ALBANY – With the federal stimulus bill now signed into law, Gov. Paterson’s administration still has no idea how it will spend more than $4 billion in infrastructure and transportation funding heading to New York state.
While other states have lists of “shovel-ready” projects – highways, train stations and sewer plants – eligible for a share of the stimulus pie, New York has gone back to the drawing board, asking mayors and county executives to resubmit infrastructure wish lists.
The confusion, which Paterson aides blame on the size of the stimulus and its rushed passage in Washington, has ignited concern among officials that they won’t be able to take full advantage of the money available, which the White House estimates could create or save 215,000 jobs in New York.
Others say the governor’s decision to delegate stimulus-spending decisions to a new Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet risks losing some of the time-sensitive federal aid.
“The last thing we need is another commission,” said Sen. Charles J. Fuschillo Jr. (R-LI). “If [the Cabinet members go] through a selection process like [Paterson] did for the US Senate, it’s going to take forever.”
Paterson announced his Cabinet, led by Department of Transportation veteran Timothy Gilchrist, after local officials panned his initial list of 1,900 shovel-ready projects and complained that they didn’t know where to send their own recommendations.
Gilchrist, Paterson’s stimulus czar, said the plan’s size and changes by Congress made it difficult to determine exactly which projects would be eligible.
Meanwhile, New York City could see as much as $5 billion from the stimulus package, according to a city analysis.
Much of that money, the analysis says, could go to schools, police and other services, eliminating the need for layoffs in the Education Department and staff cuts in other agencies.
Additional reporting by Yoav Gonen and David Seifman