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When Andrew Cuomo released his "New York Works" economic development plan earlier this week, much attention was paid to the fact that he did it in Carl Paladino's backyard. But there's also a full chapter on rebuilding New York State's infrastructure, particularly its transportation system, buried in that document.

Five candidates vying to become Upper Manhattan's next state senator met in the 168th Street Armory last night to make their case to the car-free voters of Riverdale, Inwood, Washington Heights, West Harlem, and the Upper West Side. At a debate sponsored by Transportation Alternatives and WE ACT for Environmental Justice, important differences emerged over how best to solve the MTA's budget crisis and make streets safe for pedestrians and cyclists.

Governor David Paterson announced Tuesday that he had signed Assembly Member Sam Hoyt's Smart Growth Infrastructure Public Policy Act, making it the law of the land that all state infrastructure spending must comply with a set of smart growth principles, including fostering compact, mixed-use development and reducing dependence on the automobile.

Westchester Democrat Richard Brodsky is running for Attorney General this fall, leaving the seat of congestion pricing's leading opponent open. Will his successor take up Brodsky's anti-transit mantle or prove to better represent the environmental values on which Brodsky is now running for AG? We spoke with the three candidates vying to replace Brodsky in the Assembly, Democrats Tom Abinanti and Anna Sterne and Republican Tom Bock, to find out.

John Petro and Dan Morris at the Drum Major Institute have a great op-ed in the Albany Times-Union today, asking the candidates for governor how they plan to deal with New York's transit funding crisis. With the largest MTA service cut in a generation barely behind us, the third fare hike in three years looming in January, a $9 billion hole in the agency's five-year capital plan, and a huge pile of debt that threatens to make future fare hikes steep and painful, the next governor needs to build support for bold funding solutions. Incremental steps won't cut it.

Kate Slevin is executive director of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, and this post was originally published on TSTC's blog, Mobilizing the Region. If and when the candidates produce transportation platforms, we'll see whether they acknowledge the truth inherent in many of these proposals: You don't have to spend big on transportation to achieve big improvements in safety, sustainability, access to jobs and housing, and New Yorkers' quality of life.

The corner of Syracuse’s S. Geddes St. and Seymour St. is the most dangerous intersection in Albany, Broome, Erie, Monroe, or Onondaga County. Image: Google Street View. A strong complete streets bill is back on track in Albany. Two weeks ago, Assembly Transportation Committee chair David Gantt amended the bill so that it only covered a … Continued

Leandra's Law, passed by the state Legislature and signed into law by Governor Paterson last year, mandates ignition interlocks for motorists convicted of DWI and makes it a felony to drive drunk with children as passengers. But since it was adopted, over two dozen counties have asked for a two-year moratorium on implementation of the law, set to begin in August.

This clip from yesterday's Assembly Transportation Committee meeting doesn't quite live up to the hype.