Congestion Pricing: The Aftermath

Monday was a bad day for Bloomberg and his congestion pricing plan. In a week it went from having a chance at being signed into law to a possible option for a special committee to be convened at a later date. Despite Bloomberg's pull down here, he was incredibly ineffective up in Albany. His pal Spitzer abandoned him as did Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith. The Senate did convene at the Capitol, but the Assembly controlled by Silver was down in the City. In the end, Bloomberg lost and conceded to the obvious victor, Sheldon Silver.

From The Daily News:

The mayor rushed from one private meeting with legislative leaders and Gov. Spitzer to the next, avoiding reporters.

The mayor was supposed to appear at a news conference with Republican leaders, but Bruno faced the press alone. Reporters looking for Bloomberg were directed toward one door. He slipped out a different exit.

Spitzer, who had pledged to help Bloomberg win passage, stayed out of sight.

Back in Manhattan, Silver said in late afternoon he would back creation of a commission to study all sorts of traffic-reducing plans - including, but not limited to, congestion pricing. That wasn't exactly what Bloomberg had in mind.

So basically things in Albany stayed the same with no change for NYC. Politics in Albany is a vicious thing. If you don't bow down to the powers that be, you'll land flat on your face like the Mayor did yesterday. Insiders saw it coming a mile away but Bloomberg thought he could roll right through. The Governor learned his lesson with the current set of legislators and stayed far away from the mess yesterday, although that didn't stop Bruno from lashing out at him.

So this my friends is how Albany works. If anyone has the slightest problem with the current feudalistic situation, please vote for someone new next year. End the fiefdoms!