In the latest round of Albany back-room dealing, the Upper East Side governor was taken to the cleaners by the senator from the sticks, Joe Bruno, and Bowery assemblyman, Shelly Silver. Read the rest of this post »

The old silver fox, Speaker Shelly, has done it again. To protect his outer boro members, he tossed the Congestion Tax Bill to the New York City Council.

By demanding passage of a home rule bill that officially requests state approval of the tax, the Speaker forces City legislators to take a public stand on the issue. Read the rest of this post »

When I was Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a group of good-government (“goo-goos”) Manhattanites called on me at my World Trade Center office, expecting to receive my endorsement for “Peak Pricing” (a.k.a. Congestion Pricing) on the Hudson River bridge and tunnel crossings.

They couldn’t believe their ears when I dismissed their proposal and stated categorically that I would never increase taxes on commuters who must drive to work.  (A toll or user-fee is just a clinical term for a tax.) Read the rest of this post »