Rollin', rollin', keep those bikes a rollin'... (Edward Reed/Mayor's Office)

Next year, spring showers will bring a flood of bikes.

Despite years of planning and the highest hopes, New York City's bike share program will not be launching this year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on his radio show this morning. "We are just not going to put out the system until it works," the mayor said. "We were going to try a partial launch, but we're just not going to do it if it doesn't work."

John Gambling, Mr. Bloomberg's radio partner, than asked if the launch would be in the spring, which Mayor Bloomberg affirmed.The reason for the delays were software issues, which have plagued the bike share program's operator, Alta Bikes, in other markets, as well, most recently Chatanooga, Tenn., where their system launched months after expected.

“Unfortunately there are software issues," Mayor Bloomberg said. "The software doesn’t work. Duh. Until it works, we’re not going to put it out."

The mayor said he genuinely believed the program would have rolled out on the streets when expected and seemed disappointed it had not. “We did think there would be a possibility we would have bikes on the streets this summer," the mayor said.

Yesterday, the mayor seemed to portend this fate, at an unrelated press conference in Coney Island for an expansion to the New York Aquarium. There, he reiterated the technical glitches and swore there was no big conspiracy underway, according to Capital New York:

"We're getting very close," he said. "Look, everybody wants to say there's a secret agenda here. The software doesn't work. And putting it out when the software doesn't work, it wouldn't work. Period. And so we're trying to find out when we can put a date that we're sure or reasonably sure that it will work. And we're trying."

The mayor also marveled, as he had before, that people were first screaming that they did not want bike share, and now they are screaming about where the heck is it.

Update 9:40: A release from the city's Department of Transportation reveals the system will launch in March 2013, with 7,000 bikes at 420 stations. This is the same size as the initial plans for a first phase rollout that was supposed to have launched in July. Already cyclists on Twitter were hoping for a complete rollout come the spring, but it does not look like that will be the case.

“New York City demands a world-class bike share system, and we need to ensure that Citi Bike launches as flawlessly as New Yorkers expect on Day One,” DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan said in a statement. “The enthusiasm for this program continues to grow and we look forward to bringing this affordable new transportation option to New Yorkers without cost to taxpayers.”

In a separate statement, Paul Steely White, executive director of Transportation Alternatives, stressed the challenges of the bike share project.

“While we are eager for Citi Bike to begin, it’s more crucial that this ground-breaking transit system be launched correctly, not quickly," he said. "New York’s public bike share program will not only be the largest bike share system in the Western Hemisphere, it will also be the city’s first brand-new, full-scale form of public transit since the subway’s debut more than 100 years ago—this is not a moment to rush."

Update 10:05: And the pile on begins... Comptroller John Liu issued a report critical of bike share earlier this year, says now the administration should take a second look at their program. Via a spokesman: "While the delay may have been caused by poor planning and software problems, the City should take this opportunity to address the remaining safety issues associated with the plan in order to lower the number of accidents and fatalities that may result from the Bike Share program."

Meanwhile Veronica Vanterpool of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign echos Mr. White on the need to wait: "With all eyes on the country’s largest bike share program to date, NYCDOT is right to ensure that the rollout of bike share is smooth and efficient. Waiting until all software issues are resolved is a responsible move that will help guarantee the success of the city’s first bike share. Tri-State looks forward to seeing the program roll out in the spring–perfect timing for putting the drab days of winter behind."

Update 10:30: Going back over the audio from this morning's radio show, the mayor explained just how challenging creating a bike share system for 7,000 bikes is: "It really is very advanced technology. Each station is like a dock, each place you stick in a bike is a computer, and everything runs on solar power so you don’t need a lot of wiring and there’s no burden on the electrical system. There’s an enormous number of transactions you have to communicate in real time to central computers."

He also mentioned the possibility of including speed bumps to slow down cyclists, particularly in Central Park before dismissing the idea. He then argues that bikes, and bike share, are the future:

"Every place where it’s worked is very popular. And the world is going towards more bicycles. They’re not gonna replace cars, but you can’t get more cars on the streets and you have to have other means of transportation. Walking is one thing, bicycles another and buses, subways, those kinds of things. And the streets are there for everybody. The streets are there for people and not just for automobiles."

