NEW YORK – Congresswoman Carolyn B Maloney (NY-12), on January 12, applauded US Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg for sending a $6,2 billion award of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds to the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which employs tens of thousands of people and has provided billions of trips in recent years. The award is the largest one-time grant ever awarded by USDOT’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA). ARP transit funds are intended to help transit agencies around the country maintain service and keep workers on the payroll as communities continue to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. This award comes at a crucial moment as agencies nationwide are facing the challenge of a new variant.

“Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, New Yorkers – and especially our frontline heroes – have relied on the MTA to get from point A to point B,” said Congresswoman Maloney. “This funding from President Biden’s American Rescue Plan will help avoid rate hikes, maintain service levels, protect transit employees from layoffs, and keep New Yorkers moving. As our City rebuilds from the COVID-19 crisis, I thank the USDOT and Secretary Buttigieg for providing this much needed shot of hope straight to the MTA.”

The $6.2 billion grant award to the New York MTA will help maintain service and preserve the jobs of the agency’s 66,000 employees—who served approximately 3.8 billion trips in 2019—and of those passengers who rely on the agency’s transit services to get to work.

This funding is part of more than $30 billion for public transportation in the American Rescue Plan Act which was signed into law by President Biden last March. The funding comes from the $26.6 billion allocated by statutory formulas to urban and rural areas, tribal governments, and for the enhanced mobility of seniors and individuals with disabilities. The Act also included $2.2 billion for additional transit pandemic-associated need, which will be awarded later this year.

Rep. Maloney Announces Arts Institutions in NY-12 Receive $2M in NEA Awards

On January 11, Congresswoman Maloney announced the first round of recommended National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) awards for fiscal year 2022, with 85 awards totaling approximately $2 million for NY-12 arts institutions.

“New York City’s artists and arts organizations suffered immensely throughout the COVID-19 crisis, but they are also key to fueling our City’s recovery. I am deeply grateful to the NEA for supporting efforts to provide funding to the individuals and organizations in NY-12 who are helping rebuild New York City’s economy,” said Congresswoman Maloney. “Arts are a part of the fabric of our City, and I am thrilled these artists and organizations are getting the monetary support they so justly deserve.”

The NEA is also providing separate grants through the ARP, which provides funding to the arts sector for rebuilding and recovery due to COVID-19. Funding to regional, state, and local arts agencies was announced last year. The next round of ARP funding for arts organizations will be announced later in January 2022. More information on the NEA’s American Rescue Plan funding is available on arts.gov.