Albany Ready To Screw Up Again
The news was hot & heavy concering the MTA over the last 24-36 hours. The process started when State Democrats blasted Gov. Patterson for not rallying the base to get the votes needed for a MTA financial package to be passed. Lets take a quick peak at that story courtesy of the New York Daily News’ Glenn Blain:
Senate Democrats blasted Gov. Paterson Sunday night for not doing enough to rally their own members behind an MTA bailout plan.
Paterson’s top aide abruptly canceled a meeting Monday with upstate Senate Democrats to discuss funding for upstate roads and bridges, a key plank of a compromise bailout plan that has been crafted by Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), a Senate source said.
“The governor has been an absentee governor,” said the Democratic source.
A Paterson aide called the charge “desperation” and said the meeting was put off only until Tuesday.
Click here for the complete report.
This was followed up by the news that the MTA’s budget deficit continues to grow. However it does not end there as Albany once again delivers a huge blow to the hopes of creating long term sustainable solutions by selling out the riding public for passage of temporary fixes. Lets take a look at this angle via Politicker NY’s Jimmy Vielkind:
Gone is Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith’s confidence that his chamber can pass a bill to help the M.T.A. bridge a growing deficit.
He and others had planned to pass a bill this week. Now, after emerging from a closed meeting with David Paterson and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, he said “we’re taking it one day at a time.”
“It’s not about merits,” Smith said. “It’s just about what gets us there with the votes that we need to get it passed. Because there are things in this plan that, somebody’s not going to like something. At some point, you just have to sort of toughen up a little bit and make the tough decisions.”
Click here for the complete report.
I can’t say any of these developments surprise me. I have long said that Albany was going to find a way to screw this up. They would either come up with typical temporary solutions which would do nothing but delay the inevitable or they would come up with nothing at all. Honestly at the rate they are going, one can argue that no real difference exists between the two.
The fact that Albany is willing to once again fail the MTA & the millions who depend on it is extremely frustrating. Transit advocates such as myself have been longing for the day when the MTA’s needs would be properly met by our elected officials on all levels. Yet, we are forced to watch Albany due just enough in their eyes instead of legitimately solving the problems. When will they wake up & understand that temporary fixes will not get the job done?
Instead of playing the blame game & pointing fingers like children, Albany should be working around the clock to get this right. Enough with the bickering & focus on the real issues at hand. The MTA needs legitimate & sustainable long term funding solutions. Anything less is completely unacceptable.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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Comments
[…] confidence once exuded by State Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has evaporated. The 32 votes he seemed so confident in getting clearly looked to be a figment of his imagination […]
Kami,
Thank you for the link, I enjoyed that video.
Abba,
At this point it seems it will be a bit before it reaches the floor for a vote. Regardless of when it makes it there, I don’t see it passing in its current form. Malcolm is dreaming if he thinks he can come up with 32 votes at this time.
If they can’t get it together maybe we the people should take action… like jump turnstiles again lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hXBAoIAKx4