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Q&A
Federal grants applied for and awarded to DOT
3:11:06
ยท
3 min
Council Member Brooks-Powers inquires about federal grants applied for and awarded to the Department of Transportation. Paul Ochoa provides information on the various grants secured and the current status of federal funding.
- DOT secured over a billion dollars worth of federal grants from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act
- Grants include Reconnecting Communities, Attain, Raise, and the Bridge Investment Program
- Most projects funded with city tax dollars, allowing them to proceed regardless of federal funding status
- Formula funds are expected to continue, but the status of competitive grants is uncertain under the new administration
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:11:06
What federal grants has applied for and which have been awarded?
3:11:11
Are there any additional grants that DOT expects to be granted?
Paul Ochoa
3:11:16
So we were the administration was very aggressive in pursuing competitive grants from both the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
3:11:27
DOT was, I believe, the administration ended up securing over a billion dollars worth of federal grants, most of which were executed, meaning the grant agreement was signed with the federal government.
3:11:38
We have not, as the commissioner mentioned, we have not heard any indication that any grant that was executed is being rescinded.
3:11:45
And even on grants that were not executed sort of towards the end of the administration, those have not been rescinded at this point.
3:11:52
If any grant rescinded, you'll be the first to know.
3:11:56
And as the commissioner mentioned, we would work with city hall and OMB to make sure that if a program is a pilot, that we can try to fund it.
3:12:03
And it's sort of a street reconstruction project for example, which were very competitive in the competitive they were very competitive in the competitive grant process, most of those projects were funded with city tax dollars, which means that the federal funding would be displacing city tax dollars.
3:12:21
All that means is that the project's gonna move forward whether or not it's with city dollars or with federal dollars.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:12:29
I'm gonna move on from the question but I did not hear from you what federal grants DOT applied for and which have been awarded.
Paul Ochoa
3:12:42
The last administration?
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:12:45
Period.
3:12:45
What is
Paul Ochoa
3:12:45
this right Yeah.
3:12:46
We've had Reconnecting Communities, Attain, Raise, the Bridge Investment Program.
3:12:52
We've won essentially grants in every single one of these competitive grants.
3:12:58
There were different cycles for different years.
3:13:01
I'm happy to provide a list to the council on all the competitive grants that we've secured as a city.
3:13:07
But the we've I'm pretty sure when I say this that we were awarded a at least one type of grant for every type of competitive grant that was put out.
Ydanis Rodriguez
3:13:20
And chair, and you know, from all federal from senator Schumer to Gillibrand, they helped us to secure funding.
3:13:28
Leader Jeffrey also secured us on funding to improve safety around the school.
3:13:33
Congressman Espaya secured funding for the Inwood area too.
3:13:37
So so far, all what we are saying is about, you know, hopefully we will continue moving forward as those grants, we were able to get those grant by the end of the last administration.
3:13:48
But if you know something going the different direction, you will be the first one to know.
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers
3:13:54
And are there any additional grants that DOT expects to be granted?
Paul Ochoa
3:14:00
As the commissioner mentioned, formula funds from what we've heard are going to continue.
3:14:06
Those are just done based on a formula that the region gets.
3:14:10
We have not heard about other competitive grants that were part of the bipartisan infrastructure law and inflation reduction law to that those are gonna continue, but it's early in the administration.
3:14:23
We're we're hopeful that some of them will.