Issue Position: Standing Up for New York

Issue Position

Carolyn Maloney's number one priority is fighting for New York. From bringing back billions of dollars in federal funding for our subway system to expanding affordable housing and improving our schools, Carolyn Maloney knows how to get results for our city.

Here are some highlights of her work:

Second Avenue Subway -- For nearly a century, people have been talking about building a Second Avenue Subway, but Carolyn finally helped get it done. Thanks to $1.3 billion in federal funding Carolyn helped secure, along with constant pressure on state and federal officials to keep the project moving, Phase 1 of the Second Avenue Subway will open at the end of 2016. The line will provide a one seat ride from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, with new stations at 96th, 86th and 72nd Street. Carolyn is now working to get federal funding for Phase 2, after successfully ensuring that the MTA included sufficient funding in its budget to allow the project to move forward.

East Side Access -- Carolyn helped secure $2.6 billion in federal funding for the East Side Access, a new tunnel that will bring the LIRR into Grand Central Terminal. Drilling is underway and, when completed, the new line will save commuters up to 40 minutes every day, and will help alleviate congestion caused by passengers traveling East from Penn Station. In addition, it will create 25,000 square feet of retail in a new course at Grand Central.

Kosciuszko Bridge Replacement -- Kosciuszko Bridge is one of the worst bridges in the entire country, and it is now being replaced by two side-by- side cable-stayed bridges that will provide more capacity, better sight lines, shoulders and a pedestrian walkway/bikepath. Carolyn obtained $670 million in federal funding to replace the bridge. The contractors have completed the towers that will support the first phase, and we are looking forward to traffic on the new span in 2017.

Superstorm Sandy -- In the wake of Superstorm Sandy's devastating impact on New York and states along the east coast, Carolyn worked closely with her colleagues from New York and other affected areas to secure more than $60 billion in federal recovery aid. This desperately needed aid helped families and small businesses rebuild and fund desperately-needed repairs to transit system, hospitals and other damaged infrastructure.

L Train Repairs -- The 100-year- old tunnel that carries the L train under the East River flooded badly during Sandy. The saltwater caused severe damage to the aging tunnel. Using a portion of the $5.4 billion Congress provided the MTA for Sandy recovery, the MTA will be closing the line between Eighth Avenue in Manhattan and Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn for 18 months to repair the damaged tunnel and fix and improve stations near the East River. Carolyn has been working to make sure the MTA seeks community input on this project and does everything possible to provide a broad range of alternative ways to move people during construction.

East River Ferry Service -- New Yorkers are rediscovering that ferries are a great way to get to work. Ridership on the Brooklyn-Queens ferry is exceeding every expectation. After Sandy, the City received more than $191 million in federal funds for New York City, which Carolyn helped secure, to add new ferry service between Brooklyn and Roosevelt Island, the Upper East Side and midtown, with a new ferry station at 20th Street. Ferries will also provide alternative service while the L train is being repaired.

East Side Coastal Resiliency Project -- Superstorm Sandy drove millions of gallons of saltwater onto our streets and caused enormous destruction. Rising sea levels make another similar flood likely. Carolyn worked to secure $355 million in federal funding to create flood resistant parks and barriers on the East Side up 23rd Street.

Keeping Stuytown Peter Cooper Village (STPCV) affordable -- When STPCV was sold to speculators who tried to push out the middle class, it was shocking to learn the deal was largely financed through federal agencies that are supposed to be dedicated to making housing more affordable. In 2014, working with local officials, Carolyn helped win key commitments from those federal agencies, putting the STPCV Tenants Association in the driver's seat of the sale negotiations and leading to the deal that preserves 5,000 affordable units at STPCV.

Senior Housing -- Carolyn worked with local non-profits to obtain federal funding to expand affordable housing for seniors and we have built over 500 units at HANAC Iakovos Senior Residence, HANAC George T. Douris Tower, HANAC PCA Residence, Vallone Family Senior Residence and Riverview Gardens. These projects were built with a combination of federal low income tax credits, federal home loan bank funds and Section 202 funds.

New Local Schools -- Overcrowding in our public schools is a persistent problem. To address this, Carolyn co-chaired task forces that led to the creation of the Eleanor Roosevelt High School and PS 151. Carolyn also collaborated with her colleagues to create the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts High School, PS 78, PS 267 and develop new facilities for other schools, including East Side Middle School.

Queens Seawall -- After hearing from constituents that the seawall near Queensbridge Park was crumbling, Carolyn organized a task force and brought the community, elected officials and relevant agencies together to solve the problem. It took ten years, and the generosity of the city and state, but we got it fixed.

Dutch Kills Green -- When the city came to Carolyn with a proposal to improve traffic and create a new park in Queens Plaza, she worked to provide nearly $20 million in federal assistance and we now have better crossings and the new Dutch Kills Park.

Bushwick Inlet Park -- When Greenpoint/Williamsburg was upzoned to allow much more development, the City committed to build a 27.8-acre park -- this area is starved for open space. But, so far, only 3.5 acres have been converted into parkland. Carolyn is working to make sure this promise of new parkland is kept by urging private landholders to work with the city and she even camped out with activists to call attention to the issue. This new parkland isn't supposed to be a gift, but a trade for the burden of more development, and Carolyn won't stop until we have our promised park.

Newtown Creek Superfund Clean up -- Newtown Creek is one of the dirtiest bodies of water in the country. With Carolyn's urging, the EPA declared it a superfund site and the EPA is now developing a plan to clean it up.

Swinging 60s and Small World Day Care -- When two critical neighborhood resources, Swinging 60s Senior Center and Small World Day Care Center, were in danger of closing, Carolyn worked with then City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and her colleagues to restore over $1.8 million in funding to keep them open.

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