Michael Bloomberg

It seems inconceivable given the overwhelmingly positive developments of the past few weeks, but the city wants to increase parking in Manhattan by some 20,000 spaces, and is defending itself in court for the right to do so.

Critics of congestion pricing often claim that small businesses will bear an unfair burden if the Mayor is successful in implementing his plan. But yesterday, a diverse group of small business leaders from throughout the five boroughs gathered on the steps of City Hall yesterday to voice their support for the Mayor's PlaNYC initiative. From The Campiagn for New York Future's press release:

Below is a letter from Lower Manhattan State Assembly Member Deborah Glick responding to a constituent who urged her to support Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. If you have written a letter to one of your local elected officials and received a response, send it in. 

One month after unveiling the specifics of PlaNYC in his Earth Day speech, amidst a public debate about his congestion pricing plan, the Mayor's approval rating is near his record high. Crain's New York reports:

The Today Show cast, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a Yahoo! executive and Council Member David Yassky stand with a gas-electric hybrid Ford Escape SUV taxi this morning.

Michael Bloomberg (front row, fourth from right) with other mayors at the C40 Summit 

On Earth Day Mayor Mike Bloomberg placed transportation and environmental issues at the top of New York City's political agenda. He took a major step towards changing the conventional wisdom that traffic congestion is a sign of the city's vibrancy and economic health. And he joined the list of forward-thinking global mayors like London's Ken Livingstone and Bertrand Delanoe in Paris who have said that excessive automobile dependence is a drag on the urban economy, detrimental to public health, and a contributor to global climate change.

Today is Janette Sadik-Khan's first official day on the job as New York City's new Department of Transportation commissioner. Word has it she recently purchased a new bicycle and will be using it every so often to commute between her home in the West Village and her new office on Worth Street.

Given that it was only a few months ago that Mayor Michael Bloomberg could be heard saying, "We like traffic, it means economic activity, it means people coming here," his pitch for a whole new set of progressive transportation policies at last week's meeting of the Regional Plan Association was all the more remarkable: