NEW YORK, NY - The following statement can be attributed to Tom Wright, President & CEO, Regional Plan Association.

This federal infrastructure funding is an historic opportunity to address several urgent crises across the county and especially in the tri-state metropolitan area — and we urge members of Congress from both parties to support this proposal.

Investment in mass transit, broadband, clean water and air travel means we can build back better and prepare for the challenges of the 21st century, including climate change and inequality. For the New York region, this means we would have a federal partner to assist in building the Gateway tunnel; modernizing our subways, buses and commuter rail; building resilience and removing carbon from our economy and energy production; and connecting communities across the digital divide.

We still have work to do to address decades of underinvestment, especially for housing and community development. We applaud this bipartisan effort and look forward to working with federal, state and local partners to put these resources to work as outlined in RPA’s Fourth Regional Plan.