lose some of that money permanently if the program is slashed further, and with it, any realistic chance to expand the system in time to accommodate the additional system demands that are projected for the near future.”

Leaders of the New York Building Congress are organizing a trip to Albany in April to make a direct appeal for dedicated MTA funding to Governor Pataki, Senate Majority Leader Bruno and Assembly Speaker Silver, as well as other influential members of the State Legislature.

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The New York Building Congress is a non-partisan public policy coalition of business, labor, association and governmental organizations representing the design, construction and real estate interests of more than 250,000 individuals.