Frustration: Internet and Albany

Posting has been light as I've been choked off from internet access for much of the day and been working long hours. The Blackberry is a lifeline but only for keeping up (on delay) through RSS feeds.

So today was a roller coaster of disappointment, interspersed with peaks of hope before plunging once again into despair. I speak, of course, of congestion pricing. Streetsblog covered the unfolding events heavily throughout the day, and at times it looked like a deal might be pulled out. But it was not to be.

At least, for now. CP has been declared dead before, so we'll see. We'll see what alternatives are offered, because we are looking at a disaster for transit funding if we don't identify a replacement revenue stream, stat.

I commend Joan Millman for her last minute support of congestion pricing. I know Joan, and I know that her office wrestled mightily with this issue and sought the best solution for our district. And I say, thank you for listening and ultimately making the right call.

Ben Kabak reacts to this inexcusable failure of Albany over at Second Avenue Sagas.

The ball is in your court Mr. Silver. The city needs tens of billions of dollars in new transit infrastructure investment. This plan has died on your doorstep. Now it's up to you to FIND THE MONEY.