Dear Governor Cuomo,
 
We have a once in a generation opportunity to transform New York’s transportation to make it healthier, more equitable, sustainable, affordable, and accessible by leading on the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI) program. Under the proposed TCI “cap-and-invest” program, New York and neighboring states would limit and reduce carbon pollution from transportation fuels and invest in our communities to provide better, cleaner, and safer transportation options.
 
We urge you to seize this opportunity and commit to an equitable and ambitious regional TCI program Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) this year that will accelerate New York’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, help us build back stronger with good family-sustaining green jobs, and protect the long-term health and well-being of our communities.
 
An equitable and sustainable TCI program could generate $1.4 billion per year for New York to invest in expanded clean public transit, transportation efficiency, equitable transit-oriented development, low- and zero emission vehicles and charging infrastructure, safer walkable and bikeable streets, and other innovative clean transportation programs across the state. Such a program would:
 

• Provide better, more accessible, and more affordable transportation options across New York State that improve mobility, increase access to jobs, education, healthcare, and other services and opportunities.

 

• Invest in transformative transportation solutions that create good, family-sustaining jobs, grow our economy, and clean up our air, including investments in job-training, workforce development, and apprenticeship programs in clean transportation industries.

 

• Prioritize investments in environmental justice, low-income, and other disadvantaged communities from Day 1, working directly with residents of communities that have historically borne a disproportionate amount of transportation pollution and its associated health impacts to correct these injustices and craft investment plans that maximize benefits. Consistent with New York’s groundbreaking Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), disadvantaged communities must be guaranteed at least 35 to 40 percent of the benefits from the state’s TCI program’s investments.

 

• Cut tailpipe pollution, the biggest source of carbon emissions and a major source of pollutants that cause asthma attacks, premature death, and other health harms.

 

• Leverage New York’s leadership by working with neighboring states to build a more efficient and effective regional transportation system that works better for residents and businesses across rural, urban, and suburban areas.

 
To achieve these outcomes, it is essential that New York lead the regional TCI negotiations to ensure the program requires at least a 25 percent reduction in carbon pollution over the next decade and provides guaranteed investments in disadvantaged communities, consistent with the CLCPA. Participating states must commit to enhanced, genuine outreach to disadvantaged communities on the design and implementation of the program; sustained tracking to ensure local benefits, including pollution reductions, improved air quality, and job creation, are achieved; and continuous reporting, monitoring, transparency, and improvement to ensure the program achieves equitable and sustainable outcomes.
 
We urge you to commit New York to a TCI program along these lines by the end of 2020 to help us build the transportation future New York businesses and residents want and need. We also urge you to continue to develop and implement other complementary programs to accelerate the deployment of more equitable and sustainable transportation options across New York State.
 
Sincerely,