i| (RE)New Your City, New York City
(Re)New Your City, New York City: Transporting Transformation Hubs
A Senior Honors Thesis submitted by Rayn Riel In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts In Interdisciplinary Studies (International Urban Development) Tufts University August 2015
Advisor: Professor Weiping Wu, Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning Reader: Professor Daniel Abramson, Department of Art and Art History
ii | (RE)New Your City, New York City
ABSTRACT:
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is constantly running
trains, but it is also constantly running a deficit. Unlike profitable transportation companies, such as the Hong Kong Mass Transit Railway (MTR), the MTA has few valuable real estate assets which could be adequately transformed into transit-oriented and transit-owned joint development hubs. Similar to other U.S. public transportation agencies, space for pragmatic and profitable commercial activities
–
including shops and offices operating on agency-owned land
–
is limited to a few select stations, yards, concourses, and passageways, because most profitable assets from private predecessors were sold decades ago.
However, while the MTA’s abil
ity to remain revenue-positive or self-sufficient through real estate development is stymied, the MTA has been capitalizing upon its few existing assets for additional revenue. This process, however, in coordination with the City of New York in order to develop value capture mechanisms, is lengthy and cumbersome. The MTA has not developed the resources needed to develop property. This Senior Honors Thesis elucidates how the MTA can overcome organizational barriers in order to contextually
‘transport’ the MTA’s limited portfolio of assets into ‘transformation hubs’
, and in order to do so, advocate for a privatized, profitable, and independent real estate development division of the MTA, chartered for real estate development
. While there is ‘room’
for improvement, institutional barriers ranging from NIMBYism and a fear of density to antiquated zoning laws, financing requirements, and a lack of communication among the City, State, MTA, and developers would need to be transcended through coordinated reformation efforts.
The MTA’s collective mindset must be renewed for a 21
st
century narrative, in which the MTA also considers itself a top tier real estate developer.
KEY WORDS:
transportation planning, public-private partnerships, transit-oriented development, joint development, value capture, real estate, New York City, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA)
“New York never stops. From morning
-rush commuters to late-night club-goers, from school children on subways to seniors on buses, millions of people rely on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to get them through their daily lives. Without a robust and well-maintained network of railroads, subways, bus routes, bridges,
and tunnels, New York as we know it could not function.”
Thomas F. Prendergast, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, MTA
iii | (RE)New Your City, New York City
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction Page 1
1.1: A Brief History of Transportation Finance in New York Page 1 1.2: Research Questions and Answers Page 9 1.3: Methodology Page 12
Chapter Two: Literature Review Page 14
2.1: Powers, Identities, and Ideologies Page 14 2.2: Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) Page 15 2.3: Value Capture, Joint Development, and Density Page 20
Chapter Three: Transporting Transportation Joint Development Page 26
3.1:
New York Cannot Transport Hong Kong’s
Model Page 26 3.2: Joint Development Across the United States Page 30
Chapter Four: Limits of Revenue-Generation on MTA Properties Page 38
4.1: Financing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Page 38 4.2:
The MTA’s Value Capture and Joint Development
Limited Assets Page 40
Chapter Five: Envisioning a Renewed New York City Page 59
5.1:
Joint Development’s Inhibiting Factors in New York
Page 59 5.2: Joint Development Obstacles Throughout the United States Page 70 5.3: Bridging the Gap With Transformative Transportation Page 72
Chapter Six: Conclusion Page 78
Bibliography Page 88
Appendix Page 92