Rebuild NY Now hopes New York uses bank-settlement money to pay for infrastructure repairs

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Rebuild NY Now hopes the state will use an infusion of money from lawsuits against overseas banks to pay for repairs New York’s aging roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

Albany–based Rebuild NY Now is a coalition that “actively engages” federal and state elected officials to support public policies “that promote safe roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure,” according to its news release.

The group on Tuesday held a news conference at Syracuse City Hall to raise public awareness about New York’s infrastructure needs and express its interest in that settlement money.

More than $5 billion has flowed into New York’s state and city accounts this year from settlements with BNP Paribas SA over sanctions violations and Credit Suisse Group AG for helping Americans evade taxes, according to a Dec 4 article that Reuters published on its website.

Local elected officials, including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, New York State Senator John DeFrancisco (R–Syracuse), and Dick Donovan, mayor of the village of Minoa, joined Rebuild NY Now for the Syracuse press event.

As DeFrancisco noted in his remarks, the gathered officials are hoping New York state will use a “windfall” of revenue from recent settlements against overseas banks to target infrastructure upgrades.

“The minute I heard of the [5] billion dollars or of surplus from the lawsuit revenues … [I thought] we have to use it exclusively for infrastructure,” said DeFrancisco.

He also said a financial windfall of that size creates “a feeding frenzy that you can’t imagine” among New York officials.

Miner, who last week introduced her Syracuse Billion plan proposal, noted that it “focused exclusively” on infrastructure.

“What I said in that plan and continue to believe is when you look at the history of the city of Syracuse, what has positioned us for growth has been investment in infrastructure. And when we stopped investing in infrastructure, unfortunately, you started to see us sputter in terms of our economic growth,” said Miner.  

Carley Hill, safety director for Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of Buffalo, spoke for Rebuild NY Now.

The group’s message is that roads, bridges, sewer systems, and waterways have a life time and a life span.

“If you don’t invest in them, they start to do what anything else does that you don’t invest in or you don’t take care of. They start to break down,” she said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com