Schumer: FTA to award $3.4B grant for Second Ave Subway extension

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) plans to issue a full funding grant agreement (FFGA) for the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 (SAS II) project in New York City, U.S. Sen. and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat (both D-NY) announced Tuesday.

The FFGA for $3.4 billion will enable the SAS II project to proceed to extend the Q train from 96th Street to 125th Street in East Harlem, according to a press release issued by the lawmakers.

The agreement is the largest FFGA with New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority in the agency's history, greater than the $2.63 billion FFGA for the Long Island Rail Road's East Side Access project to Grand Central Terminal in 2006, the release stated.

The FFGA will now undergo a two-week review period in Congress, where it is expected it to move forward without any further delay, the lawmakers said.

"This grant is significant not only in its size, but also in where it’s going. The funds will be used to build public transit in a neighborhood that has been neglected for far too long," said Schumer said.