MTA Sues Trump Over Frozen 2nd Avenue Subway Funding

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — The MTA filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday morning over the frozen federal funding earmarked for the East Harlem expansion of the Second Avenue Subway.

The lawsuit comes after Russ Vought, President Donald Trump’s budget director, said that a $3.4 billion grant would no longer move forward because of what he called "unconstitutional DEI principles" in October.

Vought was referring specifically to DOT’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program, which issues contracts to businesses owned by women and minority groups.

The Second Avenue Subway line, which currently stops at East 96th Street, was in the process of being extended to 106th Street, 116th Street, and then 125th Street, officials said, when the funding was frozen.

Early work on the tunnel construction was meant to begin this winter.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. Federal Court of Claims, argues that the MTA complied with the review and that the Trump administration is now in breach of contract. In the lawsuit, the MTA wrote that the federal government now owes the agency $60 million.

"We were just forced to sue the Trump administration because for the last six months, money that was committed for the essential extension of the Second Avenue Subway has been held hostage," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said.
"We warned that we'd go to court, and we are."

For questions, email Miranda.Levingston@Patch.com.