Bring back Lou Riccio!

This tread is dead...am retarded

1. Sander, Lynn, Malchow (acting), and Chapman were Weinshall's predecessors. Lynn topped the list on surreality and psychopathology grounds, but the rest were pretty darn awful. Weinshall towers above them all on any measure of competence, integrity, or, yes, vision, even factoring in all her flaws.

2. It actually was a good thing that she came to the agency with a bit of an independent power base. She was able to get some stuff done in the budget, and she helped the careers of a few people who had been screwed over for years. There's a guy named John Murray, who is in charge of the task force at OMB that oversees DOT. He has essentially controlled DOT since the Koch days, having more effect on DOT than any of its commissioners. Weinshall was the only commissioner ever to have the juice to make a dent in the crazy things that Murray does to DOT's budgets and hiring plans. It will be a very bad thing if he is allowed to step into the vacuum.

3. Dick Malchow had a PE. Anthony Ameruso had a PE. 'Nuff said about that "qualification".

4. It would be interesting to see what Lou Riccio could do in a less crushing fiscal environment than when he was commissioner under Dinkins. He did have a lot of ideas, and unlike someone like Sander, he's a very smart guy who is anything but an empty suit. Lots of people would be glad to see him again. Rumours of his return have been flying around for years.

You are right , these are not positive vibes, these are ecstatic vibes.

I think the bottom line is that she did her job well given the circumstances of when she started, but a lot has changed since then, and it is time for someone more interested in policy innovation. It is true that it is a lot easier to criticize someone from a blog than walk in their shoes, so some of us (Happy Camper) should chill out and spread some positive vibes!

Munchkins
Ding Dong! The witch is gone. Which old Witch? The Wicked Witch!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Witch is gone.
March on - sleepy feet, rub your legs, get out of your home.
Bike on, the Wicked Witch is gone. She's gone where the cars go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's get out and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Witch is gone!
Mayor
As Mayor of the Munchkin City, In the County of the Land of Oz, I welcome you most regally.
Barrister
But we've got to verify it legally, to see
Mayor
To see?
Barrister
If she
Mayor
If she?
Barrister
Is morally, ethic'lly
Biker No. 1
Spiritually, physically
Biker No. 2
Positively, absolutely
Munchkins
Undeniably and reliably gone
Doctor
As Doctor I must aver, I thoroughly examined her.
And she's not only merely gone, she's really most sincerely gone.
Mayor
Then this is a day of Independence For all the Munchkins and their descendants
Barrister
If any.
Mayor
Yes, let the joyous news be told The wicked Old Witch at last is gone!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/43954081@N00/365986663/

I'm inclined to give credit where it is due. The progress on the bridges and potholes is impressive. It's also nice that there have been no DOT corruption scandals for a while. Sometimes we forget that the DOT was involved in one of the greatest scandals in NYC history--the 1980s PVB/Datacom scam, and was the site of continued corruption involving ticket-fixing into the 1990s. So looking at things from a historical perspective, Weinshall should be proud. It will really be a shame if there is backsliding on potholes or currption under her successor.

But she clearly is NOT an innovator and in my view has been a significant obstacle to rethinking street priorities in favor of pedestrian and non-motor vehicle uses. The 200 miles of bikes announced last fall were in the pipeline for many years and if I am not mistaken, have some kind of federal funding and/or mandate behind them. Thru-streets and Times Square shuffles do not qualify her as an innovator in my book.

Just because she's gone doesn't mean they're doomed to find someone inevitably worse. So now let's all hope the city uses this opportunity to find someone who really can help turn NYC into a world-class liveable city.

I'll remain optimistic at this time until we see any negative evidence about who will be the next DOT commissioner.

I think at a minimum we'll see some high visibility projects rolled out shortly: big pedestrian street expansion in Times Square, three month car-free summer trial in Central Park and some other random pedestrianizations around the city -- plus, some non-commercial parking congestion pricing.

In Schaller's last study, they estimated the cost of gathering all that "overwhelming" data to run around $300k per year. Given that Iris testified that DOT is increasing its data collection budget from $600k per 2 years to over $3M in the same time, you could find a way to get all your data.

Regardless, the problem the whole time has been political will. If Dr. No don't want it to get done, the whole agency won't do it. Iris was not the one that needed her uppance come. Clear away Primeggia and replace him with a traffic engineer schooled sometime in the past 2 decades and you might get better results. Get someone as professional as what DOHMH has done, and we might actually see movement towards better streets. I'm just mad skeptical that anyone is listening and will hire that hypothetical administrator.