A message from Scott M. Stringer
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Dear Friend:
This week my office hosted an engaging, thought-provoking conference on one of the greatest public challenges of our time – repairing the crumbling state of our roads, bridges and other national infrastructure. The conference, entitled “Banking on the Future: A New Paradigm for Rebuilding Our Nation’s Infrastructure,” brought together top leaders from business, government, labor and academia to discuss the creation of a national or state infrastructure bank. Many see infrastructure banks – and the public-private partnerships they could foster — as a smart, forward-thinking approach to bringing our roads, rails and energy grids into the 21st century.
Watch my appearance this week on NY1’s “Inside City Hall” with former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell who participated in the conference, and click here to read a white paper that my office prepared for the 400 attendees who came together at Baruch College’s Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute.
Governor Rendell joined us for a lively morning session that included Reps. Steve Israel, Jerrold Nadler, and Rosa DeLauro. Business leader Bernard Schwartz, a strong advocate for infrastructure investment, offered his advice on attracting private sector capital. Labor leaders like Mike Fishman, President of SEIU Local 32BJ, and Gary LaBarbera, President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of New York, brought the perspective of their 200,000 members. And Chris Ward, Executive Director of the New York & New Jersey Port Authority talked about how his agency is already using a public-private partnership to rebuild the Goethals Bridge.
This was a diverse group with no shortage of varying opinions, but they all agreed on one thing: the time for action is now. Just consider some of the facts highlighted at the conference:
Nationally, the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates it will take $2.2 trillion to bring our critical infrastructure links to an acceptable state of repair.
Locally, 79% of Manhattan bridges and overpasses are deemed “functionally obsolete” by the New York State Transportation Department.
China is spending $200 billion in high-speed rail and Spain $150 billion, but the U.S. has pledged only $5 billion per year for six years – and Republicans are fighting that at every step.
We can do better than this, but government cannot do it alone. What is needed is innovative thinking and a plan of action to make an infrastructure bank a reality. In the coming weeks my office will be hard at work on developing just such a plan, based on insights and suggestions from this week’s conference.
Sincerely,
Scott M. Stringer
Manhattan Borough President
