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Outrageous
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:06:00
There is no excuse—not one—for the failure to hold a vote on congestion pricing.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to radically alter the traffic system in the Big Apple was far-reaching, and would undoubtedly have transformed Manhattan below 60th Street, as well as the surrounding area, and the lives of those who lived anywhere near where the cameras were to be installed. Whether that would have been a good or bad thing is a matter that could have been fairly debated.
Which it should have been.
The Democratic conference and its leadership were entitled to oppose congestion pricing. But instead of letting the measure fail on the floor, they decided to skip the vote entirely. That strike against transparency and democracy—and the fact that this was acceptable in the Capitol—represents what is wrong with how the state government does business.
It is time for this practice to end.
Proponents and opponents of congestion pricing should have cast their votes for all to see, to let their constituents and colleagues know definitively where they stood. The rules must be changed to let bills not sure to pass to come to the floor. That change will not be able to come in time to make a difference on congestion pricing. But if this outrageous debacle can be a catalyst for this crucial shift in the power structure, the positive impact on New York State will probably be greater than would have come from any system to charge drivers a fee to enter midtown Manhattan.
There are a lot of legislators who like to call themselves reformers. Based on how they act in the aftermath of the congestion pricing vote, it will not be hard to see who the real ones are.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal to radically alter the traffic system in the Big Apple was far-reaching, and would undoubtedly have transformed Manhattan below 60th Street, as well as the surrounding area, and the lives of those who lived anywhere near where the cameras were to be installed. Whether that would have been a good or bad thing is a matter that could have been fairly debated.
Which it should have been.
The Democratic conference and its leadership were entitled to oppose congestion pricing. But instead of letting the measure fail on the floor, they decided to skip the vote entirely. That strike against transparency and democracy—and the fact that this was acceptable in the Capitol—represents what is wrong with how the state government does business.
It is time for this practice to end.
Proponents and opponents of congestion pricing should have cast their votes for all to see, to let their constituents and colleagues know definitively where they stood. The rules must be changed to let bills not sure to pass to come to the floor. That change will not be able to come in time to make a difference on congestion pricing. But if this outrageous debacle can be a catalyst for this crucial shift in the power structure, the positive impact on New York State will probably be greater than would have come from any system to charge drivers a fee to enter midtown Manhattan.
There are a lot of legislators who like to call themselves reformers. Based on how they act in the aftermath of the congestion pricing vote, it will not be hard to see who the real ones are.
