People

Assembly lawmakers want to restore the $65 million transit cut in Governor Cuomo's draft budget. To reverse the cut, the draft budget released by the Carl Heastie-led Assembly [PDF, page 65-2] reallocates $65 million from New York Works, Cuomo's infrastructure piggy bank, to the MTA.

Governor Cuomo wants to cut $65 million from the state's annual contribution to the MTA. An analysis by the Riders Alliance and Regional Plan Association identifies transit improvements that money could pay for.

In letters to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Insurance Committee chair Kevin Cahill, leaders of Transportation Alternatives and the Tri-State Transportation Campaign warn that Governor Cuomo's Uber bill could lead to illegal ride-hail traffic in the five boroughs with no way to assess the problem and rein it in, if necessary.

Governor Cuomo's proposed budget slashes $65 million from the state's general fund contribution to the MTA, breaking a promise he made five years ago. Now a bipartisan group of 65 Albany legislators are calling for those funds to be restored in the final budget.

Andrew Cuomo is balancing the state's books on the backs of New York City straphangers. Under his draft budget, the MTA would receive $65 million less from the state’s general fund than it did in 2016, at the same time as riders chip in about $300 million more via the upcoming fare hike.

Five years ago, Cuomo promised to allocate $320 million annually to the MTA to make up for cutting one of the agency's dedicated revenue streams. At the time, advocates warned that Cuomo wouldn't keep his promise for long. They were right: This year the governor's draft budget calls for a $65 million cut to MTA funding.

There's plenty Albany lawmakers can do this year to improve transit and make streets safer.

Just as NYC is poised to get a better understanding of how the burgeoning ride-hail industry is affecting streets and traffic, Cuomo's Uber bill could deliver a major setback.

Brown apparently decided a low-level misdemeanor charge was too severe for the death of 8-month-old Navraj Raju.