MTA

There's MTA rescue news today from the State Senate, and none of it good. 

Communities United for Transportation Equity (COMMUTE) will hold a rally today at the office of Ruben Diaz, Sr., one of a handful of state senators whose opposition to bridge tolls threatens to sink the MTA rescue plan. Says COMMUTE:

Congressman Anthony Weiner released his own MTA rescue plan today. As if that in itself weren't surprising enough, the outspoken toll opponent has modified his position, sort of. City Room reports:

In response to the possible sinking of the MTA rescue plan by three recalcitrant state senators, the Campaign for New York's Future has set up an action alert enabling members of the public to contact their representatives directly via e-mail. The message, which may be tailored before sending, reads in part:

Like New York and dozens of other American cities, Minneapolis is facing the prospect of higher transit fares and less service amid the economic downturn. To impress upon state lawmakers that their constituents depend on transit to meet basic needs, the St. Stephen's Human Rights Campaign compiled this video of testimonials from bus riders (hat tip to Twin Cities Streets for People; see all the testimonials here). They asked a simple question: What do you use the bus for?

The three city reps who nearly derailed the Democratic takeover of the State Senate have issued a joint statement declaring -- transit riders be damned -- they're not going to support bridge tolls. Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics has the story:

As opposition to East and Harlem River bridge tolls is reportedly "softening" in the State Senate, Lew Fidler tells Crain's that a transfer of city-owned crossings to the MTA would require a home rule message from the City Council, and says he would join efforts to stop such a transfer in order to prevent tolls from being enacted. The full blurb is behind the subscriber wall, but here are Fidler's quotes.

Last March, Assembly Member Adriano Espaillat stood with Mayor Bloomberg in Fordham Plaza, celebrating the announcement of the city's inaugural Select Bus Service line. In the thick of the battle over congestion pricing, its fate to be determined within days, Espaillat was one of few state pols to vocally support the mayor's proposal. Flanked by Bloomberg, Elliot Sander, Janette Sadik-Khan and other pricing advocates, the Northern Manhattan rep did not mince words.