Thursday’s Headlines: Backed into a Corner Edition

Gov. Hochul rallied for her Big Tech-backed auto insurance deregulation agenda in Albany on Wednesday, but our esteemed colleagues in the Capitol press corps were no longer buying what the state chief executive was selling.

Following up on Streetsblog's reporting last week, several scribes pressed Hochul on the multi-million-dollar lobbying campaign led by the Uber-backed Astroturf group Citizens for Affordable Rates.

Hochul tried to make the case that fraud is out of control, but reporters in the Red Room asked her why New Yorkers should trust that she wasn't just working on behalf of Big Car. The governor dismissed those concerns, arguing that New Yorkers more broadly support her push.

"I think that argument about one company that has an interest — that is an interest that is shared by all New Yorkers. ... Every New Yorker is worried about this, and is paying these costs. So I reject that argument out of hand," Hochul told reporters. [Editor's note: Not all New Yorkers are drivers.]

The Uber-led group has spent $8 million so far this year on the push. And the latest state Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government filings show that Allstate, State Farm, Progressive, Travelers and GEICO have spent another $95,000 on auto insurance lobbying this year.

The cash drops have paid off, and Hochul herself has deployed state resources to produce social media videos, mobilized the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to stump with her, and held numerous press conferences across the state to advertise her cause (another is on Thursday in Manhattan).

Here's her latest propaganda ad (featuring misinformation as well as exceptionally large vehicles that themselves play a role in the carnage that raises auto premiums):

Meanwhile, the New York State Trial Lawyers' Association has spent about $135,000 on auto insurance lobbying. So this is hardly an even fight (though the trial lawyers do have a head start with their pals in the legislature).

It's no surprise that state legislators have grown increasingly skeptical of Hochul's scheme, which would narrow crash victims's rights to get properly compensated for their injuries. In any event, the governor says her reforms will lead to lowering car insurance premiums by just $25 a month.

As Streetsblog reported, two state pols are now taking aim at making insurers more transparent about raising their rates. And in today's pages, crash victims also take Hochul to task over her bid to erode their rights to sue drivers for damages.

The governor threatened recalcitrant lawmakers that they will have to explain themselves to the voters, such as a diner owner she said told her that insurance was crippling their business.

"Those legislators should go into a diner and talk to everyday people … talk to the owner who now is paying more because the cost of everything being trucked to them costs more," said Hochul, subtly referencing the eatery customers who told her to pause congestion pricing in 2024, also in the name of "affordability." "People are just crying, 'Uncle.' Can we just have some relief here?"

But when City & State reporter Rebecca Lewis asked why Hochul wouldn't look at other ways to reduce costs, like banning insurers from charging people more if they live in poor neighborhoods or have bad credit, the governor wouldn't bite.

"There's a lot of ways. Let's start with mine. Let's see what everybody else has to say. I'll get mine done, let's do some more," Hochul said.

There are, of course, plenty more ways to lower auto insurance without diminishing victims's rights, such as pay-per-mile insurance. Continue refreshing Streetsblog for the latest on Hochul's insurance saga. (And if you want even more, Streetsblog Empire State's Austin C. Jefferson was on Brian Lehrer talking about the issue on Wednesday.)

In other news:

• The big story yesterday was Streetsblog's exclusive about the end of the criminal crackdown on cyclists. A lot of people lost their heads (looking at you, Rupert) in the mistaken belief that the NYPD would no longer be ticketing cyclists; no, it's just that cops will go back to their original, pre-Adams, policy of writing the same tickets to cyclists as they do to drivers. But people who know (including Leg Day), know:

• Habemus novum ducem quisquiliarum! (The City, Gothamist)
• And we also have an Office of Community Safety! (NY Times)
• Thanks to congestion pricing, subway ridership is way up. (NY1, NY Post, amNY)
• Cybertrucks burst into flames! (The Guardian)
• The Daily News offers more information about a horrific hit-and-run in Queens.
• More one-hour Amazon deliveries are coming to the city ... which means more trucks satisfying New Yorkers' insatiable jonesing for crap. (Patch)
• NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch admitted at a hearing on Wednesday's that the agency's Confidential Rental and Leasing Office — which was exploited by brass to drive around in souped-up vehicles "was galling" and "out of all control." (NYDN)
• Small violins at an Upper East Side intersection snarled by car drivers. (Upper East Site)
• Transportation Alternatives' Executive Director Ben Furnas channeled a recent Streetsblog op-ed in calling for better use of our greatest public resource — our streets — when the World Cup comes to town this summer. (NYDN)
• A couple of days ago, we criticized several outlets for terrible coverage of how two women were nearly killed when a cabbie drove into them on a sidewalk. Well, the Post finally has more details on the crash, including the cab driver's name.
• The Post has become the house organ of potholes.
• He's not crazy, but he is looking for a few loons. Join Kevin Duggan on Saturday.

— Headlines portion of this post by Gersh Kuntzman