Write a position paper addressing a sustainability issue in New York, focusing on Governor Hochul's FY 2023 Investments in Clean Energy Infrastructure, Climate Resiliency, and Preservation Plan. Take a clear stance on how the plan addresses environmental protection, social equity, and social justice, supporting your position with evidence and refuting an opposing viewpoint. The paper must be at least two pages in APA format, include a visual on the cover page, and cite at least four sources, including one opposing your stance. Your introduction should present the issue and lead to a strong thesis, while the conclusion should emphasize the urgency of the problem.

Introduction

Governor Hochul’s 2023 clean energy plan has committed to renewable energy,
sustainability, and fighting climate change(NYS 1). Advocates for her plan argue that investing
in green infrastructure will help NYC accomplish major climate goals and reduce the city’s
carbon footprint. They also point out that working on these things will help the public
transportation system, specifically the MTA. They cite the clean energy buses that Governor
Hochul is trying to implement as evidence for this. Overall, they claim that this plan targets a
border, long-term investment that will benefit multiple sectors of NYC, including the MTA
transportation system.

However, this plan doesn’t address the immediate critical issues affecting the MTA
subway system. Corruption, mismanagement, and political inaction have left our subway system
crippled, underfunded, and dysfunctional. Some of these issues are manifested by, for example,
the daily delays, aging infrastructure that causes environmental hazards, and safety concerns like
criminal activity and falling off the tracks. This issue on the subway systems also raises concerns
about environmental protection, social equity, and social justice. The majority of the people who
are affected by these issues are low-income communities and communities of color. This
problem gives rise to inequality.

Hochul’s clean energy plan is commendable, but not addressing these concerns of the
MTA subway system shows a missed opportunity. New York cannot fully achieve its
environmental or social equity goals without significant reform and investments in the MTA.

Corruption and Mismanagement in the MTA

One of the primary reasons for the MTA’s Lack of improvement is internal corruption. An
example is a case from 2003, where Luis Anemone, the MTA’s then-director of security, exposed the practices that contractors were partaking in, such as bid rigging, payoffs (bribes), and multi-
million dollar overruns(Case text 5). Bid rigging is when multiple contractors collaborate and assign one contractor to be the competing bid from the other contractors. This practice acts as if
the MTA was choosing based on competition and capitalism when, in reality, it was the
contractor orchestrating this. Overruns are when a contractor says they need a budget to
complete the project but then spends over the planned budget. They justify the expenditure by
saying it was “unpredictable situations” that led to them spending more. In reality, they raised the
price significantly. These practices lead to significantly higher costs for little to no improvement
on the system, ultimately affecting most New Yorkers.

It’s also important to note that the subway system affects most low-income communities.
These low-income communities tend to be the communities of color and are the ones who
heavily rely on public transportation to commute to their jobs and careers. A poor transportation
system increases travel times, contributes to job insecurity, and diminishes quality of life because
of wasted time from delays. Not addressing these systemic issues causes perpetual inequality,
ultimately losing the government officials’ credibility. Improving the transportation system helps
improve social equity and social justice for marginalized communities and, in return, gives more
revenue and more funding to the MTA to keep improving the systems.

Environmental Protection from the MTA

From an environmental protection perspective, the MTA can potentially reduce carbon
emissions from the city. Governor Hochul has paused congestion pricing to address the high
prices New Yorkers are paying for living costs(NYS 1-Govenor Hochul). However, the reason
why they made the congestion pricing was because of the overflow of traffic. There has been a
reduction in people willing to use public transportation because of its known unreliability and unsafe environment. Improving the subway system will reduce the traffic as more people will be
willing to take the transit. This improvement removes the need for congestion pricing, which
ultimately helps people pay for their living costs.

A functional and reliable subway system has the potential to provide sustainable transport
as an alternative to cars, which contribute significantly to the city’s air pollution and buildup of
greenhouse gases. Thus, transportation can be the primary contender for Governor Hochul’s plan
to use clean energy.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these efforts to improve New York City’s transportation system are
necessary to go forward with a plan to achieve environmental and social equity goals. The first
issue politicians should address is the internal corruption within the MTA. The MTA has poor
management with their contractors and poor management of funding from the state. Also,
politicians take advantage of the MTA subway system by reducing funding, giving loans to the
MTA that accrue debt, and taking the MTA’s revenue into other things. The New York Times
found these issues while investigating the MTA and the politicians behind the MTA in a small
documentary. They mention flooding, lack of improvement of the signals within the subway
system, political corruption, and many more (New York Times). The second issue politicians
must address is the political inaction to improve this transportation system. The transit of NYC
affects many New Yorkers, and specifically low-income communities that tend to be the colored
communities. The lack of political movement is underserving these communities, thus increasing
social inequity. People from low-income communities are more affected as they rely on public
transit to work, jobs, careers, etc. These communities feel the negative effects of these transits by
job insecurity, social inequity, and the lack of environmental justice. By serving the MTA and its subway system, it can re-represent these low-income communities that benefit from the transit, as it increases revenue and can have job security. This representation also increases social equity and practices a sustainable system that encourages environmental protection by reducing carbon emissions and long traffic congestion. Improving the public subway system will be a huge plus, and Governor Hochul should consider implementing this as soon as possible to see the city shine again.