Council questions DOT budget as resurfacing targets fall and vacancies persist

Council members pressed Department of Transportation officials at a joint Finance and Transportation executive budget hearing over whether the agency has enough staff and funding to keep the city's streets and safety programs on track.

The hearing opened with Council Member Justin Brannan, chair of the Finance Committee, flagging two headline figures in the administration's FY26 executive financial plan: a $115.1 billion citywide total and a $1.5 billion operating budget for DOT. "As of March, DOT still had about 630 vacancies," Brannan said. "That's hundreds of jobs unfilled, projects delayed, streets that go unrepaired, and New Yorkers that have to deal with unsafe conditions." He and other council members urged stronger action so resurfacing and safety work do not fall further behind.

Why this matters: DOT told the council the administration's executive plan keeps resurfacing at 1,100 lane miles annually, below a previously stated target of 1,300 lane miles. Council members said the lower number will mean more potholes and longer waits for repairs in neighborhoods that already report chronic pavement problems.

DOT Commissioner Annie Danis Rodriguez and senior staff said the executive plan increases DOT's operating budget slightly from the preliminary plan and adds $34.6 million in new needs for FY26, but the department's capital commitment plan for FY25'—29 is $1.67 billion smaller than the preliminary capital commitment plan. Commissioner Danis Rodriguez told the committee that capital numbers are frequently shifted among fiscal years to match project schedules and do not necessarily indicate program cuts. "We move money around," she said. "If a project is funded in fiscal '27 and we need to move the money up to fiscal '25, we do that all the time."

On resurfacing specifically, DOT first deputy Margaret Fortuny said the FY26 resurfacing budget was increased by $7.9 million. Fortuny also told members that DOT has historically met its lane-mile targets and that resurfacing is often cyclical and weather dependent. Council members pressed for a dollar figure that would be needed to restore the 1,300 lane-mile target; DOT did not provide a specific restored-total figure at the hearing but agreed to follow up with more details.

Staffing and vacancies: Council members repeatedly returned to the same operational challenge: hiring and retaining the necessary DOT workforce. DOT said it is subject to citywide hiring controls (including a 2-for-1 replacement policy for some non-engineering positions) and that engineering positions had been exempted from the hiring freeze in recent budget talks. DOT described recruitment partnerships (including agreements with local engineering programs and internship pipelines) and reliance on seasonal and contractor capacity to deliver work.

Capital plan and project timing: Members warned that large slippages and multi-year delivery delays were occurring. DOT described ongoing capital "stretch" exercises used to keep bonding and schedules aligned and said the agency coordinates with DDC, DEP, and OMB to align project schedules before shifting funds across years. For specific projects mentioned by council members, DOT said design or permitting schedules and DDC bidding cycles sometimes push start dates and that the agency will move funds to align with construction timing.

Streets Plan mandates: Committee members raised the city's statutory Streets Plan mandates. DOT acknowledged it missed several annual benchmarks in 2024: 13.5 miles of protected bus lanes (compared with a 30-mile benchmark), 766 transit signal priority installations (compared with a 1,000-intersection annual target), and about 29 miles of protected bike lanes (below a 50-mile benchmark). Commissioner Danis Rodriguez said the agency counts some enforcement measures together with new construction for certain compliance calculations and noted community opposition in some neighborhoods can slow implementation of protected lanes.

What the council asked for next: Members asked DOT to provide: (1) a detailed, line-item estimate of how much additional capital and operating funding would be required to return to the 1,300 lane-mile resurfacing target; (2) a clearer breakdown of the 630 vacancies by job title and borough and a timetable for filling engineering and operations roles; and (3) a timeline and explanation for the capital-plan decreases and which projects were moved.

Outlook: DOT told the committee the agency was "full steam ahead" on its capital program and cited targeted new fleet replacement money and baseline funding for bridges, sidewalks, and ferry operations. The council said it will press OMB and the administration in negotiations to baseline positions that DOT currently funds on temporary lines and to restore or increase resurfacing and maintenance funding where needed.

Ending: The committee asked DOT to return with supplemental materials and promised follow-up sessions to examine the capital plan, resurfacing cost-per-lane-mile trends, and vacancy reductions in greater detail.