Dissent again on Gateway, Second Avenue Subway cuts

The response to the Department of Homeland Security's proposed massive cuts to counterterrorism funding in New York came loudly, swiftly and boldly — from both sides of the aisle.

It took a phone call from Gov. Kathy Hochul directly to President Donald Trump to put the issue on Trump's radar. That, combined with significant outcry from Republican lawmakers and claims that Trump was defunding the police, led the president to quickly reverse the $187 million in threatened cuts. 

The laudable strength of the dissent demonstrated what can and must happen when New York is targeted for harmful, seemingly politically motivated funding cuts.

Now, they must speak out again.

Last week the Trump administration announced it would withhold $18 billion in federal funding for two critical infrastructure efforts that would be transformative for the region.

This isn't terrorism or law enforcement — so it may not be so urgent and obvious of an issue on which New York elected officials should collectively raise their voices. But raise their voices they should.

An end to federal funding for both the Gateway Tunnel project under the Hudson River and the Second Avenue Subway expansion would be economically devastating to New York City and the impact would ripple through the suburbs, including Long Island, and the entire Northeast Corridor, from Boston to Washington. Gateway is needed to replace the damaged, century-old train tunnel used daily by Amtrak and New Jersey Transit, while the Second Avenue Subway extension would add three stations north of 96th Street in Manhattan.

Both construction efforts are already underway, and for now, they can continue, since federal dollars often act as reimbursement. It's not clear how long that will be the case. And the uncertainty alone leaves tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in economic activity in limbo.

There is no upside to stopping these projects. What's more, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy's explanation, which pointed to diversity, equity and inclusion issues and suggested that the contracting was somehow discriminatory, is absurd and only serves to highlight the base political calculus at the root of the decision. Making that especially clear: The rule the transportation projects allegedly violated had been initially published just hours before the announcement.

The threatened funding cuts are not directly related to the government shutdown, but Trump administration officials claim they can't conduct the review of DEI practices they want to do as long as the shutdown is ongoing. In reality, New York's transportation infrastructure — and the commuters who depend upon it — have become political pawns in Trump's latest game, an attempt to punish Democratic states like New York and its Democratic leaders, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, as the shutdown continues.

But the counterterrorism funding reversal proved that Hochul and New York's congressional delegation can play their own game — and win. New York's economic future — and the transportation network that is its lifeblood — deserve the same forceful response.