Gillibrand, Schumer Lead Bronx Congressional Delegation In Call For Trump Administration To Release $156.5 Million In Bronx Stations Accessibility Upgrade Funding

Gillibrand, Schumer Lead Bronx Congressional Delegation In Call For Trump Administration To Release $156.5 Million In Bronx Stations Accessibility Upgrade Funding

May 1, 2026

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, along with Senator Charles Schumer, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congressman Adriano Espaillat, and Congressman Ritchie Torres called on U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Sean Duffy to swiftly complete the agency's review for an All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) grant that the MTA was selected for to improve accessibility in Bronx subway stations so individuals can continue to safely use New York's world-class public transportation system. The MTA was selected for the grant nearly two years ago and remains the only grant awardee that has yet to receive the funds.

In the letter to Secretary Duffy, the members underscored the critical importance of releasing the ASAP grant funding, "The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that public transportation be accessible to people with disabilities. However, infrastructure built before the passage of the ADA in 1990, like much of the New York City subway system, must be retrofitted to be fully accessible to people with disabilities." The ASAP grant's central purpose is to fund state and local capital projects to meet or exceed ADA accessibility standards at train stations, which remain low in New York City with only 32% of train stations being fully accessible.

While this grant for $156.5 million was announced nearly two years ago, the money "remains unobligated and in limbo under the new internal grant review process DOT imposed upon itself at the start of this Administration to review already announced and awarded, but not yet obligated, grants to ensure compliance with its new policies and executive orders," the members wrote.

The members closed by urging a swift review of the grant, underscored by the fact that DOT recently issued a third Notice of Funding Availability (NOFO) for ASAP, making $686 million in FY 2025 and FY 2026 IIJA advance appropriations funding available. The NOFO states that 'if more funding becomes available for the program before projects are selected, FTA may add it to the total funding available for award under this NOFO.' We are concerned this caveat leaves the door open for DOT to cancel the FY 2024 award MTA successfully competed for and provide it to another recipient applying for the new NOFO."

The full letter can be found HERE.

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