President Trump announced Thursday evening that $298 million in relief funding allocated in the $2.2 trillion CARES Act is on its way to New York City’s transportation system.
“This is critical to keeping essential personnel moving and aiding metro NYC in recovery. We are here for the people of New York!” tweeted Trump, a native of Queens, N.Y.
The CARES Act allocated $25 billion for mass transit, of which $3.9 billion is allocated for the New York transit system. Trump said that with the payment, the agency will have received more than $2 billion of those federal funds.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) told reporters last week that the agency “desperately needs funding because the ridership is way down,” as inhabitants have sheltered in place amid the state’s stay-at-home orders.
Last month Cuomo announced New York City will temporarily suspend subway service between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. for daily cleaning and disinfecting for the metro area’s essential workers.
“Any essential worker who shows up and gets on a train should know that that train was disinfected the night before,” Cuomo told reporters at his daily coronavirus press briefing.