Investing in New York’s Infrastructure
“Press releases out of Albany are not going to shorten communtes, secure our crumbling bridges or fix the pipes in Hoosick Falls that are making New York residents sick. We cannot afford to wait to address New York’s infrastructure problems; our communities depend on reliable, affordable access to clean water, good roads, and functional sewers to live every single day. — Stephanie Miner
Cuomo’s failed economic development programs cost New York State residents $4 billion and come with a $100 million bureaucracy. The results are an economy that in most of the state trails the nation in growth by nearly 50% and crippled leadership reeling from multiple criminal convictions for corruption. The lifeblood of our economy, our mass transit systems, roads, water, energy and internet services are all in disrepair. Instead of investing in programs that are costly and ineffective we need to invest taxpayer money productively and address the dire need for infrastructure updates.
New York State’s infrastructure has a C- rating:
● Approximately 100 bridges in New York State were closed in 2017 due to serious deficiencies.
● 28% of public roads are in poor condition, which costs motorists an extra $571 per year.
● To repair, replace, and update New York’s wastewater infrastructure would cost $36.2 billion over 20 years. New York’s wastewater funding program is simply insufficient to fulfill even half of this essential reinvestment..
New York will continue to bleed talent to other states as long as we fail to provide basic services.
As the Mayor of Syracuse, I made infrastructure the cornerstone of my administration. In a nation where lots of communities are searching for innovative answers to these pressing problems, we became a leading voice for use of data driven decision making. We used our convening power to coordinate across both private and public sector agencies to stretch everyone’s dollars a little further and deliver measurable progress for our residents. This is the approach we will take with the entire state.
We will end economic development programs and their bureaucracy and use that money to invest in transit, roads, bridges, water and high speed affordable broadband.
Our challenges are many:
- Water infrastructure will require investments of $40B over 20 years.
- Roads and bridges will require investments of $35.5B over 15 years.
- Dams will require investments of $267M.
- Parks will require investments of $1B over 10 years.
- Road paving will require investments of $40B over 20 years.
- Upstate mass transportation will require investments of an additional $577M/year.
- The MTA will require investments of $19B in the next 5 years.
The following measures should also serve notice to bond ratings agencies that we are serious about tackling these issues, helping reduce borrowing costs significantly. In order to achieve our infrastructure goals we will:
- Create a long term strategic plan for infrastructure that is widely supported by elected and appointed officials and serves as a driver for performance.
- The plan will be accompanied by a robust performance management system that is used by managers to assess progress.
- Plans will be well-sequenced and coordinated, with high-quality research and evaluation practices to guide development.
- Progress towards achieving results will be tracked online in an accessible, easy-to-understand format so that the public can see whether or not we are accomplishing what we have set out to do.
- Strategically deploy government resources toward the best, most productive outcomes.
- Financial timeframes will be future-focused using five-year budgeting, ten-year fiscal planning, and thirty-year capital plans.
- The state will leverage private and philanthropic capital for the benefit of low-income people and communities in need.
- Budget allocations will be based on evidence and oriented toward results, realigning to the best use of funds as appropriate
- Utilize data and modern technologies for better performance, innovation and engagement.
- Government and vendor data will be available for public review and analysis.
- Analytics will be used to proactively support better outcomes.
- Procurement practices will allow new players to engage in government contract opportunities.
For more information on Stephanie Miner, and to donate, please visit www.minerforny.com
