tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post3280302097683786040..comments2023-10-26T10:19:01.611-04:00Comments on NEW YORK CIVIC: StarQuesthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11216484989778393194noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-35798496104839895452009-04-10T11:34:00.000-04:002009-04-10T11:34:00.000-04:00Inspect away Congestion! The city should toughen i...Inspect away Congestion! The city should toughen inspections for medical, psychiatric and vehicle reasons to cut down the number of congestion. This way, we will also get the voters against congestion pricing, who live in Bayside and Staten Island, to move away. Free health care means psychiatric care for all those angry talk radio white males!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-23681842265494377212009-03-27T10:41:00.000-04:002009-03-27T10:41:00.000-04:00Henry, with all due respect, equating the "free" S...Henry, with all due respect, equating the "free" Staten Island Ferry with the no tolls on the East River bridges is a bit disingenuous. Have you taken the Verazzano Bridge lately, 10 bucks round trip, or the Port Authority Bridges to New Jersey, 6-8 bucks. You can't get off Staten Island and return without paying an arm and leg, with most of that money from the tolls going to support the MTA in Westchester and Long Island.<BR/>Let's get real here. <BR/><BR/>HKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-73806614426389029542009-03-27T10:35:00.000-04:002009-03-27T10:35:00.000-04:00Travel between boros is only free to those who can...Travel between boros is only free to those who can afford cars. Henry, I don't know if I'm a left winger but I'm sure a car hater. These things spew poison every second we run them; they intimidate us and indeed fairly often actually kill or maim us; vehicle exhaust makes that cruddy black residue on everyone's windows (and lungs); perhaps you like the sounds that traffic makes -- not me. <BR/> <BR/>Just as generations of ads made Americans think smoking cigarettes make them glamorous, car ads make us think that being in motor vehicles is terrific. This is bad for the country.<BR/><BR/>While I'm at it, let's meter horns. Every driver will pay $1 per beep.<BR/> <BR/>Best regards, <BR/><BR/>EAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-19510701013224547082009-03-26T14:50:00.000-04:002009-03-26T14:50:00.000-04:00Hi Henry: You are usually right on, but to suggest...Hi Henry: You are usually right on, but to suggest that we can substitute higher auto registration fees for bridge tolls shows that your head is in the sand on this one. Walk around your neighborhood any late evening or early morning and note the license plates of cars parked on our streets.Stand in front of any nursery or elementary school, public or private, at 8am. Up to 30% of the cars you see have out of state plates, and these are overwhelmingly owned by NY residents. They cheat you and me out of $millions every year. Your registration increases will reward these people even further, and motivate many more to join them. I have several suggestions to curb this abuse, but noone, including Martha Stark, Bill Thompson and several DOT commissioners will act, even with loads of proof which I have personally provided to each of them. Sincerely, <BR/>HMAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-54847036971048181202009-03-26T14:49:00.000-04:002009-03-26T14:49:00.000-04:00Wonderfully done, Henry. While I think the 'one ci...Wonderfully done, Henry. While I think the 'one city-free access'<BR/>argument has a lovely poetic-tinge to it, your comments about the enormous cost factors involved and the license to continue increasing tolls in years to come hits the mark spot-on. Good show.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Patterson's weaknesses should encourage Rudy and help inspire a run from Andrew. I wonder if 'the son' will have the courage this time.<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/><BR/>MAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13496923.post-70951101656521182292009-03-26T14:47:00.000-04:002009-03-26T14:47:00.000-04:00Stand Firm, Senator Smith! Senator Malcolm Smith h...Stand Firm, Senator Smith!<BR/> <BR/><BR/>Senator Malcolm Smith has been attacked from many quarters for refusing to be stampeded by the MTA into giving them what they want. His March 17th proposal addresses the immediate problem: the MTA operating budget and very wisely makes the capital budget (due in October) a separate item. There is no requirement that the two budgets be lumped together in a package and considering the 25-30 Billion price tag for the capital budget, its consideration separately and in a calmer atmosphere is the right decision.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>The .25% payroll tax may be too low but it’s a good start. The amount should be revised upward proportionally to the amount MTA services which a county has. Thus, some upstate counties with only one or two Metro North stations should be charged .25% while Manhattan with a very heavy concentration of MTA services can be taxed up to 40%. This would be as fair as possible and along with a modest fare increase would satisfy the needs of the operating budget.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Yet instead of accepting the payroll tax (which was suggested by the Ravitch Commission) and requesting a higher amount, the MTA arrogantly rejected Smith’s proposal. Clearly, the MTA wants control of the bridges and the tolls, and knows that if they can’t grab the bridges in a crisis atmosphere, they won’t get them. There is no evidence that the Ravitch Commission even considered viable alternatives such as the commuter tax and Comptroller William Thompson’s car weight levy. Thompson proposed his idea in the fall and specifically asked the Ravitch Commission to include it as one of their recommendations. The Commission did not do so and the MTA’s key ally, the NY Daily News editorial board, recently tore it apart. Instead of a debate over transportation needs, securing MTA control over the bridges has become an end in itself.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Once MTA gets control over the bridges, the NYS Legislature will have almost no control over toll amounts and how they are spent. As the record clearly shows, the MTA will waste the money on self-serving boondoggles and projects for the benefit of their “favorite” customers: suburbanites, businesspeople, tourists–in general, the wealthy. The tolls would help accelerate a pattern observed in many U.S. cities some time ago: a wealthy center city: Manhattan; an outer ring of prosperous suburbs: Westchester and Nassau/Suffolk; and an impoverished inner ring: the outer boroughs. The gentrification policies pursued by Mayor Bloomberg and his elitist allies would complete the transformation of Manhattan into a “gated” super-wealthy central city. (A footnote must be added: In time, the housing market will improve and revenues from MTA real estate taxes will rise so that the agency will wind up with tons of money to squander.)<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Branded a raw freshman majority leader, incompetent, weak kneed, etc., Senator Smith has come under a vicious attack by the elitists for standing by the people. Smith must “stick to his guns” and do what is right: address the operating budget with a revised payroll tax plan and after a careful review of MTA projects, consider a number of alternatives to fund them.<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>In general, the MTA’s arrogant and “public be dammed” attitude so evident during the past few months clearly shows that the long-term solution for the people of New York City is to have their city and their City Council have power over their own subways and buses as proposed by Councilman Tony Avella in his City Council Resolution #44.<BR/><BR/>JR<BR/>The BronxStarQuesthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11216484989778393194noreply@blogger.com