Every four years the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases their Infrastructure Report Card to grade the status of the nations’ infrastructure. In the most recent report, the US received an overall grade of C- though 11 of the 17 infrastructure categories evaluated were graded in the “D” range. To emphasize the need for infrastructure investment and to push their ambitions American Jobs Plan, the Biden Administration is taking a page out of the ASCE playbook and assigning infrastructure grades to all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico. New York matches the overall US infrastructure grade of C-.
The full break down of New York’s grade follows:
- Roads and bridges: there are 1,702 bridges and over 7,292 miles of highway in poor condition. Since 2011, commute times have increased by 7.4% in New York and on average, each driver pays $625 per year in costs due to driving on roads in need of repair.
- Public transportation: New Yorkers who take public transportation spend an extra 58.9% of their time commuting and non-White households are 2.5 times more likely to commute via public transportation. 11% of trains and other transit vehicles in the state are past useful life.
- Resilient infrastructure: From 2010 to 2020, New York has experienced 31 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $100 billion in damages.
- Drinking water: Over the next 20 years, New York’s drinking water infrastructure will require $22.8 billion in additional funding.
- Housing: In part due to a lack of available and affordable housing, 1.7 million renters in New York are rent burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on rent.
- Broadband: 31.4% of New Yorkers live in areas where there is only one broadband internet provider providing minimally acceptable speeds. Even where infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. 13% of New York households do not have an internet subscription.
- Caregiving: Across the country, hundreds of thousands of older adults and people with disabilities need home and community-based services.
- Childcare: In New York, there is an estimated $2.91 billion gap in what schools need to do maintenance and make improvements and 64% of residents live in a childcare desert.
- Manufacturing: Manufacturers account for more than 4% of total output in New York, employing 441,000 workers, or 4.5% of the state’s workforce.
- Home energy: In New York, an average low-income family spends 6-8% of their income on home energy costs forcing tough choices between paying energy bills and buying food, medicine or other essentials.
- Veteran’s health: New York is home to over 700,000 veterans, 7.5% of whom are women and 54% of whom are over the age of 65.
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