Some of New York’s marquee infrastructure projects — including the next leg of the Second Avenue subway — are “advancing” under the Biden administration, says a Brooklynite who now serves as second-in-command at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Polly Trottenberg, who worked as New York City transportation commissioner for seven years, is now several months into her new job in Washington, where she is deputy to Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg.

“Obviously, in a national role, you don't play favorites. But look, I am a New Yorker in my heart,” Trottenberg said in an interview with Spectrum News NY1, when asked what her position at USDOT means for New York.

Trottenberg says, without question, New York is home to projects important not only to the city and state but the nation as a whole, including the proposed $12 billion Gateway rail tunnel under the Hudson River, the next phase of the Second Avenue subway, and congestion pricing in central and lower Manhattan.

Those projects made little headway under the Trump administration, but Trottenberg stresses they are now seeing movement.

“Under this administration, all three of those projects are advancing with some important recent milestones for all of them,” she said.

Status Check on Big NY Projects

Just last month, the Federal Transit Administration bumped the Hudson tunnel project up to a “medium-high” priority, moving it closer to getting federal funding.

A spokesman for the Gateway Program said they aim to begin full construction in Aug. 2023.

“When you talk about a project of national significance, that's Gateway,” Trottenberg said.

In January, the feds also gave the MTA the thumbs up to start engineering work on the Second Avenue Subway extension from East 96th Street to 125th Street and Lexington.

And on congestion pricing, last year the Biden administration approved the start of an environmental review. A draft could be ready for public review in late spring.

Asked about the future of the congestion pricing plan that she helped develop when she worked for the city, Trottenberg spoke carefully, saying she does not want to put her thumb on the scale.

“We've seen congestion pricing be very successful in European cities like London and Stockholm. And I think there's always been a lot of interest in: can we replicate this kind of good results in the American context? New York is the furthest along,” she said.

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently put another high-profile New York transportation project on ice: former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s controversial AirTrain to Laguardia Airport. 

Trottenberg agrees the city needs better rail links to its airports, but said it is smart to take a fresh look.

“I know the governor's put some great transportation thinkers to the task and obviously we at the federal level will look forward to the good ideas that they come up with,” she said.

Containing Costs

In New York, one thing seems to unite all major projects: their giant price tags. 

Researchers at NYU, for example, pegged the next phase of the Second Avenue line as one of the most expensive subway extensions ever on a per-mile basis.

Are there ways for the federal government to help reduce those costs? Trotteenberg says that is a question Buttigieg is focused on.

“We are certainly trying to think at the federal level: Are there ways that we can help expedite? That we can help streamline? That we can be a partner in making our processes easier?” Trottenberg said.

She says local and state governments have a role to play here, too. In New York, for example, Trottenberg said the city could streamline the decision-making process on projects, and streamline how they work with the construction contractors.

“We like to make things complicated,” she said of the status quo in New York City.