Here’s what the 2021 infrastructure bill could mean for Staten Island

While there’s nothing in the bipartisan infrastructure bill — signed by President Joe Biden on Monday — specific to Staten Island, some elected officials are hoping it could mean big improvements for the borough.

Over the next 10 years, the White House estimates that there is $550 billion in new federal spending in the bill for things like highways, public transit, energy supplies, waterways and broadband.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that in that time period $256 billion will be added to projected deficits, but the bill still won the support of 13 Republican members of the House of Representatives, including Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/South Brooklyn).

The first-term congresswoman said Friday that there are funds available that could be used for a variety of projects vital to the borough, like an improved Outerbridge Crossing, better sewer infrastructure, and more funding for the East Shore Seawall project.

In an Advance/SILive.com opinion piece, Malliotakis characterized her vote as a win for traditional infrastructure investment that’s been sought for decades, and a blow to a larger partisan bill that would pump money into things like childcare.

Six of the House’s most progressive members voted against the bill that Biden signed Monday. Supporters of the “Build Back Better” bill had hoped to tie the two bills’ passage to one another, but that effort failed.

HOW WILL FUNDS BE EARMARKED?

Securing funds for Staten Island projects will require collaboration with the state and local levels of government to identify opportunities for investment and how they can be used on the Island.

“It is a generational investment in our infrastructure to keep up with economic growth. It is so vital for an aging city like ours,” Malliotakis said. “There’s just a lot that needs to be done to modernize and bring New York City and the country into the 21st Century, and this provides that funding stream to do so.”

Malliotakis said she’s begun and will continue working with her fellow Staten Island elected officials to identify the projects most important to Staten Island.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) said in a media release that there’s $13.5 billion available to New York for repairs to its roads and bridges with another $12.5 billion available through a competitive grant program for the same purposes.

Additionally, Janno Lieber, acting Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) chairperson and CEO, said after the bills passage of Congress on Nov. 5 that the MTA could receive up to $10 billion that will allow the agency to maintain service and make expansions to projects like the Second Avenue Subway.

Lieber and Gov. Kathy Hochul said Monday that the additional funding for the MTA would mean no fare hikes for commuters in the immediate future.

“We anticipate that there will be no fare hikes for the MTA,” Hochul said during a media briefing at Albany International Airport. “I’m real excited to say that we will not have to raise the fares or have any service cuts. The service cuts that were planned for 2023-2024 are now off the table for MTA commuters.”

There’s also specific funds in the bill for improvements to the area’s airports, and increased funding for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor along with the Gateway Tunnel program.

Malliotakis said that the bill’s funding for water infrastructure could be particularly vital to Staten Island after a summer of storms overwhelmed the city’s sewer systems.

“I think there’s a lot of potential for our community,” she said. “We have been advocating for more expansion to our sewer system — those are things that the city will have the resources to do and, hopefully, move up the timeline under the new administration.”