"No. I think there's normal turnover," Bloomberg said on his weekly radio show this morning.

"He'll miss those people," Bloomberg said, referring to his new chancellor, Dennis Walcott. But, the mayor added, "keep in mind, the core of the people, most of the people are still there."

Bloomberg said it was "sad the way it worked out" with Black, but "I want to say thank you to her."

The show's co-host, John Gambling, said newspaper speculation was that the mayor was facing some sort of curse in his latest term, or a "third term-itis."

"Oh you know, that's just -- you know, they talk about second-termitis," the mayor said. "We did more in our second term than we did in our first term. We will do more in our third term than we did in our second. Some of the things aren't sexy, but, focusing on economic development and focusing on reducing our expenses is exactly what we need here to stop this race to fiscal calamity most governments are on."

Gambling though, returned to the issue of the now-former chancellor, asking the mayor to reflect on how it went wrong.

"We've all make mistakes. I've made mistakes that have gone bad instantaneously as well," said Gambling. "So, I'm curious about your experience here, as you reflect on your choice of Cathie Black."

The mayor said, "She's a phenomenally competent woman, and - "

"But where did it derail, do you think?" Gambling jumped in to ask. 

"You know, it's hard to pin that down," said Bloomberg, "but the real answer here is to say, 'Okay, water over the dam, under the bridge; what are we going to do next?' And she, if I asked her to do something for the city, I'm sure she would do it instantly, but we've got to now help Dennis."

"And," Bloomberg continued, "to focus on anything else is just so immaterial compared to the importance of what we still have to do that that's where you really want to focus."

"He seemed so intent on getting multi-lateral support, United Nations support," rather than congressional support, King told John Gambling during a radio interview on WOR Wednesday morning.

"I don't think he spoke to the committees, the Foreign Affairs Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, the Armed Services Committee," said King, who chairs the Homeland Security Committee and seemed particularly annoyed that he didn't hear about this from the president directly.

"On St. Patrick's Day Thursday, I was at a lunch sitting two seats away from the president and three seats away from the [House] Speaker, and Libya never even came up."

On twitter, just use the hashtag #AskMike. (It's not unlike the imperfect crowd-sourcing I've tried to do before heading to some of the mayor's press conferences.)

Among the questions submitted, via Twitter:

Frank Morano: "Will you consider appointing a Charter Revision Commission this year to study increasing local borough control of agencies?"

Heather Squire: "F***ing magnets? How do they work?"

My favorite, from JM: "Why not do a whole show with AskMike?"

I wonder how many journalists will use this feature, and, how many other elected officials will follow the mayor's lead. (#AskAndrew, anyone?)

UPDATE: Bloomberg's spokesman forwarded the questions Bloombeg answered on air:

Peter Diviestie: "What will be the class size of the proposed NYPD academy scheduled for April? Will there be another class in July also?"

Ann Byrne: "What can be done to make housing in New York more affordable?"

Jay Awesome: "When are you gonna make Brooklyn bike-able again?"

And that thing from Heather Squire.

"I would not imagine it would be too long," Paterson said this morning during an interview on WOR News Talk Radio.

Massa resigned from Congress amid accusations he groped a male staffer, an incident that was being investigated by the House Ethics Commission. Upon Massa's resignation, the committee ceased investigating the incident.

When asked about the investigation Paterson is facing by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for allegedly interfering in a domestic violence case involving a former aide, the governor said he has no timetable by which he'll speak with investigators.

Paterson said on Monday that he spoke with his criminal defense lawyer over the weekend. Also on Monday, he told reporters that he hadn't spoke with investigators from Cuomo's office.

Radio host John Gambling announced this morning that he and Paterson would be on air for an hour next week for a wide-ranging discussion. Gambling asked if Paterson would address the investigation. Paterson said no, because he's waiting to tell his version of events to investigators, and speaking publicly could taint the investigation.

