NYC-Area Business Groups Press Trump On Stimulus For MTA, City

NEW YORK CITY — President Donald Trump needs to step up and secure federal funding to help his hometown recover from the coronavirus crisis.

That’s the plea from a new letter sent Trump by three New York City-area business groups. The single-page note outlines the pending pecuniary pinch facing the entire metropolitan area, with a heavy focus on MTA — which services 10 percent of the nation’s economic output.

“This is why it is imperative that you negotiate the agreement that provides dedicated funding for mass transit systems, which are suffering an existential fiscal crisis as a result of Covid-19’s impact on ridership and revenues,” the letter states. “Without federal relief, this will further devastate businesses that rely on mass transit and also constrain the national economic recovery.”

The letter was signed by the leaders of Partnership For New York City, Long Island Association and The Business Council of Westchester.

The Partnership For New York City recently sent another high-profile plea to Mayor Bill de Blasio, urging him to take action on crime and quality of life issues in the city.

Together, the letters hint that the region’s business leaders are growing restless over the city’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

The cash-strapped city itself faces the prospect of 22,000 layoffs, and MTA officials have also cast dire warnings if the transit service doesn’t receive $12 billion in federal aid.

De Blasio, when asked Monday about the letter to Trump, said he was pleased to hear the business leaders were using their power to push the president on stimulus.

“Donald Trump has not lifted a finger to push that stimulus forward, let’s be real about that,” he said. “So hopefully people he does have a relationship with and who he might listen to differently because they’re business leaders — them weighing in for a stimulus is very helpful. I commend them.”

Read the letter here.