In the Battle Between Cuomo and Nixon, the Subway Becomes a Central Issue

It was a curious position: Gov. Andrew Cuomo helped hire the new leader of New York City’s subway. But when that leader released a sweeping plan to fix the failing system last week, Cuomo offered a tepid response, promising simply to review it.

Eight days later, on Thursday, Cuomo embraced the plan and said he wanted to pay for its steep price by pursuing congestion pricing — a proposal to toll drivers entering Manhattan.

“That’s the only feasible, realistic answer,” Cuomo told reporters. “Everything else is just politics.”

What exactly prompted his latest comments? At least one factor is Cynthia Nixon, the actress who is challenging Cuomo in the Democratic primary for governor.

As Cuomo runs for a third term, his management of the beleaguered subway is one of his greatest political vulnerabilities. Nixon has tried to capitalize on the issue, positioning herself as a champion for subway riders and repeatedly attacking the governor. But it was not until Thursday that Nixon’s campaign offered specific solutions, releasing its own plan to fix the subways.

Cuomo, however, got out in front of the news by saying he would pay for the subway overhaul plan, which could cost $19 billion just for the first stage, by working to have the state Legislature approve congestion pricing next year.

Nixon also supports congestion pricing, but her plan calls for two additional revenue sources to fund the subway upgrades: a fee on companies that pollute in New York state and a millionaire’s tax — an idea backed by Mayor Bill de Blasio.

In announcing her plan, Nixon again attacked Cuomo for ignoring the plight of subway riders. “The way he’s handled this issue for his first two terms should completely disqualify him from a third,” her proposal states.

Congestion pricing has long been a contentious issue in Albany, New York, where a proposal backed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg failed about a decade ago. Cuomo revived the proposal — calling it an idea “whose time has come” — but critics said he did not press hard enough for it during recent budget negotiations in Albany and the plan failed again. Instead, state lawmakers approved a more modest source of revenue for public transit, a fee on taxi and Uber trips.

The dueling comments on the subway were only the latest example of how the transit system has become a central campaign issue. After Nixon announced her candidacy in March, Cuomo held a series of press events to show he was working to fix the subway.

Standing before a mob of television cameras, Cuomo inspected train parts at an overhaul yard. He ran a magnetic wand along the subway tracks to clear debris. He admired a fiery demonstration of rail-welding technology.

The pace of the events — three tours in a five-week period in April and May — was unusual. At one event in Brooklyn, New York, a video showed Cuomo waving from the tracks as a train passed at a snail’s pace. Nixon’s campaign immediately attacked the event as a photo opportunity that had slowed down trains.

Cuomo has not been shy about firing back. After Nixon recently spoke with Chris Hayes on MSNBC, a spokeswoman for Cuomo’s campaign said Nixon had failed to answer a question about the subway with specifics. “Mr. DeMille, Cynthia Nixon is not ready for her close up,” the spokeswoman, Lis Smith, posted on Twitter.

Still, on the subway and other issues like public housing and recreational marijuana, Nixon has proved adept at getting under Cuomo’s skin.

“I think we can pretty much assume that anything the governor does between now and Sept. 13 is in response to Cynthia Nixon,” Christina M. Greer, a political science professor, said referring to the date of the primary election.

Despite Nixon’s focus on the subway, Cuomo, who is said to be considering a presidential run in 2020, has retained a comfortable primary lead in recent surveys. The subway, however, has been a concern for Cuomo: As the system descended into crisis last summer, his approval ratings dropped.

For years, advocates have criticized Cuomo’s uneven leadership of the transit system, with a focus on splashy projects like the Second Avenue subway over the unglamorous nuts and bolts of running the system. They have also urged him to ride the subway to understand the daily suffering of riders.

The last time Cuomo is known to have taken the subway was in January 2017 for the first trip on the new Second Avenue line on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Cuomo lives in Westchester County and often works in Albany, the governor’s office has said, though he does frequently travel to New York City.

“The governor was born and raised in Queens and grew up taking the train — but riding the subways doesn’t fix them, and that’s the only thing we’re focused on,” said Dani Lever, a spokeswoman for Cuomo. She declined to say when Cuomo last took the subway. Nixon has made a point of riding the subway, as has de Blasio, the governor’s frequent adversary. De Blasio has taken the subway at least 18 times this year, his office said, providing a list of recent trips.

“It’s important that public officials experience the subway crisis like everyone else does,” said Austin Finan, a spokesman for the mayor.

Last week, the subway’s new leader, Andy Byford, released a comprehensive plan to overhaul the system, including quickly installing new signals on the busiest lines. The proposal could cost $19 billion in the first five years — and an additional $18 billion during the second five years of the plan, according to board members who were briefed on the plan.

Cuomo’s office released a lukewarm response after the plan was unveiled and the governor told reporters he had not read it. The governor’s support on Thursday was more concrete. Cuomo dismissed the idea of a millionaire’s tax, arguing that the Legislature would not approve it, and he said he would push for congestion pricing.

“We made some progress on it,” Cuomo said of congestion pricing. “We didn’t get it finally passed, but I look forward to that passing next year.”

The governor’s office disputed the notion that Cuomo’s recent events have been prompted by Nixon’s candidacy. They argued that he has been a forceful advocate for the subway and has held more than a dozen events over the last year and a half to draw attention to plans to improve the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state-controlled agency that oversees subways, buses and commuter railroads.

On Thursday, Jon Weinstein, a spokesman for the authority, said the subway’s leaders “know he supports us as long as we deliver results for riders,” in reference to Cuomo. He also took a shot at Nixon’s plan, echoing a post from Smith.

“After three months of slamming the MTA in the press, Ms. Nixon released a plan to fix the subways and it was the MTA’s plan,” Weinstein said in a statement. “Thanks.” Last summer, Cuomo declared that the subway was in a state of emergency and the authority began an emergency plan for immediate repairs. But many riders say that service remains terrible. Only about 65 percent of weekday subway trains are on time — about the same rate as a year ago, according to the authority’s statistics.

Subway riders might not notice significant improvements before Election Day. Greer, who is a McSilver Institute Fellow at New York University, said that having a well-documented record is one of the risks of running for a third term.

“Isn’t this terrible? Yes, it is terrible,” she said. “Didn’t you know? You’ve been in charge.”