Comments on: Who is Richard Brodsky?

By: Dave

Dave — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 16:35:58 +0000

I find it interesting that Brodsky has a say in CP and the dealings of the city while none of his constituents support the city in any way. The commuter tax is gone thanks to Bruno and NYS political shenanigans, and we all know that the city pays more tax to the state than we ever get back.

Let’s just call CP a commuter tax and be done with it. Come to think of it, why hasn’t Bloomberg tried to bring the commuter/city wage tax back?

By: Gargamel Tralfaz

Gargamel Tralfaz — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 06:49:03 +0000

I just went out and bought a car! Thank you Mr. Brodsky. I have finally seen the light. I live in Manhattan so please fight that congestition pricing, I don’t wanna pay it.

P.S. Can you do something about parking tickets? Who needs ‘em.

By: JF

JF — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:30:28 +0000

People have told me that instead of transit it’s cheaper to buy a car for everyone who needs one. Why hasn’t Brodsky come to our salvation on this?

By: Carmobility

Carmobility — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 23:21:58 +0000

Subway riders are all those bad things? Not just tourists? Gosh, Brodsky could lift so many people out of this blighted car-free condition with a state “car for all” program. We could pay for it with a surcharge on all the really, really, super-rich, elitist, snobby Manhattan people who want congestion pricing.

By: Budrick

Budrick — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 22:11:55 +0000

Good one, carmobility. Everyone knows that those “people” on the subways aren’t tourists, they’re gang members, felons, perverts, welfare leeches, and other assorted misfits and miscreants.

If they were good, honest, law-abiding citizens, they’d have cars by now.

By: Carmobility

Carmobility — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:33:11 +0000

Don’t you know that you can’t get anywhere in NYC without a car? How long have you lived here? Are you a freak? Everyone here has a car. They just register them out of state. Those people on the subways and buses? Didn’t anyone tell you yet? They’re all tourists.

By: JF

JF — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 20:18:08 +0000

That’s true Boogiedown, although I’d like to believe that there are some true liberals and progressives in the Assembly, instead of just people who will take liberal positions as long as it won’t inconvenience their donors.

I thought this quote from the Riverdale Press article was telling:
Mr. Brodsky said that while he is concerned about the environment, he opposes congestion pricing not only because of the “particular concrete problems” of actually implementing the plan, but also because he “did not enter public life to enable essentially well meaning, very nice but wealthy people to decide that there are some places people cannot go,” within a city.

The hypocrisy of this statement boggles my mind. Has Brodsky ever tried to get around Elmsford without a car? There are plenty of places in his district that wealthy people (well-meaning or not) have decided are not for pedestrians or cyclists. And the inconvenience is a lot greater than for the “poor” people that Brodsky is defending to pay $8 a day.

By: Boogiedown

Boogiedown — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 19:01:28 +0000

Why should he care about the poor? He represents WESTCHESTER COUNTY. Puh-leeze. His professed concern for the downtrodden is nothing but a tatty fig leaf with which he is trying to hide his true motive(s).

By: JF

JF — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:36:15 +0000

“Richard is an extremely intelligent guy who I believe could bring consensus to this issue if he really has an open mind,” said Kathryn Wylde

I think she put her finger on it. That’s a big “if.” The only way I can reconcile his actions on this issue with any combination of intelligence and progressive liberalism is if someone got to him early on and convinced him that Congestion Pricing is Bad for the Poor, and he made up his mind, dug in his heels and has ignored all evidence to the contrary since then.

By: Budrick

Budrick — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:43:54 +0000

I really highly doubt that Brodsky is a “smart guy,” at least taking his public comments at face value. If he IS a “smart guy,” he most certainly is not well-intentioned/honest–he’s purposefully screwing over the people of New York City. Ms. Wylde was being diplomatic.

By: anon

anon — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:38:23 +0000

Same applies for Bloomberg, sad to say.

By: Gary

Gary — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:16:01 +0000

Actually, that’s what i keep hearing too: that he’s a really sharp guy.

Then again, so was Bob Moses.

You can be brilliant and still have tragic flaws, such as arrogance, selfishness, or, more subjectively, a “bad” vision of city planning.

By: Hilary

Hilary — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:15:23 +0000

His eagerness to park in the handicapped spot speaks volumes.

By: Gargamel Tralfaz

Gargamel Tralfaz — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 17:09:02 +0000

Maybe the next time someone is late for a dinner in his neighborhood, someone should just park in his driveway.