New York City Politics and Urbanism Daily
MTA Delay Math, City of Yes Reality Check
Monday, June 22, 2026 · 5 min
MTA subway reliability reports face scrutiny over delay classifications, while City of Yes hits the classic implementation wall: zoning reform can permit housing, but financing, permitting, and construction capacity decide whether apartments actually get built.
Listen
Show notes
MTA subway reliability reports face scrutiny over delay classifications, while City of Yes hits the classic implementation wall: zoning reform can permit housing, but financing, permitting, and construction capacity decide whether apartments actually get built.
In this episode
- [PDF] Trends in New York City Subway Delays — New York State Office of the State Comptroller
Report 10-2026 | September 2025 1 Trends in New York City Subway Delays On-time performance (OTP), which captures trains arriving as scheduled, is a key performance indicator for whether transit services are frequent and reliable and addresses changes to service that may occur from year to year. In recognition of this goal, work done through the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Subway…
- Step Back — City of Yes got sold as a big housing breakthrough, but zoning is just permission, not construction — so which parts of the reform actually make new apartments possible, and which parts won’t matter unless financing and permitting catch up?
Background sources
- City of Yes for Housing Opportunity Turns One — Kathryn Brenzel
- City of Yes Hits One-Year Anniversary — Kathryn Brenzel
- It Takes More Than Zoning Reform to Get More Housing — Governing
- City Hall Made Her the Face of a Housing Solution. Now She’s All But Cut Out. | THE CITY — NYC News — Samantha Maldonado
- Mamdani Administration Releases “SPEED” Reforms to Deliver Affordable Housing Faster - NYC Mayor's Office — Nyc
- Hochul signs reforms to New York's environmental law to accelerate new housing development — Aaron Ginsburg
- Missing Middle Housing: Why Permits Aren’t Enough — Berel Farkas