Trump admin stonewall leaves Second Avenue subway funding in peril once again

Amid a government shutdown, Rep. Adriano Espaillat and local leaders called attention to the White House's threat to halt funding for the Second Avenue Subway in Harlem — a critical infrastructure project first proposed a century ago.

- By ARIAMA C. LONG Amsterdam News Staff

"We continue to fight for transportation equity. I say that because East Harlem is the biggest public transportation desert," said Espaillat at his press conference on Thursday, October 2.

This comes after a social media post from Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and coauthor of Project 2025, announced a $18 billion budget cut to two New York City projects. With no evidence, he claimed the projects were based on "unconstitutional Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) principles."

"Something like this to happen would be a kick in the face to people who have already suffered transportation disparities, who have already suffered economic disparities and economic development disparities, employment disparities," said State Sen. Cordell Cleare. "It is unacceptable that this 100-year-old project finally comes to Black and Brown communities and we're now threatened with the funding being pulled back."