“This past Friday was the groundbreaking for Metro-North’s Penn Station Access project. I don’t begrudge any community receiving new and improved service from MTA and its great news. The project will offer faster commutes from Connecticut, Westchester, and the Bronx and a second one-seat-ride option into Manhattan. Unfortunately, Rockland County doesn’t even have its first one-seat-ride. Penn Station Access will build four brand new, 100 percent accessible Metro-North stations in the Bronx. Metro-North’s Port Jervis line doesn’t even have one accessible station in Rockland County.
Rockland County commuters deserve a one-seat-ride into Manhattan, just like the other members of the MTA. In her State-of-the-State last January, Governor Hochul acknowledged the urgent need for the Gateway project’s new two-track rail tunnel beneath the Hudson River and committed to making sure the project finally moves forward. Yet we have still not seen any MTA investment in that project, and no plan for Metro-North to prioritize the Bergen Loop portion of Gateway, which will finally provide Rockland County with a one-seat-ride into Manhattan.
Rockland County needs transit equity from the MTA to address our $40 million annual value gap between what we pay to MTA and what we receive in return. Gateway is Rockland County’s Penn Station Access project. We need MTA and Metro-North to invest in Gateway now and advocate to ensure that the Bergen Loop comes to fruition.”