Ten years ago, Superstorm Sandy made landfall in New York, causing catastrophic devastation to Long Island and New York City. One of the key organizations involved in the recovery and the planning of responses to future climate events is the MTA, whose assets were substantially impacted by the storm. This analysis tracks MTA’s progress on projects focused on rebuilding and strengthening elements affected by Superstorm Sandy and discusses what more can be done to better protect the system from new disasters.

Over the last year, the fiscal position of the MTA has deteriorated, as transit ridership continued to lag at the low end of the authority’s projections. The MTA has two years to bring back riders and rebuild fare revenue before federal aid runs out. In the meantime, it must develop plans to cover budget gaps that start at $2.5 billion in 2025.

The pandemic caused a dramatic drop in riders and ridership revenue for transit systems across the country, and the MTA was hit particularly hard. The MTA must continue taking creative measures to boost ridership, but stakeholders may have to come to terms with enhancing or identifying new sources of revenue, cost savings and efficiencies if the agency is to achieve a balanced budget once federal aid runs out.

New York City’s transportation and warehousing sector regained 82% of its pandemic job losses as of April 2022. The sector’s relatively strong job gains over the past two years were fueled by increased demand for moving goods rather than people during the pandemic. An explosion in e⁠-⁠commerce led the growth in the courier and messenger, and warehousing and storage subsectors, which now well exceed pre-pandemic employment levels.

Despite unprecedented federal aid, the MTA is still faced with determining how it will close its budget gaps in the future. If riders do not return faster than the MTA projects, or if new sources of revenue are not found, rising debt payments could force the MTA to close future budget gaps through service cuts, greater than planned fare hikes, or delays to critical capital projects.

While the Dedicated Highway and Bridge Trust Fund was intended to provide a reliable, dedicated stream of funding for the State’s transportation projects, it long ago ceased to serve this purpose and is now largely devoted to repaying past borrowings and supporting current operating costs. As a result, vital highway and bridge projects are at increased risk because the State continues to use these limited resources primarily for purposes other than financing current capital projects.

This report profiles local government spending on roads. It also looks at the aid that local governments receive from the State and the federal government for road-related purposes. Lastly, the report examines data availability related to the condition of locally owned roads, the risks of flooding and other climate events, and the financial needs for road maintenance and improvement.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is facing significant long-term financial challenges, including risks to its capital plan and pressure from escalating debt, while the impacts of climate change demand a sharper focus on preparation for and response to extreme weather events. The passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act offers a boost for the agency’s capital plan, but also heightens the need for appropriate prioritization of capital projects.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MTA has been in a state of existential crisis. The Comptroller’s annual report on the MTA’s finances details how the combination of higher spending, the winding down of federal aid, the risk of lower ridership levels, increased impact from extreme weather, potential service reductions and other factors put the MTA in danger starting in 2025.

The COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges for the State’s regional transportation authorities by disrupting operations, decreasing ridership, and severely reducing revenues; however, these authorities reported that federal aid helped them weather pandemic deficits. If ridership continues to languish and does not return to pre-pandemic levels, the authorities will need additional revenue from other sources to continue to provide services at current levels—or may be faced with limiting services.