Gov. Hochul Advances Two Major NYC Transit Projects
As part of Gov. Hochul’s 2026 State of the State address, she announced plans to advance two major transit projects, stating that by “advancing projects like the Second Avenue Subway and reimagining Jamaica Station, we’re building on past investments to deliver more reliable, efficient, and modern transit options for riders today and for generations to come.” A total of $50 million to fund the design phase of the reimaging of Jamaica Station was proposed as part of the Governor’s FY27 Executive Budget, noting that the station serves as a “critical transit hub” and despite being the “fourth busiest rail station in North America, serving 200,000 daily riders,” hasn’t been upgraded since the AirTrain to JFK began operations in 2003. Funding to enable the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to start preliminary engineering and design to extend the Second Avenue Subway tunnel westward across 125th Street to Broadway was also announced, building upon New York State’s FY25 Enacted Budget which funded a feasibility study for the westward expansion. The MTA’s 20 Year Needs Assessment estimates that the “proposed expansion would have a daily ridership of nearly 240,000 and would save riders over 30 minutes of travel time each week on average according to the press release by Gov. Hochul’s office.