People

The centerpiece of Governor Cuomo's second-term transportation agenda for New York City isn't closing the $15 billion gap in the MTA capital program or taking serious steps to relieve the city from suffocating traffic. Instead, Cuomo's big idea is a new rail link to LaGuardia Airport.

A day before his big statewide policy address, Governor Andrew Cuomo laid out his transportation and infrastructure agenda today at a Midtown breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York, a business group. This was not the speech where the governor finally laid out his plan to prevent runaway MTA debt, fix the traffic that is choking New York City's economy, and revive cities around the state by tearing out decrepit 20th century highways and redeveloping downtowns.

An administrative law judge for the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles today deferred a decision concerning the driver's license of the motorist who killed 3-year-old Allison Liao.

With the retirement of Barbara Fiala, the top position at the Department of Motor Vehicles is vacant, giving Governor Andrew Cuomo an opportunity to appoint someone who will use the state's oversight of driver education, training, and licensing to improve street safety and prevent traffic deaths.

A driver with a revoked license killed a senior in Brooklyn Tuesday. As of Wednesday he was not charged by NYPD or District Attorney Ken Thompson for causing a death.

With the MTA set to raise fares 4 percent over the next two years, it's time for the bi-annual spectacle of fare hike hearings, where political appointees absorb the brunt of straphanger anger so Governor Cuomo doesn't have to.

The MTA Reinvention Commission report, the product of months of work from a panel of experts, was unceremoniously dumped to the press by the governor's office at 5:30 p.m. yesterday, shortly before Thanksgiving. While the document [PDF] includes a number of worthwhile suggestions, it fails to seriously grapple with the biggest challenges facing New York's transit system. The MTA's astronomical construction costs and the substantial systemwide benefits of funding transit with road pricing get only cursory mentions. This is disappointing, but not surprising, since the report is a reflection of the man who created and controlled the commission: Governor Andrew Cuomo.

In a meeting with representatives from Governor Andrew Cuomo's administration Tuesday, members of Families for Safe Streets called for reforms to New York State Department of Motor Vehicles protocols, with the goal of discouraging reckless driving and obtaining some measure of justice for crash victims and their families.

Nine bicycle and pedestrian projects in New York City are receiving federal funds distributed through New York State DOT, according to an announcement late last month by Governor Andrew Cuomo. The projects range from pedestrian safety fixes on streets near busy expressways to upgraded plazas and greenways.