Comments on: MTA, Comptroller square off over planned capital budget cuts

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 17:33:22 +0000

Marc, I’m sure you’re aware that I supported congestion pricing; I spoke at the public hearings, lobbied my elected officials, and blogged about it in addition to commenting here and at Streetsblog.

Yes it was a good plan, and I don’t think it’s as dead as people think . . . let’s see what comes out of Ravitch Commission. But that plan does not grant Bloomberg a magical transit halo - he dropped the ball with that tax rebate.

Bloomberg DID have an opportunity to wisely invest that $1B, and instead, with a financial crisis clearly on the horizon, he copped out and refunded the money to property owners.

It was irresponsible, and it would have been relatively simple to put that money to transit. I view it as a strategic blunder; I think Bloomberg rolled all the dice on CP, and purposely gave the money away to strengthen the case for CP funding. His gambit failed, and we are out (a) a financing plan and (b) $1B as a result.

By: R2

R2 — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 14:45:53 +0000

Politicians always do this sort of thing when they have aspirations for higher office. You think Thompson’s gonna settle for City Comptroller?

Same goes for Cuomo (Andrew, that is)

By: ScottC

ScottC — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:46:08 +0000

What good will waiting for the panel’s recommendations do? The MTA will then have to wait for the do-nothing legislature to implement the recommendations.

By: Marc Shepherd

Marc Shepherd — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 13:10:56 +0000

Bloomberg didn’t have the authority to just “gift” that money to mass transit. He would have needed legislative approval for that, and it hasn’t been forthcoming over many years, under multiple mayors and governors. Bloomberg had a very good idea for funding mass transit—congestion pricing—and it never even came to a vote.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 12:43:03 +0000

“too long for an agency so vital to New York’s economic health and so close to its own economic disaster.”

This is correct. The MTA is a popular press whipping boy, but the biggest problem is continued underinvestment at the City and State levels.
I curse Bloomberg regularly for that $1B discretonary tax rebate last year . . . we needed that money for vital transit improvements, and he gave it away. Unbelievably irresponsible.

BTW, you will surely enjoy the AMNY cover story today.