Transcript: Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, and MTA Announce Plan to Lower Subway Platform Temperatures and Harness Thermal Energy in Lower Manhattan
Zohran Mamdani on NYC Mayor's Office transcripts.
Passages
Good morning, everyone. Thank you, Chair Lieber. It is a pleasure to be here alongside so many partners in government as we announce the transformation of the Chambers Street Station. However, I cannot say that it is a pleasure to be here on the Chambers Street J and Z platform, a subway stop that has been described by New Yorkers as a poster child for dilapidation, a Street Fighter II arena, or, simply, "I'm getting off at Canal." I want to thank the governor and the MTA for leading this work and for using the funds from congestion pricing to improve New Yorkers' lives. I want to acknowledge, as we've heard, we have our New York City comptroller, Mark Levine, who is here with us; our public advocate, Jumaane Williams; our DCAS commissioner, Yume Kitasei; our chief climate officer, Louise Yeung; and our New York City Transit president, Demetrius Crichlow, who is with us. When this station opened in 1913, it was a testament to a city ahead of its time. A city that built great things. Bridges that were feats of structural engineering, buildings that soared into the sky, a transit system that would become the envy of the world. And it was also a testament to the city workers who labored in municipal offices directly overhead who made that city possible. The station's grand vaulted ceilings and marble and terracotta detailing made real the conviction that our public infrastructure should reflect the ambition of the city it serves. And yet, as the years passed, this station slowly fell into a state of decay and disrepair. More than 100 years later, the Chambers Street Station has become somewhat of a chamber of horrors, no longer a testament to the greatness of our city but physical proof of generations of neglect. Today, as we announce the comprehensive renovation of a station that Twitter user @exenezoom described as the "stuff of nightmares," we are bringing that legacy of abandonment to an end. This restoration will bring the station back to its original grandeur and deliver the dignified commute that every New Yorker deserves. It will rebuild crumbling stairwells and broken doors. It will make critical structural repairs, including fixes to the ceiling and to the underlying issues that cause regular leaks. It will install new station lighting and security cameras to keep New Yorkers safe. And it will restore the ceramic tiles, mosaics, terracotta decorations and marble bases that make this station so unique. As we stand together to celebrate the restoration of the station's past, we also will renew our ambitions for the future. Those ambitions, as you heard from Chair Lieber, extend to transforming the only thing that causes more anxiety than descending into the Chambers Street Station: the prospect of standing on the subway platform in the heat of summer. That is why I am proud to announce that City Hall's partnership with the MTA will extend to the Joint Thermal Energy Network Feasibility Study in the adjacent Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station. Anyone who has stood on a subway platform in August knows that our stations do not just get hot; they turn into underground saunas. And if you, like me, do not know what a summer suit is and choose instead to commute in a wool one – let me tell you, it is far from a therapeutic experience. During the summer, the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall Station becomes one of the hottest stations in New York City. This Thermal Energy Network Feasibility Study will explore the possibility of using the heat that accumulates in this station over the summer to heat the Municipal campus above us come winter. That includes not only the David Dinkins Municipal Building but also Tweed Courthouse, Surrogate's Court and City Hall. To do so, we would capture heat in boreholes that would run 500 to 600 feet underground and install a system of circulating pumps and pipes that will use the heat from below our city's surface to warm the offices where our municipal workers are hard at work powering this incredible city. This would be the first thermal energy system of its kind in any American transit system, a historic feat that would not only help the city to save money and limit steam consumption but help us mitigate the extreme level of heat in our subway stations. Through both the renovations and the Thermal Energy Network, we would be making these stations cool again. And we'd be making what is old new again. After all, one of the original plans for this station's ventilation system consisted of four large cooling fans connected to groundwater pumps, a system designed to protect New Yorkers from the summer heat. While more than a century has passed, the conceit remains the same. New Yorkers deserve subway stations that give us a glimpse into our future, and that is exactly what we intend to deliver. Thank you very much. And now, with that, I'm going to pass it over to our comptroller, Mark Levine.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI would just add that when we're talking about the heating costs, as you heard from the comptroller, it's $1.4 million to the city just to heat the David Dinkins Municipal Building. So, this has the potential to save the city money. It has the potential also to help us combat the climate crisis and to better the experience of riders across New York City. We have; I think it's almost 20,000 riders who use this station daily. For too long, it has become synonymous with the use of this station. And I think what you're hearing from Chair Lieber and from so many others here is that we're incredibly excited to be writing a new chapter of our city and one that matches the ambition that we've seen in our city about a century ago. [Crosstalk.]
