Rebuild NY Now pushes state to use bank-settlement money for infrastructure repairs

SYRACUSE — As someone who helps lead a firm that’s focused on engineering and the environment, Orrin (Mac) MacMurray, has always had a keen interest in the condition of infrastructure, or roads, bridges, and sewer systems.

MacMurray, chairman emeritus of the C&S Companies, spoke on Dec. 9 at Syracuse City Hall in support of the group Rebuild NY Now, which is working to raise public awareness about New York’s infrastructure needs.

“My message to you is very simple. It’s time to act. We need to act now,” he said.

C&S Companies is a Salina–based engineering, architecture, planning, environmental, and construction-services firm.

Albany–based Rebuild NY Now is a coalition that “actively engages” federal and state elected officials to support public policies “that promote safe roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, and other vital infrastructure.”

MacMurray noted that the city of Syracuse has, on average, “hundreds” of water-main breaks and Onondaga County has “hundreds” of bridges that are “deficient and need significant attention.”

He also mentioned the old adage in business about investing money to make money.

“Well, a corporation invests money in order to improve its productivity and I would suggest that in government, we invest money to improve our productivity as a society but also to protect the public health, welfare, and safety of our citizens,” MacMurray said.

In addition to public awareness, Rebuild NY Now is also calling on the state to use an infusion of money from lawsuits against overseas banks to fund repairs for New York’s aging roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.

More than $5 billion has flowed into New York’s state and city accounts this year from settlements with BNP Paribas SA over sanctions violations and Credit Suisse Group AG for helping Americans evade taxes, according to a Dec 4 article that Reuters published on its website.

Local elected officials, including Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner, New York State Senator John DeFrancisco (R–Syracuse), and Dick Donovan, mayor of the village of Minoa, also joined Rebuild NY Now for the press event.

As DeFrancisco noted in his remarks, the gathered officials are hoping New York state will use a “windfall” of revenue from recent settlements against overseas banks to target infrastructure upgrades.

“The minute I heard of the [5] billion dollars or of surplus from the lawsuit revenues … [I thought] we have to use it exclusively for infrastructure,” said DeFrancisco.

He also said a financial windfall of that size creates “a feeding frenzy that you can’t imagine” among New York officials.

Miner, who on Nov. 25 introduced her Syracuse Billion plan proposal, noted that it “focused exclusively” on infrastructure.

“What I said in that plan and continue to believe is when you look at the history of the city of Syracuse, what has positioned us for growth has been investment in infrastructure. And when we stopped investing in infrastructure, unfortunately, you started to see us sputter in terms of our economic growth,” said Miner. 

Carley Hill, safety director for Union Concrete and Construction Corp. of Buffalo, also spoke for Rebuild NY Now.

The group’s message is that roads, bridges, sewer systems, and waterways have a lifetime and a lifespan.

“If you don’t invest in them, they start to do what anything else does that you don’t invest in or you don’t take care of. They start to break down,” she said.         

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com