The need for greater investment in the New York metro region’s inadequate infrastructure system is increasingly apparent. High-profile examples of such inadequacy such as LaGuardia Airport, Penn Station and the Hudson River rail tunnel as well as systemic weaknesses exposed by Superstorm Sandy underscore the urgency for investment. As one demonstration of the public sector’s realization that more infrastructure investment is necessary, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in February announced a $2.5 billion plan to develop a streetcar system in transit-underserved Brooklyn and Queens waterfront neighborhoods.
A majority of states have enacted public-private partnership enabling statutes to provide a framework that guides the public and private sectors in working together on capital projects such as a new streetcar system. Many states have found that a statute creates significant value because it demonstrates the public sector’s commitment to partnering and because the resulting framework leads to certainty and transparency with respect to the procurement process. Given the growing infrastructure challenges faced throughout the country, greater use of the public-private partnership framework, particularly when leveraged with some form of tax-exempt financing, would better position the public sector to undertake such critical capital projects.