But, this morning's New York Times story says the governor himself spoke to a woman earlier this month who was trying to file an order of protection against Johnson.

 This morning, Paterson was on John Gambling's radio show, and confronted with the contradiction.

"You said you didn't know anything about this," said Gambling, "but according to The New York Times this morning, you had a telephone conversation with the unnamed woman" about three weeks ago.

"Uh, John, what I'm going to tell you is that I've now turned this over to the attorney general. This is now an investigation," Paterson said. "The best thing for me is that the actual facts come out. In other words, the facts as they occurred, not what one might think."

When Gambling asked again if Paterson had a conversation with the woman, the governor sidestepped the issue.

"You see, John, I don't want to talk about that because, those are things the attorney general will ask myself about," he said. "I don't want to step in front of it."

"I'll just let the facts come out,"  the governor said. "That will be the best way for this to work and that will be the best thing for me."

According to the Daily News, a Paterson aide denied the governor made the call to the woman. The aide said the woman called the governor.

Here's what Paterson said this morning on the John Gambling show, according to Jimmy Vielkind:

[W]hat does Andrew Cuomo think about the wall Street bonuses? As last I checked, he was for eliminating them."

[skip]

"What does Andrew Cuomo think about the budget plan? What does Andrew Cuomo think about a way to pay for the MTA? He doesn’t have an opinion. So in other words, you can go to the unions and tell them ‘I’m with you’ and go to the businesses and tell them ‘I’m with you.’ You can go to John Gambling and tell him, ‘I’m with you.’ But since you don’t have to make a decision."

[skip]

"[T]here’s no way he can avoid winding up in the same circumstance that I’m in."

"I thought there would be some modification, but I heard a rumor yesterday that some of my colleagues are talking about another millionaires' tax, and that would demonstrate, I would say, a completely addictive personality," Paterson told John Gambling on WOR. "The rumor isn't traceable to anybody, but someone just mentioned that to me yesterday and I thought, 'I can't believe, at this point, that we never get it.'"

Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver--who pushed to include a tax on high earners in last year's budget--said on a different radio program that he saw the state's problems as a "crisis of spending" and said it must be curtailed.

The governor's comment came as he and Gambling were discussing the coming new year, and how New York got into the fiscal situation it is in. Gambling made a metaphor to a drug addict, which Paterson continued.

"Well how did we get in this situation in the first place? We got there by, not being honest. By taxing the public when we needed more money and then when we were unable to tax anymore borrowing," Paterson said. "The public has figured out this borrowing frenzy that our country has fallen into. As a government we can't criticize any individuals who have borrowed themselves into insolvency because government has done the same thing."

"We were going to put in $500, but you know, Mayor Bloomberg's having a little cash flow problem so I told him I'd put the other $500 in," Paterson joked.

Gambling made a point about the good work the Salvation Army does in not just giving people money but providing more comprehensive services, often, than government. David Paterson managed to segue close to his message of fiscal responsibility.

"That's true, for instance, the Salvation Army has become quite proficient in domestic violence services, and I was reading the other day that the state of California because of all of its financial problems has discontinued all of its state support for domestic violence centers," Paterson said. "And so in times like this when even the government is running out of money, people's personal volunteerism and their ability to be cognizant and give to others becomes more important than ever."

Gambling then joking asked if Paterson was asking for money. The governor said he was not.

"I think that would be pretty interesting," Paterson told John Gambling on WOR, when asked about the prospect of serving as governor over a man to whom he once served as lieutenant governor.  "But I would say, honestly, the type of way that former Governor Spitzer managed would be most useful these days in the finance area rather than in law enforcement."

The Post reported this morning that Spitzer is "seriously thinking about" a 2010 run for the office. The current comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, is perceived as politically weak.

"Our biggest problems here are, and our current comptroller has handled this pretty well, warning the legislature," Paterson said. Spitzer might be well-suited to the task, Paterson suggested.

He then segued into his fiscal toughness, bash the legislature message.