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U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand<\/p>\nSubways or submarines? Sen. Kristen Gillibrand and Rep. Adriano Espaillat reintroduced the Resilient Transit Act last week on July 16, coinciding with the recent flooding in MTA stations across the city.<\/p>\n
The bill would put $300 million towards retrofitting public transportation systems against climate change-induced disasters through an existing U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) formula fund program. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe Resilient Transit Act of 2025 establishes the first-ever dedicated funding stream to proactively strengthen our transit systems, while working to make them more durable in the face of extreme weather and climate-driven threats,\u201d said Rep. Espaillat in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m proud to join Sen. Gillibrand to introduce this critical piece of legislation once again, ensuring our infrastructure not only withstands storms today but continues to serve communities tomorrow. Together, we are committed to investing in public transit and safeguarding the lifeblood of cities around the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
State of Good Repair grants provide capital assistance for transit agencies to maintain their lines in urbanized areas and such a formula would disburse funding if the bill passes. The Resilient Transit Act could help bankroll standalone projects or bolster broader resiliency efforts to better prepare for natural disasters fueled by climate change like earthquakes, wildfires and floods. <\/p>\n
A few environmental justice provisions were added onto the reintroduced bill. Gillibrand\u2019s office pointed to exacerbated impacts to Black and Brown New Yorkers due to more transit use and greater flooding in non-white neighborhoods in Texas and New York. <\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of extreme weather events, Black and Brown communities are more likely to live in neighborhoods that are at the front lines of the destruction,\u201d said Gillibrand over email. \u201cThis bill would help communities across New York by increasing transit safety and reliability during and after destructive storms like the one in New York City earlier this month. Access to transit levels the playing field for everyone, and it must continue to serve as a lifeline for potentially impacted communities.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Sen. Kristen Gillibrand<\/p>\n
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Rep. Adriano Espaillat<\/p>\n
Despite the timing, Gillibrand\u2019s office maintains the bill\u2019s reintroduction two days after stormwater flooded the 1 train route<\/a> is a coincidence. On July 14, Central Park recorded 2.07 inches of precipitation surpassing Hurricane Henri four years ago. Only Hurricane Ida, which also occurred in 2021, documented more rainfall. <\/p>\n \u201cAs climate change increases the number and severity of extreme rainfall events the city is experiencing, we are doing things like increasing the number of trees in the city to reduce stormwater and using the latest available climate science and data to inform our infrastructure projects,\u201d said Elijah Hutchinson, Mayor\u2019s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice executive director, in a statement. \u201cWe also continue to look for every available dollar that can be put towards projects that address flash flooding and encourage all New Yorkers to use our Environmental Justice NYC mapping tool to explore the flood risk where they live and work.\u201d<\/p>\n