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think that the two of us are New Yorkers, and that means that we're never going to agree on every single topic that comes to us. What we do agree on is the critical importance of delivering for New Yorkers and making this public transit system the envy of the world. And I never thought I'd want to bring the heat of the Chambers Street Station into my office, but that's basically what we're talking about. And what we could see is a first-of-its-kind approach that could lead the nation. And that is in many ways what the MTA has done for many different decades. It's time to now bring that to 2026.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI think just to give you a sense, Stefanos, we are talking about a timeline where we are aiming to confirm geothermal feasibility by the end of this calendar year, and then design work, if it was found to be implementable, would begin as early as next year.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSummer Streets is one of the many things that we care very deeply about. It's also a day that so many New Yorkers look forward to, and each year has built on the successes of the last, so I will take those recommendations and I will read that op-ed.You were saying it's about extending the day, perhaps, to an entire weekend and adding in – Yeah, we'll look at all of that. Thank you for flagging.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, when it comes to the decision that the city made, it was one that we were forced to make by federal law, and that was as recently decided by the Supreme Court to review the work authorization of Haitian TPS holders and separate from any employees who have not established alternate paths to legal work. Only President Trump has the ability to restore TPS or to grant Deferred Enforcement Departure to affected TPS. And doing so would provide not only those TPS holders with the certainty of knowing that they can continue to work and live in the city, [but] it would also demonstrate an immigration policy that is just and a commitment to an economy that is flourishing here in our city. Now, we are doing everything that we can to support recipients in a time of incredible instability. That means free legal consultations to assess eligibility for other forms of work authorization. It means assistance navigating health insurance. It means ensuring that every employee is connected with agency staff. And what I will also add is that we are talking about communities, Haitian New Yorkers [and] Syrian New Yorkers, who have been critical parts of this city. Just the other week I was at National Night Out in Bed-Stuy at Restoration Plaza. I got on the train. As I was waiting for the train at the platform, a young woman came up to me and burst into tears as she shared that she was, in fact, a Haitian New Yorker who was on TPS. She was terrified. This is something that is true for so many. And we are only taking the actions that we are forced to take. When it comes to what we want to see in this city and in this country, it is the extension of TPS. It is ensuring that these New Yorkers are recognized for what they are, which is New Yorkers, and that they are here; they are at home. I don't know if – Yes. Yes. I spoke with the president and made it very clear that this is something of immense importance to this city, to our economy and to the welfare of all those who call the city home. And also, that the president is the only person that has the authority to extend TPS or to grant the Deferred Enforcement Departure and that that is something that would be welcomed by many of us.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI believe that we have made the best possible pick for this position. We are speaking about someone who has all the requisite experience to combat the affordability crisis and build the kind of housing the city has not seen for a long time. And we know that the absence of that kind of housing has led to an increase in rents across New York City. We are talking about a city that has not been building at its required level since 1961. I know the comptroller is very passionate about housing construction. I don't know if there's anything you'd want to add.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, there are a few things more certain in New York City than death, taxes and Randy Mastro filing a lawsuit against this administration. So, we look forward to vigorously defend our city's position in court as we have done so with the previous lawsuits that he has filed and I'm sure with the lawsuits that we will continue to file in the months and years to come. And we are confident in our position. And that is a confidence coming from both the legality of the city's actions as well as the importance of a surcharge on secondary homes worth more than $5 million, a surcharge that will help fund safer streets, that will help fund stronger schools, and it will help fund the city that New Yorkers deserve. You know, this is – we always know that with any new tax, there are more questions than there are answers. And we're looking to make sure that every New Yorker that is potentially affected – again, we're talking about 17,000 homeowners out of a city of 8.5 million – have all the information that they need, and we've extended the deadline for them to appeal to the Department of Finance to September 18. Again, if they do not appeal by that point, they can still appeal to the Tax Commission by March of 2027.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceSo, we are actually aiming to confirm the geothermal feasibility by the end of this calendar year. And if it is found that it can be implemented, then the design work would begin early next year.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceI was heartbroken to learn about the tragic boating incident in New York Harbor that killed a young mother and her five-month-old daughter. And my thoughts are with the family and their loved ones as they grieve this devastating loss, and I know that many New Yorkers feel exactly the same way. And I'm deeply grateful, as well, to the members of the NYPD and the FDNY who responded to this emergency swiftly and performed vital, life-saving work, which ensured that many New Yorkers' lives were actually saved in the process of that. Now, we will continue to update New Yorkers with any information as we have. That is what we have at this time.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the sourceYou know, I spoke to the president prior to that, and I made clear to the president, as I've made clear to anyone across the city, the vital importance of TPS. Again, TPS is something that is granted, also in recognition of the conditions of anyone's home country. When we are talking about the conditions in Haiti today, they are very similar to the conditions that led to the authorization of TPS. We are talking about a place that the United States government is recommending to Americans to not visit, even going further than that. And for us in this moment to tell Haitian New Yorkers who have made the city their life for years that they have to go back to that; it is terrifying to imagine what might be waiting for them there. And we're also talking about Haitian New Yorkers who have been truly at the heart of so many of the industries that power this city – health care, construction, hospitality, city workers – so many different aspects that, without which, we wouldn't have the city that we have today. And we also wanted to make sure that we only took this action at the point at which it was legally required to do so, because this is not an action that we want to take in any which way or form. And we also took this knowing that if we waited any longer, it might come to the detriment of those who hold TPS today, who might be able to find an alternate legal status here in New York City due to whatever other status that they also may enjoy. We've seen this before. For example, someone who holds TPS might also have a secondary student visa [or] things of this nature. We don't want to be hurting those New Yorkers' abilities to stay in the city.
Zohran MamdaniCheck at the source
Every passage above is taken from this recording: NYC Mayor's Office transcripts, Transcript: Mayor Mamdani, Governor Hochul, and MTA Announce Plan to Lower Subway Platform Temperatures and Harness Thermal Energy in Lower Manhattan.