 Second Avenue Subway plans for Phase 1 were only allowed to proceed because New York voters passed a transportation bond issue on November 8 , 2005 , allowing for dedicated funding allocated for that phase . Its passage had been seen as critical to its construction . After warning that failure to pass the act would doom the project , MTA chairman Peter S. <unk> stated that " Now it 's up to us to complete the job " given its approval by a 55 – 45 percent margin . In addition , the U.S. Department of Transportation announced , on December 18 , 2006 , that they would allow the MTA to commit up to $ 693 million in funds to begin construction of the Second Avenue Subway Line and that the federal share of such costs would be reimbursed with FTA transit funds , subject to appropriations and final labor certification . 
