Spanish
New York.- The Donald Trump Government announced this Thursday that it will pay the federal funds approved for a New York subway reform that it had paralyzed for months to review the diversity policies of the public agencies responsible.
The restoration of funds occurs after the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) sued Washington to unlock about $60 million destined for the extension of a subway line in the east Harlem area, delayed numerous times.
The Trump administration froze funds for several infrastructure projects in states governed by Democrats last October, coinciding with a partial government shutdown, and argued that it was due to their diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) policies.
According to Gothamist, the Government sent a letter to MTA President Janno Lieber, saying that its review had uncovered "problematic information" that the agency was taking race and sex into account in contracts, but had already adapted to Washington's policies.
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Lieber told the media that «it shouldn't have taken seven months and a lawsuit to get here, but with the government's concession today on the court's doorstep, the MTA can move forward» with the subway works, and the «contractors are mobilizing right now».
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who already sued the Government for halting a tunnel project connecting to New Jersey for the same reasons, and whose funds were also restored, celebrated that "the freeze has ended". The Second Avenue subway project is estimated to cost more than $7 billion, construction began in 2024 and is expected to last until 2032.
