Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about Construction Costs

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Authorities Budget Office Director Jeffrey Pearlman run the two watchdog agencies that advocates expect to investigate MTA construction bloat, but neither office says it's pursuing the matter. Pearlman photo via Bearian/Wikimedia Commons

Will Any of New York’s Government Watchdogs Lift a Finger to Control MTA Construction Costs?

By Ben Fried | Feb 1, 2018 | 4 Comments

Despite the incalculable value of the NYC transit system to the welfare of the city and state, no one in government is racing to solve the MTA's cost problem.

The board room at 2 Broadway. Photo: MTA/Flickr

The MTA Board Standing Up for Riders? It Could Happen.

By Ben Fried | Jan 24, 2018 | 1 Comment

The board often acts as a rubber stamp, but the action at today's meeting hints at the more muscular oversight role it can and should play.

MTA Chair Joe Lhota. Photo: MTA/Marc Hermann via Wikimedia Commons

A Whole Lhota Excuses About High MTA Construction Costs

By Alon Levy | Oct 25, 2017 | 9 Comments

New York City's sky-high subway construction costs are finally getting some much-needed attention from elected officials. But with pressure mounting to reform MTA capital construction practices and bring costs down, the agency is falling back on familiar excuses.

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“Independent” Audit of Oregon DOT Looks More Like Agency PR

By Angie Schmitt | Feb 2, 2017 | No Comments

The audit is an object lesson in how transportation agencies and their consultants can manipulate public communications to serve their self-interest.

The American Dream Meadowlands, a subsidized mall in northern New Jersey, has been beset by delays, cost overruns, bribery, and racketeering -- a case of cronyism that may prefigure the new normal in Trump's America.

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Why Infrastructure Costs May Rise Thanks to Trump’s Cronyism

By Alon Levy | Dec 20, 2016 | No Comments

The Trump transition team is already harassing companies in several ways, all of which are likely to lead to more graft and higher costs for the public.