[woodruffw]

> In particular, (from the article) the MTA claims that the money will fund the 2nd Avenue line extension. Another important piece of context is that the 2nd Avenue line extension has had a terrible track record. It's been start-and-stop for many years. Earlier phases have come in behind schedule, over cost, and covered less distance than originally promised[5][6].

They don't have to claim anything. Congestion pricing revenue is allocated, by law, to capital projects. They can't spend it on trips to Miami, at least until we annex it as the 6th borough.

It's also worth noting that the SAS's plodding pace is largely a political manner, not matter of institutionally wasteful spending: it's a massive capital project, one that has consistently been first on the chopping block during cuts over nearly a century. That means starts and stops, which are always expensive. It also runs under one of the busiest and densest stretches in Manhattan, which makes its construction a political manner: the line runs deep, includes massive station cavities, and cuts through hard Manhattan bedrock to avoid disturbing the buildings or road surface above.