Any followers of city politics in recent years know Mayor Stephanie Miner has long waved a flag - and anything else at her disposal - to bring more attention to the plight of failing infrastructure. She's held press conferences at the spots of road sinkholes and broken water mains, brought in outside politicians and national engineers to try and stir up more interest.
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Miner and others believe New York State and the Federal government should place more emphasis on fixing aging sewers, water systems, roads and bridges, and other infrastructure that keep cities going. She has also pointed out that it's a reason a business might choose to come or stay in the area, so the impacts are far-reaching. The mayor published an op-ed article in Medium.com on the issue.
Miner is joining with other mayors and municipal leaders in "Infrastructure Week", which will bring together government, business, academic and labor leaders to find creative approaches. They'll also be lobbying at the national and local levels for more investment. Miner spent the day Monday for a kick-off event for Infrastructure Week.
Last year Miner was able to win $10-million from the State of New York for water infrastructure, and the city invested in new technology to detect leaks before they become more serious.
Last year Comptroller Tom Dinapoli estimated infrastructure needs in the state totaled $60 - 72-billion dollars. His 2014 report "Cracks in the Foundation" suggested the state should be spending $3.9-billion dollars more just to keep up with aging infrastructure, not addressing as much as 20 times that amount to repair water, sewer and transportation systems that are failing.
