Episode 11 (MTA's COVID-19 Financial Crisis with Nicole Gelinas)

Second Avenue Sagas Podcast

Over the past week, subway ridership has dropped by 60%, and the MTA is suddenly staring into the abyss of a multi-billion-dollar hole in a budget as the COVID-19 public health crisis has put New York City on near-lockdown. As trains and buses keep running to ensure healthcare providers can reach their patients and the city girds for a prolonged quarantine, the MTA has asked the federal government for a $4 billion bailout. The fate of the MTA's fiscal health, let alone the $51 billion capital plan, is in limbo, and the Manhattan Institute's Nicole Gelinas, an expert in the field of MTA finances, joins me to discuss what it all means. Could the MTA default on its debt payments? Are steep fare hikes in our future? And what does it mean when a usually-steady municipal bond starts to falter?