Transport Department of new York (MTA) has already spent about $ 50 million for the installation of so-called decorative towers on the bridges and tunnels of new York. According to the head of Cedric Fulton, the installation costs will amount to $ 100 million.
Mysterious 30-foot tower Gateway can be found on the Brooklyn Battery tunnel and the Queens Midtown and on the Triborough bridge. The towers can be seen the state seal, silver stripes and light beacons.
According to Politico, the budget of the project provided about $ 58 million for the installation of other structures.
Member of the MTA Board and the authorized representative of mayor bill de Blasio, Polly, Trottenberg, said: «Personally, I could offer a more efficient use of 58 million dollars, like fixing the metro.»
Initially these towers was initiated by Governor Andrew Cuomo for improving the appearance of urban objects. Their goal was «to create a unifying theme for the various bridges and tunnels» of new York.
It became known that details on the financing of the towers is not available to the public. As reported by Gothamist, Liz Marcello, Director of the campaign Reinvent Albany, testified that the tower «does not exist as a single project and do not have one or individual budgets».
We asked Authorities Budget Office to determine if @MTA board blindly approved tens millions NY Crossings contracts.https://t.co/CVdfH9bfAR pic.twitter.com/N5GXz3suEY
— Reinvent Albany (@ReinventAlbany) September 14, 2017
In Reinvent Albany are also concerned that initially this project was created with an aesthetic purpose, but a spokesman for the MTA Shams Tarek said that the towers are and practical functionality. According to Politico, the tower is supposedly equipped with cameras and other devices that are designed to ensure safety. Executive Director Reinvent Albany John Kaani believes that this may not be true. «The idea that you need a giant tower for face recognition, is just nonsense which pours out huge costs,» said Kaini. He believes that thus, the MTA justifies a large amount of money spent on city beautification.
