Metro

LI GOP pols celebrate MTA service restoration after voting against funding

Long Island GOP Reps. Lee Zeldin and Andrew Garbarino took a victory lap after the MTA and Long Island Railroad announced they would reverse service cuts, despite the lawmakers voting against the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill that made the service restoration possible.

Garbarino and Zeldin “urged the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to reverse course on their recent service cuts, which have led to reports of infrequent, overcrowded trains. Following their urging, the MTA announced it would restore previously cut service,” the pair crowed in a March 9 joint press release.

The two pols were part of a united block of Republican opposition to the federal funding bill, which passed the House just a day later on a mostly party-line vote.

MTA LIRR unveils a laser that helps clear leaf and debris from railroad tracks which could cause slippage and wheel wear. Stephen Yang for NY Post

“We have one-party rule in Washington right now viewing taxpayer money as endless funny money. The printing press is overheating right now,” Zeldin tweeted about the bill. Garbarino insisted the stimulus “focuses more on enacting bad policies than providing relief.”

Rep. Andrew Garbarino AP

The American Rescue Act ultimately allocated $6.5 billion for the perennially cash strapped MTA — which authority leaders said was the lifesaver.

“We will avoid drastic service cuts on subways, buses, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road as a result of this federal funding … and we also will avoid layoffs and furloughs of thousands of our colleagues,” MTA Chairman Pat Foye told WCBS as the bill neared final passage.

“The service cuts were restored after I spoke with LIRR President Phil Eng and MTA Chairman Patrick Foye and before the House passed the final version of the American Rescue Plan,” Garbarino said in his defense.

“Congressman Zeldin supports additional MTA funding, but does not support it being coupled with trillions of dollars of unrelated monopoly, funny money funding that treats taxpayers as pawns on Pelosi’s chess board,” his office added in a statement of their own.

Rep. Lee Zeldin Ting Shen/Pool