Andrew Cuomo
Streetsblog Basics
Cuomo Touts Smart Growth Grants But Stays Mum on MTA Funding
If his State of the State address yesterday offers any indication, transportation policy isn't going to be a top-tier priority for Andrew Cuomo. He didn't mention pressing issues like the MTA's looming deficits or the state's crumbling infrastructure, instead focusing his attention on ethics reform, Medicaid and reorganizing state government. He did, however, repeat his proposal to institute a $100 million competitive grant program to encourage smart growth around the state, suggesting that campaign promise has momentum early in his administration.
January 6, 2011
Cuomo’s First Moves Hint at Transpo Privatization, Labor Confrontation
Andrew Cuomo has been governor for all of three days, but even his small first actions could have big implications. With the state's massive deficit looming, Cuomo won't be able to avoid tough choices and big fights, and transportation is very much in the crosshairs. Bigger news could come as early as Wednesday, when Cuomo announces his emergency financial plan -- in which he could announce raids on the MTA's dedicated finances in the hundreds of millions -- but already a picture of this year's agenda is beginning to emerge.
January 3, 2011
Advocates and Unions to Cuomo: Put a Stop to Transit Raids
A broad coalition of good government groups, transit and environmental advocates, and unions sent a letter to Andrew Cuomo on Friday [PDF] urging the incoming governor to protect straphangers by ensuring that transit revenues are spent on transit.
December 20, 2010
Legislature Passes on Deficit Fix, Putting MTA Raids In Cuomo’s Hands
In Albany this week, legislative leaders declined to take action to close the state's current $315 million budget deficit. That pushes the problem into 2011, when a new governor and likely a Republican State Senate will be in power. Whether dedicated MTA funds will still be used as a piggy bank, at the expense of transit riders, will be up to next year's leadership.
December 2, 2010
Good Gov Groups, Transit Advocates Call on Cuomo to Stop MTA Raids
Albany's repeated plundering of the MTA's dedicated funds has robbed transit riders of more than $140 million in the past year alone. With a $9 billion budget gap looming, straphangers could end up paying again very soon. An impossible fix, you ask? I know the subject is Albany and we've all been conditioned to think that change is hopeless, but as it happens, all it takes is one person, the governor of New York, to say enough is enough.
November 23, 2010
Cuomo on MTA Raids: Transit Funds Are “Fungible”
WNYC's Andrea Bernstein reports on the most troubling sign yet that Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo is not willing to stop Albany's practice of raiding dedicated transit funds to plug gaps in the state budget. From a press conference yesterday:
November 18, 2010
Industry and Insiders Dominate Cuomo’s Transpo Transition Team
Andrew Cuomo named his transportation transition team and for transportation reformers, there's not a lot to celebrate. The list has no voices from the advocacy community and is dominated by private-sector business leaders. That's an unfortunate step backwards from Eliot Spitzer's team four years ago, which was stacked full of progressive transportation advocates, MTA reformers and congestion pricing experts.
November 16, 2010
Is Cuomo’s Spending Cap the Real Threat to Transit Funding?
With the threat of future raids on the MTA's dedicated funds looming on the horizon, I spoke with Fiscal Policy Institute executive director Frank Mauro to continue our investigation of how to keep transit funding secure.
November 12, 2010
Cuomo Wants Budget Fix ASAP, So Another MTA Raid May Be Coming Soon
If Andrew Cuomo has his way, the state legislature and Governor Paterson will close the state's $315 million shortfall before he takes office. The push from the governor-elect means that in the next two months, New York state's current leadership may again determine whether to close a budget gap by raiding MTA dedicated funds. Nearly $20 million for transit could be on the line.
November 10, 2010
Gene Russianoff on What to Look for From Governor-Elect Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo won his election yesterday by an enormous margin, racking up 62 percent of the vote. When he takes office, he will be the most powerful man in New York state politics.
November 3, 2010