NY Observer > Congestion pricing

Bloomberg Waits for Assembly Majority on Commuter Tax

Azi Paybarah — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:44:46 -0400

After Sheldon Silver dropped the news that he's open to reinstituting the commuter tax, Michael Bloomberg told reporters in City Hall that he himself is also in favor of bringing it back. Bloomberg stopped short of demanding Republican state lawmakers take action.

“I’ve always thought it was a very bad mistake to give up the commuter tax back when it was done,” the mayor said. “I’ve been screaming about the commuter tax for all the time I’ve been here.”

New York City's commuter tax was lifted in 1999.

Bloomberg added, “The fact that the speaker is in favor of it is encouraging, but there’s 145-odd members in the Assembly, and we’re going to need a majority of them, as well, if we are to reinstitute it.”

That, essentially, was the lesson of the failure of congestion pricing.

Toward a Profession of Sustainability Managers: Wayne Balta and Sustainability at IBM

Steve Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:50:38 -0400

If we are to make this planet more sustainable, all of us--individuals, families, schools, nonprofits, and especially corporations--will need to change our behavior. This does not mean that we must live grim lives where we stay at home freezing in the dark. It does mean that we need to pay attention to the resources we consume and we need to switch as quickly as we can to renewable resources. This is going to require changes in public policy and increases in the funding for scientific research and development. It is also going to require the private sector do more to incorporate sustainability principles into best management practices. read more »

Paying for Mass Transit without Raising Fares

Steve Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:50:47 -0400

One of the central elements of Mayor Bloomberg's plan for a sustainable New York City is to improve mass transit and get people out of their cars and into busses and subways. In addition to better and more frequent transit service, the city also needs to ensure that the price of mass transit is kept under control. In the aftermath of the defeat of congestion pricing, we see that mass transit in this region is under greater financial stress than at any time since the fiscal crisis of the mid 1970's.

State and local tax collections are in decline, and the MTA bears the burden of the Pataki philosophy of borrowing to fund transit infrastructure. read more »

Governor David Paterson’s First 100 Days: A Green Governor?

Steve Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 11:31:11 -0400

On March 17, 2008, Lieutenant Governor and former State Senator David Paterson was suddenly placed in the center of Albany's storm and assumed the Office of Governor. While it may seem premature, we decided to review the environmental record of his first 100 days. New York State's League of Conservation Voters is known for their thoughtful representation of the electorate's interest, so we asked them for their view of our accidental governor's environmental record. Marcia Bystryn, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters observed that:

"In the course of his first 100 days, Governor Paterson has shown that he can work effectively with the Legislature and that he understands the importance of an environmental agenda. read more »

M.T.A. Has Gone To [Doo-Doo]

Tom Acitelli — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 15:21:18 -0400

A panel of transportation advocates held on the Upper West Side on Thursday night reached a predictable consensus:

“The M.T.A. is in deep doo-doo right now and it’s only going to get worse," according to the Regional Plan Association's Jeffrey Zupan.

More on the panel from Em Whitney at The Politicker.

Bloomberg Defends Support of State Senate G.O.P.

Azi Paybarah — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 11:43:56 -0400

Earlier today, Michael Bloomberg defended the pledge he reportedly made to help Dean Skelos keep the narrow majority Republicans hold in the State Senate.

“Because I have said repeatedly I will help those who help this city,” Bloomberg said when he was asked why he made the promise during a Q&A with reporters in Lower Manhattan after unveiling the Waterfalls. “The Republicans in the State Senate were willing to vote for congestion pricing, and the Democrats were not. And there’s been a whole bunch of things where they have been there to help us," he added. "If the Democrats help us, I’ll support them as well. read more »

Silver on Congestion Pricing: It Was a Class Thing

Tom Acitelli — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:50:52 -0400

From Geoffrey Gray's New York magazine profile of State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:

He recalls a conversation he had with Robert Rubin—the former Treasury secretary, current Citigroup director, and friend of the billionaire mayor’s. Rubin, like us, was also stuck in traffic and decided to give Silver a call to talk up the proposal. Silver says, “Let me ask you something, Bob. Are you in one of those limo-type cars?” He was. read more »

Parsing Connor and Squadron's Support for Congestion Pricing

Azi Paybarah — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:26:02 -0400

Streetsblog quoted State Senator Marty Connor talking about congestion pricing during a debate this weekend with his challenger, former Chuck Schumer aide Dan Squadron. read more »

DOT Pitches Faster Buses, Fewer Traffic Deaths

Lysandra Ohrstrom — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 17:08:45 -0400

The 6,300 miles of streets and the transportation infrastructure spread across New York City's 321 square miles “is coming up against limits,” the commissioner of the New York Department of Transportation, Janette Sadik-Khan, said in the agency’s “Sustainable Streets” plan announced today.

Since Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan never got off the ground, the DOT laid out a new blueprint to ease travel within the city by making streets more pedestrian friendly; targeting improvements in bus mobility, safety, and bicycling; and reducing the transportation network's impact on the environment. It's ambitious, but since Albany has no say in the matter it might be more likely to become a reality than its predecessor. read more »

A Year in the Life of 'PlaNYC 2030': Performance, Promise and Limits

Steve Cohen, Executive Director, Columbia University’s Earth Institute — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:50:33 -0400

A little more than a year ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched his pathbreaking "PlaNYC 2030" urban sustainability plan. According to the city’s own progress report on the plan’s first year:

The implementation of PlaNYC's 127 initiatives requires the effort of more than 20 City agencies; the help of our Sustainability Advisory Board; partners and supporters from all across New York City; and close cooperation with the City Council and other elected officials. In the first year since the release of the plan, we completed rezonings, planted 54,484 trees, moved our taxis and black cars toward fuel efficiency, encouraged bicycling with 60 new lane miles, and engaged New York City in the most significant transportation discussion in a generation.