People

Governor Cuomo's state budget proposal includes hundreds of millions of dollars in discretionary spending for what one administration official has called "transformational projects." It's not clear what the loosely-defined pot of money will be used for, but so far the rhetoric indicates that Cuomo's wide, transit-less, double-span Tappan Zee replacement bridge could be one recipient.

When it comes to Governor Cuomo and the MTA, no news is bad news, and the governor's 2013 budget contains nothing new for the transit agency's operating budget. With debt, pension, and health care costs on the rise, the MTA continues to slowly drown in red ink, relying on straphangers to keep it afloat.

Governor Cuomo's post-Sandy infrastructure commission unveiled its recommendations [PDF] last week, and while it focused heavily on hardening the city's transportation network against future storms, it also offered glimpses of how infrastructure could be more resilient in the wake of disaster, with Bus Rapid Transit playing a prominent role.

Tuning in to this afternoon's State of the State address, you could be forgiven for forgetting that New York depends on the nation's largest transit system -- a system burdened by debt and ravaged by Hurricane Sandy, which is in desperate need of leadership from the governor. Between the inside political jokes and grand pronouncements, Andrew Cuomo barely had time to talk about what makes New York's economy run: its transit system.

On Tuesday the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York released its agenda for cleaning up and toughening state and federal gun laws. Manhattan DA Cy Vance, named to a one-year term as DAASNY president last summer, announced that the organization had sent a letter to Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders with a host of proposals, ranging from restrictions on high capacity magazines to stiffer penalties for gun crimes and changes to mental health laws.

In his State of the State address tomorrow afternoon, Governor Andrew Cuomo has the opportunity to set the tone for transportation policy in the year ahead. And with the NYC region's transit system having absorbed billions of dollars worth of damage from Hurricane Sandy, it's going to be a very important year indeed. Cuomo has to chart a path to recover from the storm and prepare the region's transit infrastructure for the future, all while maintaining the existing system, which is staggering under the load of excessive debt.

When New Yorkers go to the polls less than a year from now, they'll definitely be voting for a new mayor, and they might also be voting for billions in state-backed transportation funding, if a measure put forward by Assembly Member James Brennan clears Albany.

Following queries by Streetsblog, two state senators have pledged to address loopholes in a new state law that permit large trucks to be operated without safety mirrors, thereby endangering pedestrians and cyclists, especially children and the elderly, in New York City neighborhoods.

The MTA -- the agency elected officials usually try to distance themselves from as much as possible -- has lately been serving as the model for effective post-Sandy recovery. And in a welcome turn, Governor Andrew Cuomo himself has taken center stage when all eyes are on the MTA's performance. There are even real-time MTA service status updates on his website.