Friday Headlines: Tick Tock Edition

We may have ourselves a budget as soon as next week, which is good and bad news.

While the state Legislature will be able to devote its full attention to non-budget items, it’ll have scant time to do so. The drawn-out budget process did yield street safety gains in the form of legislation that directly limits the speeds of New York City’s most reckless drivers. But it also left crash victims with far less recourse to seek damages due to changes to the insurance law.

Controversial bills, especially relating to transportation, don’t stand much chance of making progress in such a condensed window. Now, that isn’t the worst thing in the world, given the growing clamor around e-bike regulations or the regurgitated attempt to mandate two-person subway crews.

But discussions around dedicated upstate transit funding mechanisms, like a new state Department of Motor Vehicles surcharge, will likely need to wait until next year, even as several authorities face service reductions and staffing cuts.

At least state lawmakers will get paid for the first time in over a month. Probably for the best, I hear child support isn’t cheap these days.

More news:

• There are new devices available that can test drivers for marijuana intoxication, and Long Island cops are ready to use them. (Newsday)
• MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said the state won’t foot the bill for President Trump’s dreams for Penn Station. (Newsday)
• Border Patrol agents looking for Manhattan parking can pound sand after a private firm pulled their parking spaces. (Gothamist)
• Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-Brooklyn) may be leaving the 7th Congressional District, but that constituency “belongs to the left.” (Gothamist)
• Watch out. There may be a sinkhole at the entrance of the Metro-North’s Beacon Station. (A Little Beacon Blog)
• A new Emerson College poll has Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Manhattan) facing potential unemployment.
• The MTA is testing European-style enforcement on its buses. (amNY)
• Jeez, who knew a state comptroller’s race debate could get so testy? (NY1)
• Orthodox swing voters in Rep. Mike Lawler’s (D-Rockland County) district could decide his race. (The Journal News)
• An investigation into a $15 million license plate fraud ring netted 11 arrests after drivers defrauded the state. (The Journal News)
• Kingston is studying its sidewalk safety and probing the quality and condition of its pedestrian walkways. (Mid Hudson News)
• Tioga County families will have expanded access to child bike helmets. (Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)
• One state lawmaker has been growing his beard out every day that the state budget is late. Brave in this weather. (Times Herald-Record)
• State DOT is taking its sweet time making a dangerous stretch of State Route 7 safer. (The Times Union)
• There’s a street racing crackdown coming to Erie County’s streets and neighborhoods. (BTPM)
• Troy may have found a compromise over its incredibly controversial Flock Safety cameras that track license plates. (WAMC)
• Canandaigua will use some of a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant to make streets more pedestrian-friendly. (Rochester Democrat & Chronicle)