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New York has confirmed that the federal government released another $77m for new tunnels and bridges connecting the state to its neighbour New Jersey, amid a feud with United States President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul appeared at a construction site alongside union leaders to push for the release of the remaining funds, which were frozen in October amid a record-breaking government shutdown.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cIt cannot continue like this,\u201d Hochul, a Democrat, told workers at the site.<\/p>\n \u201cThe workers need to know that that job is going to be there: the one they signed up for, the one they trained for, the one they\u2019re so proud of. It has to be there year after year, until this project is done.\u201d<\/p>\n At stake is the fate of the Northeast Corridor project, a central part of the Gateway Program, an interstate initiative to expand and renovate the aging tunnels that the link metropolitan hubs between New York and New Jersey.<\/p>\n The federal government had pledged billions in support for the project, considered to be vital for transportation and safety reasons.<\/p>\n But on October 1, one day into a historically long government shutdown, the Trump administration announced it would suspend $18bn in funding for the project that had already been granted.<\/p>\n The move was designed to pressure Democrats \u2014 and Democrat-aligned jurisdictions \u2014 to comply with Republican demands to end the shutdown.<\/p>\n But Trump hinted at the time that some of the programming cuts could be permanent. The shutdown ended after 43 days in November, and still, the funding for the New York City tunnel project remained frozen.<\/p>\n Democrats decried the freeze an act of political revenge. \u201cIt should concern every American that the Trump Administration is willing to harm working families and our nation\u2019s economy to punish Democrats,\u201d Representative Jerry Nadler of New York said<\/a> in response to the funding suspension.<\/p>\n But Trump has continued to withhold the funds. On February 3, the states of New York and New Jersey announced they were suing the Trump administration to release the funds.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter four months of covering costs with limited operating funds, the states warn that construction will be forced to completely shut down as soon as February 6 unless federal funding resumes,\u201d attorneys general Letitia James of New York and Jennifer Davenport of New Jersey said in a statement<\/a> at the time.<\/p>\n Three days later, as the states hit that February 6 deadline, a US district judge ordered the funds to be released, citing the potential for irreparable harm to the project.<\/p>\n The ruling required more than $200m in reimbursement funds to be paid out to the states.<\/p>\n Over the last week, the federal government responded by releasing $30m, in addition to the $77m announced on Tuesday. But officials said it was still not enough.<\/p>\n At Tuesday\u2019s news conference, union leader Gary LaBarbera emphasised that new construction was a necessity.<\/p>\n \u201cLet me tell you: The existing tunnels, the trans-Hudson tunnels, are over a hundred years old. Their structural integrity has failed,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He added that the issue of maintaining safe transportation should be nonpartisan<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t a Republican tunnel or a Democratic tunnel, right? This should not be a political tug of war,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Governor Hochul, meanwhile, used part of her speech to address the president. \u201c\u200aLet\u2019s stop the chaos. Let\u2019s stop the insanity. Let them work, Mr President,\u201d she said, in a gesture to the workers around her.<\/p>\n But this week, on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump doubled down on his opposition to the project.<\/p>\n \u201cI am opposed to the future boondoggle known as \u2018Gateway,\u2019 in New York\/New Jersey, because it will cost many BILLIONS OF DOLLARS more than projected or anticipated,\u201d Trump wrote<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is a disaster! Gateway will likewise be financially catastrophic for the region, unless hard work and proper planning is done, NOW, to avoid insurmountable future cost overruns.\u201d<\/p>\n He also denounced reports that he would un-freeze the funding in exchange for renaming New York\u2019s Penn Station after him, as well as Washington\u2019s Dulles airport.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n