April 28 saw an early evening update from Gov. Kathy Hochul about the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and it was the day the month-late 2026 fiscal year $254 Billion State Budget was passed. This budget is the biggest capital investment in New York’s transportation history and will fully fund the MTA’s proposed $68.4 billion 2025-2029 capital plan to improve, repair and maintain the MTA.
Also, of special interest to Manhattanites, the new budget will invest $77 million for police officers on every overnight subway train, installing platform barriers and LED lighting, with other programs and will allocate $25 million for centers to provide services and care for the homeless on our transit system.
Funding will be helped by changing the payroll mobility tax, charged to businesses in New York City and counties in the area served by the MTA ; for large employers, the tax will increase, but go down for smaller ones…