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MTA is heading for a major problem. The failure of the Legislature to pass any sort of plan earlier in the year is coming back to bite us all, and the proposed rate increases are staggering. Currently Governor Paterson is pushing a quick fix plan that will utilize a 1% payroll tax on businesses in the metropolitan counties. There was also a compromise plan that would lower the rates paid by a county the further they are away from the city. Furthermore, school districts are promised a reimbursement to avoid unduly increasing property taxes.
Four Democrats are the on-record holdouts to this plan. Their names might surprise you, as you'll find over the fold. |
Mr. Paterson said that two of the four holdouts, Suzi Oppenheimer and Andrea Stewart-Cousins, both of Westchester County, have told Senate leaders that the proposed compromise would win their support for the rescue plan. But Mr. Paterson said that two Long Island Democrats, Craig M. Johnson and Brian X. Foley, remain holdouts.
That's right, friends. Oppenheimer, Stewart-Cousins, Johnson, and Foley. Three out of the four were elected in the 2006-2008 wave of new State Senate Democrats. All four are from the more progressive wing of our state party. All four are generally supported by those of us on this website. What gives?
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Mr. Johnson, said in statement: "Senator Johnson is awaiting more details of the governor's plan. He will make a judgment based on what is in the final legislation, not what is claimed to exist in a press release, or media report."
Ibrahim Khan, a spokesman for Mr. Foley, said: "Senator Foley has not seen the actual proposal yet. He still has serious concerns about the proposed payroll tax on Long Island's businesses, hospitals and nonprofits."
So apparently the harm to Long Island businesses will be greater with a 1% payroll tax than a 20% increase in fares and tolls. I'm sure that Long Island residents won't be hurt at all by the drastic increase on LIRR or the Midtown Tunnel.
Mr. Paterson said his staff met three times with Senate Republican staff members last week to discuss Republican ideas for a rescue plan, but he did not consider their proposals viable. As a result, he said, "I would not necessarily expect Republican votes in favor of this."
No surprise here. Why would Republicans support any sort of fix for the MTA? It's not like they're actual partners in good faith as stewards of New York State.
I'll give credit where credit is due. It does look like Westchester Senators Oppenheimer and Stewart-Cousins are going along with the plan. I'm sure that's thanks, in no small part, to Assemblyman Brodsky.
"The governor is now putting pressure on to get a deal done, and that's a good thing," said Richard L. Brodsky, a Democratic assemblyman from Westchester who has been a strong supporter of a rescue for the authority. But he added, "It's got to be a good deal."
This is what it comes down to, folks. The Legislature this year failed to come up with a plan to guarantee funding. In a way this all goes back to Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. The failure to pass the plan sacrificed billions of dollars in federal money that would have remedied the situation. We're now facing doomsday. Recently the MTA even admitted that ending some late-night service was not off the table. Our mass transit system is the envy of the country and a defining characteristic of New York City. We need to get a plan in place.
The 1% payroll tax fix won't solve the problem. The W and Z lines will probably still be cut. So will many of the 35 bus lines. But any plan that can remedy some of the deep service cuts is a start. We need a quick-fix now.
I would urge anyone who lives in Senator Foley or Senator Johnson's districts to give them a call and let them know how important the quick-fix plan is. The character of our city is at stake here.
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