Bill de Blasio

Calling congestion "self-correcting" is a convenient way to steer the subject away from congestion pricing. The argument is that drivers can bail when congestion "gets bad enough." Problem solved -- without collective (governmental) action requiring political leadership. Let's unpack that.

In light of a new legal analysis that concluded NYC can toll its own streets without waiting for Albany, the Move New York campaign has proposed a "home rule" version of its road pricing plan that would charge $2.75 to drive across the four East River bridges and a 60th Street cordon and tax for-hire vehicle and taxi trips in the densest parts of Manhattan. But despite a supportive City Council, the de Blasio administration isn't adding road pricing to its agenda.

De Blasio dismisses the importance of getting out of his SUV. But if he's getting chauffeured everywhere he goes, there's no way the mayor can viscerally understand what the three-quarters of New Yorkers who don't commute by car experience on a daily basis. If he doesn't regularly experience what it's like to get around without driving, he won't feel on a gut level why improving transit, biking, and walking is so important.

The mayor cares about preventing traffic deaths but has no broader appreciation for how diminishing the primacy of the car on city streets can make life better for New Yorkers. If he did, we'd be putting bus lanes on every avenue and bike corrals at every street corner, instead of sinking hundreds of millions of dollars into ferries.

Mayor de Blasio announced plans today to "crack down" on rampant parking placard abuse, one week after his administration granted tens of thousands of new placards to school employees.

Criminal justice advocates gathered outside City Hall this morning to call on Mayor de Blasio to fund discount transit fares for poor New Yorkers.

The decision last week to grant tens of thousands of new parking placards to teachers and other school personnel is classic Bill de Blasio: a freebie that’s not really free.

Mayor de Blasio doesn't see a problem with issuing tens of thousands of new parking placards to teachers and other school workers. His assertion runs contrary to years of documented evidence and the daily observations that pile up on Twitter -- a city placard is a license to park anywhere without fear of getting a ticket.

Members of Families for Safe Streets are in Albany today to talk to state legislators about expanding NYC's automated speed enforcement program. After legislative leaders failed to advance a similar bill last year, this session it appears to have more traction.