PlaNYC

Kudos to Mayor Mike for calling out the Senate Dems' poor excuse for an MTA plan. If only Bloomberg could see his own policies with such clear eyes.

With Michael Bloomberg expected to announce today that he will seek a third term as mayor, current and would-be electeds are, understandably, in a tizzy.

After nearly a year of personally advocating for congestion pricing, I shared my fellow Streetsbloggers' frustration as the current round ended not with a decisive vote, but with the clock running out on a federal funding deadline. As this great New York political battle fades into memory, I hope future historians will not remember this as a Bloomberg second-term failure along the lines of the West Side stadium fight with Speaker Silver and Assembly Democrats. Rather, I hope they recognize this as a case of Albany legislative dysfunction undermining pretty much all of the major civic, environmental, transportation and labor organizations. In fact, organizations like Transportation Alternatives, Partnership for NYC and Citizens for NYC lead this initiative from the beginning and got the mayor to sign on last year as part of PlaNYC.

Following an evening closed-door meeting in which state leaders discussed congestion pricing one last time today, they emerged announcing no deal had been reached. Here is a statement from Mayor Bloomberg:

Yesterday morning's hearing at City Hall, which garnered much press today, gave Janette Sadik-Khan and Rohit Aggarwala the chance to clarify a number of misconceptions about congestion pricing in front of a sizable contingent of City Council members. As expected, one of the first points to come up was whether drivers from New Jersey will contribute anything to the congestion pricing revenue stream. Turns out they will.

As a candidate for a livable streets makeover, Columbus Avenue is a no-brainer. A block from Central Park, it is home to the American Museum of Natural History and sports a string of active ground floor businesses, but the street itself is a classically car-oriented corridor: three moving lanes sandwiched between two parking lanes. The Columbus Avenue BID has been working with Project for Public Spaces to make the street itself more of a destination -- to create a walkable, transit-oriented "spine" running from the museum to Lincoln Center on Broadway.

Potential residential parking permit stickers, curbside regulations, and David Yassky.

Crain's Insider has the most detailed look yet at the odds that the City Council will pass a congestion pricing bill [PDF]. The good news is that pricing stands a decent chance of getting through committee, thanks in part to some maneuvering by Speaker Christine Quinn. As things progress, expect to hear more about uncommitted council members like Larry Seabrook (right), who may cast the deciding vote in committee. Via The Politicker, here's the scoop from Crain's:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced Wednesday that the hybrid changeover for yellow cabs will be extended to cover the city's 10,000 black cars.