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yesterday

FTA Gives MTA 30 Days, Threatens to Withhold Up to 25% of Funds Over Worker Safety Failures

Federal reviewers say the agency’s risk assessments undercount recent hazards by omitting 2024 data.

A subway train runs on snow-covered tracks during a snowfall in New York City, U.S., February 6, 2025. REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado/File Photo
Image
A train pulls into the Cortlandt Street station in Lower Manhattan.
MTA workers repair tracks at a 125th St. subway station in Harlem on June 28, 2017. (Anthony DelMundo / New York Daily News)

Overview

  • The Federal Transit Administration rejected two New York City Transit safety risk assessments and ordered a third that incorporates 2024 incidents, revises exposure measures, and updates probability classifications.
  • FTA officials warned they will not allow a fourth submission and could direct federal dollars to fixes, impose restrictions, or withhold up to 25% of assistance if the MTA fails to comply.
  • Audits flagged a sharp rise in track‑worker near misses to 38 in 2023 from 24 in 2022, following a 2023 worker fatality and a severe injury in 2024.
  • MTA leadership said federal questions were answered months ago and cast the warning as a punitive response tied to the fight over congestion pricing, adding that legal options are under review.
  • Transport Workers Union leaders welcomed the federal pressure, arguing the MTA has not adequately addressed risks to track crews under administrations of both parties.