Hochul, MTA celebrate restored A train subway line – but still no answers on how they’ll pay for $3B spending plan

ALBANY – All aboard nan indebtedness train?

Gov. Kathy Hochul took a triumph thigh connected restored work connected nan Rockaway A Train Monday morning, but it’s still a enigma really nan flailing MTA will plug a backing spread successful its monolithic five-year superior plan.

Hochul acknowledged past week that a woody included successful authorities fund talks to money astir of nan MTA’s record-breaking $68 cardinal superior scheme connection includes a $3 cardinal shortfall that she expects nan transit agency to screen connected its ain by coming up pinch savings and issuing caller debt.

“We’ve asked for nan MTA to travel up pinch $150 cardinal worthy of savings, which I cognize they’re tin of, and that money would consequence successful bonding nan further $3 cardinal dollars,” Hochul said.

With reporters successful tow, Hochul posed for pictures and handed retired stickers to riders connected nan A train Monday morning. She past delivered immoderate remarks astatine a property convention alongside different pols and MTA Chair Janno Lieber earlier leaving successful a authorities constabulary SUV that ferried her distant without taking questions.

A rep for Hochul referred The Post to comments from Lieber wherever he committed to making cuts, but didn’t elaborate connected nan logic down taking connected further debt.

“The legislature and nan politician person challenged america to fig retired really to do each nan activity that was programmed successful nan $68 cardinal dollar programme and to do it for little and we’ve accepted that challenge,” Lieber said.

Watchdogs for illustration Rachael Fauss from Reinvent Albany are concerned that nan MTA whitethorn person to break precedent and pat into its operating gross from subway fares and different sources to money multi-year projects housed nether its monolithic superior plan.

“We don’t cognize what nan early holds for nan system and nan MTA, truthful making a committedness to usage operating savings for semipermanent indebtedness is risky,” Fauss said.

She noted that could lead to fare hikes aliases cuts to work if an economical downturn hits arsenic Hochul herself had forecasted.

“What you don’t want is nan MTA utilizing operating revenues aliases fare container gross to enslaved if they don’t person to, because that puts unit connected them and intends little money for their operating budget,” Fauss said.

Lieber said arsenic precocious arsenic past week he’s committed to keeping MTA indebtedness amounts astatine aliases beneath 15% of operating revenues.

“There’s tons of ways that we tin execute nan redeeming and ratio we person talked astir but we’re conscionable getting started. So I don’t want anyone to deliberation that we’re conscionable piling connected nan borrowing,” Lieber said.

Multiple lawmakers told The Post they hadn’t been looped successful connected nan MTA’s plans either.

Some expressed akin concerns astir perchance bonding retired operating revenues for nan superior plan.

“Generally that’s not a very bully financial procedure,” Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Queens) told The Post.