An MTA official on Wednesday said New Yorkers should curb their enthusiasm over a planned train line between Brooklyn and Queens, saying the project may be held up until the agency gets the rest of its system on the right track.
The project — called the Interborough Express, or “IBX” — aims to build a 14-mile light rail route and 19 new stations along existing freight tracks from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights, filling in a major hole in the city’s transit network.
But Sean Fitzpatrick, the deputy chief of staff for the MTA’s construction department, told reporters during an open house at Brooklyn College on Wednesday that the line shouldn’t be built until key fixes are made to the rest of the city’s transit infrastructure.
“The MTA can’t in good conscience invest in new infrastructure without making sure that we have the funding in place to secure our existing system,” Fitzpatrick said. “It only makes sense to invest in a new line if we’re able to take care of our existing infrastructure for our existing subways, railroads and buses.”
He said it would be years before ground breaks on the IBX, adding that the MTA will begin a federal review process on the project this winter, which could take up to two years to complete. He said construction could begin in five years.
The project — which was a centerpiece of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first State of the State speech in 2022— is estimated to cost $5.5 billion. Officials estimate it could serve as many as 115,000 riders per weekday.
Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Fitzpatrick’s comments came a month after the MTA released its 20-year needs assessment, which lays out an extensive list of maintenance and repairs the agency needs to make to shore up its equipment over the next two decades. The assessment also gave a positive rating to the IBX project.
“The priority need over the course of 20 years is to address those assets that are in poor and marginal…
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