"The transportation projects slated for stimulus funding"--which include the Second Avenue Subway and the Long Island Rail Road's East Side Access--"present a positive blend of mass transit and surface transportation projects intended to maintain and expand the system," says Building Congress president Richard T. Anderson in the report. "What is of great concern, however, is the slow pace of these projects. It has been almost six months since Congress and the Obama administration approved the stimulus package, yet close to nothing has been expended on the capital side." He adds, "It is incumbent upon our elected leaders and agency heads to get these dollars flowing directly into the projects already approved and likely to be approved in the coming months."

A spokesman for Gov. David Paterson's Recovery and Reinvestment Cabinet, created in February to manage state and local stimulus projects, tells GlobeSt.com that "we disagree with that characterization" of slow progress. He notes that in many cases, "these are big, complicated projects" occurring in New York City, with a great deal of planning necessary to minimize disruption.

Moreover, the spokesman says, there are federal rules and regulations to be met. For example, the projects must be reviewed and vetted according to ARRA guidelines. Contracts must be subject to competitive bidding. Given all of that, "we feel we're moving quite expeditiously," says the spokesman, adding that "we expect to be able to issue contracts very soon."