Friday Headlines: What About The Buses Edition

High-ranking officials in the state Legislature say that budget negotiations are so bogged down with insurance, climate law and regulations that they haven’t been able to engage in discussions about a revamped free bus pilot in New York City.

The state budget may be two weeks late, but both the state Senate and Assembly explicitly mentioned a free bus pilot in their one-house budget.

The Assembly looked to repeat the previous pilot’s term from 2024 – one route per borough and $15 million in funding – while the state Senate is seeking to triple its scale with three routes per borough and $45 million in funding.

If only there was any time to talk about it.

State Senate Deputy Minority Leader Mike Gianaris, fresh from Gov. Hochul’s wrath, told reporters Thursday that the topic hadn’t come up in three-way negotiations.

“We haven’t gotten to it yet, you may have read about the issues taking up most of the time somewhere,” said Gianaris, obviously referring to Streetsblog’s fearless coverage of the state budget process. “We’ll get to it.”

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie struck a similar tone.

“Y’all probably can talk to me about money, hopefully next week,” Heastie said. “I mean, we’ve spoken nothing about money, to be honest, other than the city’s finances.”

His aversion to policy in the state budget is frustrating for reporters and lawmakers alike, but he’s correct that what could be a straight spending plan is often turned into an epic poem through the governor’s insertion of policy priorities and competing priorities in the state Legislature.

“You know, this is the world we live in,” Heastie said. “We talk about non-budget things more than we talk about budget things.”

More news:

• Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said the state’s climate and energy policy is hurting farmers as he continues his long-shot bid for governor. (WXXI)
• Buffalo is considering changing the way it’s reisdents vote for public officials. (The Investigative Post)
• Hochul threw her support behind an immigration package yesterday, including a mask ban for border patrol. (Politico New York)
• State comptroller candidate Drew Warshraw is trying to turn his campaign into a two-horse race by challenging some of his opponents’ petitions. (City & State)
• Wednesday was the most dangerous day on Long Island’s roads yet. (Newsday)
• Weekend LIRR ridership is up 27 percent from 2019. (Newsday)
• A 15-year-old e-bike rider was hit by a minibus on Wednesday in Huntington. (News 12 Long Island)
• The feds backed down after withholding 2nd Avenue Subway funding and released nearly $60 million. (The New York Times)
• But the U.S. Department of Transportation pulled $73 million in funding for road repairs over immigrant CDL licenses. (The New York Post)
• New Jersey Transit price hikes could be in order to defray the costs of the World Cup this summer. (Gothamist)
• A federal judge questioned the federal government’s rationale for withholding Gateway Tunnel funding. (amNY)
• We are on state budget extender number four, folks. (State of Politics)
• State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is sticking by her Judiciary Chair, Luis Sepúlveda, after reports of his poor conduct as a lawyer. (New York Focus)
• Phillipstown joined Cold Spring in approving an environmental review lawsuit over the Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail. (Mid Hudson News)
• A Newburgh councilwoman said that the city is missing bike lanes as part of its urban design. (Mid Hudson News)
• So…why exactly won’t Albany County pay its speeding ticket tab with the city, writes Chris Curchill. (The Times Union)