MTA needs to fix existing trains, buses before building new IBX rail line, transit official says

An MTA official on Wednesday said New Yorkers should curb their enthusiasm over a planned train line between Brooklyn and Queens, saying the project may be held up until the agency gets the rest of its system on the right track.

The project — called the Interborough Express, or “IBX” — aims to build a 14-mile light rail route and 19 new stations along existing freight tracks from Bay Ridge to Jackson Heights, filling in a major hole in the city’s transit network.

But Sean Fitzpatrick, the deputy chief of staff for the MTA’s construction department, told reporters during an open house at Brooklyn College on Wednesday that the line shouldn’t be built until key fixes are made to the rest of the city’s transit infrastructure.

“The MTA can't in good conscience invest in new infrastructure without making sure that we have the funding in place to secure our existing system,” Fitzpatrick said. “It only makes sense to invest in a new line if we're able to take care of our existing infrastructure for our existing subways, railroads and buses.”

He said it would be years before ground breaks on the IBX, adding that the MTA will begin a federal review process on the project this winter, which could take up to two years to complete. He said construction could begin in five years.

The project — which was a centerpiece of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first State of the State speech in 2022— is estimated to cost $5.5 billion. Officials estimate it could serve as many as 115,000 riders per weekday.

Hochul’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Fitzpatrick’s comments came a month after the MTA released its 20-year needs assessment, which lays out an extensive list of maintenance and repairs the agency needs to make to shore up its equipment over the next two decades. The assessment also gave a positive rating to the IBX project.

“The priority need over the course of 20 years is to address those assets that are in poor and marginal condition,” Jamie Torres-Springer, head of the MTA’s construction department, said following the release of the report. “Expansion projects only really make sense if we get the resources we need to address the state of the existing system, what we always refer to as state of good repair.”

In a statement to Gothamist on Thursday, Torres-Springer said "it's no surprise" the IBX received a high rating in the 20-year needs assessment. He pointed to progress the MTA has already made on the project as evidence the agency is committed to getting it done.

“The Interborough Express is a transformative project and the MTA is thrilled to be moving it forward as quickly as possible under the leadership of Governor Hochul," Torres-Springer said in the statement. "It will provide better access to jobs, economic opportunity, and education to 115,000 daily riders, and awarding the contract for environmental review this summer was a major first step toward making IBX a reality.”

Wednesday’s meeting was the first of three open houses the MTA plans to hold on the IBX plan this month. Some in attendance were buzzing over the prospect of the city’s first new major train line in decades.

“There will be a lot of negative feedback against it,” Vera Pavone, 83, from Midwood, predicted. “But I think that if it's done right, it can be very wonderful for New York City.”

Pavone lamented the long timeline for MTA projects.

“When I was young, I hoped for something like this,” she said. “I don't think I'll see it in my lifetime, but my offspring will.”

But some like Elmhurst resident Lauren Brundage feared the new line would intrude on her backyard. She lives near the line’s proposed stop at Grand Avenue on the Brooklyn-Queens border.

“This whole area is just wild trees. It's just trees and birds. It's lush,” Brundage said. “I'm all for the line. I just would like it to stay a little wild.”