MTA Outages Hurt NYC Economy, Says Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams

FORT GREENE, BROOKLYN — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams chastised the MTA for shoddy service and demanded the city conduct an economic review of the agency, a day after a power outage at the DeKalb Avenue station caused extensive delays.

The massive outage during Tuesday's morning rush hour halted subway service on the B line and left the D, N, Q and R trains with delays that left thousands of passengers stranded in Brooklyn.

Adams demanded on Wednesday that the city’s Independent Budget Office study how big an impact such MTA subway outages have on New York’s $1.4 trillion economy.

“Tax revenue is directly correlated with the strength of our city’s economy, of which the transit system is the lifeblood,” said Adams.

"It is time for the Governor’s Office and the MTA to prove how seriously the State takes the impact that an underfunded and outdated transit system has had on straphangers’ daily lives as well as our local and statewide economies."

The MTA has since requested a meeting with ConEd to determine the cause of the power outages, said MTA spokeswoman Beth DeFalco in her responding statement.

An IBO spokesman said the agency will work with Adams' office to determine whether an investigation is feasible.

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