SCHUMER, ESPAILLAT ANNOUNCE $3.4 BILLION DOLLAR FED DEAL TO ADVANCE SECOND AVE SUBWAY PHASE II; ESPAILLAT & SCHUMER, CITING ‘TRANSIT EQUITY,’ SAY THE BILLIONS IN FUNDS MARKS LARGEST EVER GRANT FROM FTA TO MTA; LONG-NEGLECTED NEIGHBORHOODS WILL NOW GET THE

WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) announced that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) will issue a full funding grant agreement (FFGA) for the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 (SAS II) project, marking a major $3.4 billion dollar victory for New York that will allow the SAS project to proceed to extend the Q train from 96th street to 125th street in East Harlem.

“Congressman Espaillat and I are proud to announce that the Second Avenue Subway is going to receive $3.4 BILLION in federal funding to advance phase two of its construction. This is the largest Capital Investment Grant in the history of the program. This grant is significant not only in its size, but also in where it’s going. The funds will be used to build public transit in a neighborhood that has been neglected for far too long,” U.S. Senator Charles Schumer said.

“Phase two of the Second Avenue Subway will have a tremendous benefit on the livelihood of over 100,000 East Harlem residents and today’s announcement from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to grant full funding for this project brings us one step closer to finally removing barriers to access public transportation that constituents in my district have faced,” said Rep. Espaillat. “I am proud to have helped advance $3.4 BILLION in federal funding for the project, which is the largest grant of its kind issued to the MTA in the agency’s history. This is a direct result of many years of hard work, dedication, and advocacy in collaboration with Governor Hochul, MTA Chair Lieber, my congressional colleagues, the MTA, local elected officials, and groups and residents from the community. The long-awaited SAS II project finally gets its due time and much-needed federal support to bring these transit improvements to East Harlem and beyond, and as a result this historic project will transform our city for many generations to come.”

Schumer and Espaillat said that the Second Avenue Subway alone will deliver tens of thousands of good-paying union jobs and contribute to the continued economic development of East Harlem. They said that the BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW they pushed and passed in Congress made historic investments – over $8B - in the Capital Investment Grant program, the exact program that is now releasing this historic award to the Second Avenue Subway and New York.

Schumer said that the announcement is part of a greater infrastructure moment we are having in New York – Gateway, East Side Access, and now, Second Avenue Subway.

Advancing an FFGA locks in $3.4 billion in federal funding for the project, which is the largest MTA FFGA in Federal Transit Authority’s history, greater than the $2.63 billion Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) East Side Access to Grand Central Terminal to the MTA in 2006. Only the $6.8 billion FFGA for the Phase One Hudson Tunnel Project (two new tunnels connecting New Jersey to New York Penn Station) comes close. Following this latest FTA development, the FFGA will now be sent to Congress for a two-week review period, where it is expected it to move forward without any further delay.

# # #

Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his fourth term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities and serves as Ranking Member of the Legislative Branch Subcommittee of the committee during the 118th Congress. He is also a member of the House Budget Committee and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Deputy Chair as well as Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Rep. Espaillat is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) and serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/.

Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov