By Matt Chaban 11/19/12 6:03pm

recovery mode

Not normal, but getting there, maybe. (Getty_

Three Weeks After Sandy, A Return to Normalcy for Bloomberg and Cuomo

It has been a difficult few weeks for New York, to say the least, and that goes for the two men at the center of the recovery, too, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Governor Andrew Cuomo. Both men have worked tirelessly for the past 25 days, first preparing the city and the state for the approaching superstorm, and then helping everyone recover from the disaster. That job will continue for months, even years, but at the same time, life must go on. And for the chief executives of New York City and New York State, that process has slowly begun. And it all started today. Or so their public schedules would suggest.

The public schedule for the mayor and the governor is a sacred text, at least in news rooms across the city. Like the AP daybook, it is the document by which reporters set their clocks and live their lives. Normally, there is a mix of big announcements—a new budget, a new anti-poverty initiative, a ribbon cutting for a new park—and small appearances—a parade, a gala, a public policy conference.

Even before Hurricane Sandy made landfall, as the mayor and governor scrambled to prepare New Yorkers for the oncoming storm, there has been none of that, and certainly nothing since. It has been all Sandy, all the time. Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/04/12 6:22pm

recovery mode

The road to recovery. (Kristen Artz/Mayor's Office)

Freezing Temperatures and Some 40,000 Homeless Create Latest Sandy Crisis

A storm from the tropics blew through town last week. It left wintry weather in its wake, along with a path of destruction that has left as many as 40,000 New Yorkers temporarily homeless. Half of them are expected to be unable to go home for weeks or months, assuming they even have homes to return to. Serious damage to heat and electrical infrastructure in apartment buildings and homes on the waterfront are among the most serious issues that have created a housing crisis for the city following Hurricane Sandy.

“Many of the fears we have is that with cold weather coming, we have to make sure people can stay warm,” Mayor Bloomberg said at an afternoon press briefing. “Among the hardest hit are the Rockaways and Staten Island. A lot of places aren’t gonna have electricity but are going to experience the cold. That is the next big problem for us.” Read More

By Matt Chaban 11/03/12 8:06pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

What, me worry? Not if we build the right stuff. (MTA/Flickr)

MTA Chief Joe Lhota Wants to Look to Europe and Asia for Infrastructure Inspiration

MTA chairman and CEO Joe Lhota has thrown his support behind Governor Andrew Cuomo’s call for stronger infrastructure to protect New York City from future natural disasters like Superstorm Sandy.

This may not be surprising—after all, the governor is Mr. Lhota’s boss—but their unanimity on the matter will lend extra support to the idea of improving the city’s defenses against future floods and rising sea levels. That support is especially important when Mayor Bloomberg has so far dismissed calls for strengthened infrastructure around the city. Read More

By Matt Chaban 10/27/12 5:34pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

(Getty)

MTA Shutting Down Subways, Buses and Trains Starting at 7 p.m. Sunday [Updated]

Update 10/28, 10:50: Governor Cuomo just announced that all MTA service will be shut down starting at 7 p.m. tonight. Full details from the MTA are at the bottom of this post.

“The transportation system is the lifeblood of the New York City region, and suspending all service is not a step I take lightly,” Governor Cuomo said in a statement. “But keeping New Yorkers safe is the first priority, and the best way to do that is to make sure they are out of harm’s way before gale-force winds can start wreaking havoc on trains and buses.” Read More

By The Editors 8/08/12 12:33pm

opinion

Taking its Toll

The state is suggesting that it may nearly triple the cost of crossing the Hudson River from Rockland County to Westchester County when it replaces the outdated Tappan Zee Bridge in several years. The new bridge is going to cost some $5 billion, and Governor Cuomo needs to figure out how to pay for it.

The plan to hit up drivers for 14 bucks when they enter Westchester County (the bridge has a one-way toll system) is very likely a trial balloon, similar to the Port Authority’s plan last year to impose huge new hikes on its bridges and tunnels that connect New York and New Jersey. Governors Cuomo and Christie expressed horror and outrage, and the PA, as if on cue, immediately reduced its request, but tolls went up all the same.

That’s the likely scenario for the new Tappan Zee Bridge—the toll will be significantly higher than it is now, but it won’t be as high as the request. That’s how politics works. But here’s the problem: Government is making it increasingly expensive for commuters and commercial traffic, and that’s simply not good news for the city and regional economy. Read More

By The Editors 6/27/12 8:55am

opinion

A Criminal Offense

Republicans in the state Senate rejected Governor Cuomo’s laudable proposal to decriminalize possession of small amounts of marijuana. They will now go back to their suburban and rural districts and brag about how tough they are. Their toughness will now consign hundreds, perhaps thousands, of young people to the not-very-tender mercies of the criminal justice system. Nice work, senators. Read More

By The Editors 6/27/12 8:53am

opinion

Bad Compromise on Teachers

Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature chose discretion over valor in the battle over access to teacher evaluations in New York. Sometimes discretion is a good thing. But not in this case.

Mayor Bloomberg and others believed in full and unfettered access to teacher performance evaluations. They made the case that transparency would only help the effort to encourage good teachers and weed out the bad ones.

Unfortunately, the governor and legislators decided to limit access to the data to parents, who will be able to review evaluations of their childrens’ current teachers. While that’s better than nothing—and bear in mind that the unions fought the whole idea of performance evaluations to the bitter end—it’s a far cry from the sort of transparency that Mr. Bloomberg and his allies sought. Read More

6/13/12 11:22am

opinion

Albany’s Shy Donors

The Committee to Save New York has a number of laudable goals in mind, goals that this page shares. Committee members, many of whom are well-placed among New York’s civic and business leaders, have sought to win public support for political and fiscal reform in Albany, reforms desperately needed if New York is going to prosper in the 21st century.

It’s clear that the committee has struck a nerve—it was able to raise $17 million last year, and it spent $12 million. No doubt you’ve seen the committee’s television ads, and if they seem like campaign commercials for Gov. Andrew Cuomo, well, that’s not a coincidence. Many of the committee’s leaders, including co-chair Rob Speyer, have close ties to the governor. The governor’s agenda and the committee’s are one and the same.

Here’s the problem: If the committee truly is serious about changing the dysfunctional culture of state government, if it is, in fact, in favor of greater transparency in political decision-making, if it really wants to set an example, it simply cannot continue to play by the old rules.

But it is doing just that. Read More

By The Editors 6/05/12 7:05pm

opinion

Common Sense on Pot

The illogic of New York’s marijuana laws has been evident for some time and was summed up nicely by Governor Cuomo.

If you’re caught with a small amount of pot—25 grams or less—in your backpack, the penalty is a $100 fine (for the first offense). But if a police officer asks you to empty your pockets and you pull out a small bag of weed, you are subject to arrest on a misdemeanor. Why? Because by taking the pot out of your pocket, you exposed it to “public view.”

It just doesn’t make sense, especially when you consider the police officers routinely order people to empty their pockets during stop-and-frisk operations. Mr. Cuomo’s proposal will correct this inequity by decriminalizing possession of 25 grams or less in public view. Legislators should pass this measure quickly. Read More