Along with the usual Albany hurry-and-wait over an all but certain to pass overhaul of the s, tate’s tax program, the Capitol was abuzz today with conflicting reports over the status of Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s street hail livery proposal.
In the morning, The Daily Politics reported that a deal was near; later The Politicker reported that it was all but done. Afterwards, State of Politics suggested that a deal was dead.
Now the Bloomberg administration itself has weighed in with a statement that can be parsed to determine a little bit what went on behind the scenes.
Apparently the Bloomberg-backed bill to allow livery pick ups is being sent to the governor’s desk on Friday. The governor had apparently wanted to make some changes in the bill, and were sending those changes to the legislature, but those pulled back at the last moment.
The mayor’s team meanwhile is imploring Gov. Cuomo to take up the bill again.
The full statement from Micah Lasher, who is the director of the Bloomberg administration’s Albany office, is below:
“Over the last six months, the Governor has repeatedly expressed support for the goals of the legislation and also said he wanted to make certain changes in the form of a chapter amendment. He and his staff were finalizing an amendment this morning, but it was never sent to the Legislature. While the Mayor, along with legislative leaders, was prepared to support that amendment, it is not necessary to achieve the goals of the legislation.
“Over the next ten days, we are available to discuss any questions or concerns the Governor has, and strongly urge him to sign this historic legislation.”
