Comments on: Today’s Headlines

By: Niccolo Machiavelli

Niccolo Machiavelli — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 19:02:34 +0000

For those amazed by Shelly's survival I refer you to a great book "Political Parties - The Iron Law of Oligarchy" written before WWI, the more things change, the more they remain the same.

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:49:45 +0000

FDR,

It is amazing how few people come out for these elections, for sure.

By: fdr

fdr — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:28:49 +0000

And my point is that with all the anti-Silver noise over the last few months, ranging from Streetsblog to the Post, his combined opponents could only get 3100 people to go out and vote. Should we have a higher level of civic engagement? Sure, primaries are generally low turnout, but those are the rules, and the fact that the opposition could only get a third of the vote will allow Silver and his allies to claim a big victory and go on their merry way for at least another election cycle.

By: Susan Donovan

Susan Donovan — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:12:44 +0000

fdr, my point is that this man who has the power to obscure the legislative process from voters in every district in the entire state is only in power thanks to a small number of votes in a small primary election. Most people didn't even know that there was an election--

Many people in his district don't know who he is, or how much power he has. Since so much is done behind closed doors in Albany it's hard to hold anyone accountable.

Such small elections don't really represent a good mandate-- they can be a little to random. Shouldn't we have a higher level of civic engagement in the process?

By: Aaron Naparstek

Aaron Naparstek — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:09:46 +0000

I think what Susan is saying is: Isn't it remarkable how few people get to determine the fate of the most powerful politician in New York State?

By: fdr

fdr — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:54:19 +0000

Susan....you seem to be saying Silver's victory isn't impressive with only 6743 votes cast. Newell, despite endorsements from all three major papers, got 2301 votes. His vote and Henry's combined was 3180. That's only half of your block. Political types consider 68% a landslide.

By: Ian Turner

Ian Turner — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:35:11 +0000

Mr. Manhattan,

I don't have a citation handy, but I remember reading that taxicabs have a lower collision rate per mile traveled than private cars. You just see a lot of taxicab crashes because there are so many on the street.

--Ian

By: Cap'n Transit

Cap'n Transit — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:28:57 +0000

JP, I refer you to my Spreadsheet o'Boondoggles, which contains several ill-thought-out road capacity increases right here in the New York area. If you know of a boondoggle that's not listed, please let me know.

By: MrManhattan

MrManhattan — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 16:02:28 +0000

“These cars are not safe,” said Ronald Sherman, the president of the Board of Trade, which represents 27 fleets that run a total of about 3,500 taxis. “When they’re put out as taxicabs they’re too small, they don’t have enough crush space in them. They’re too light.”

What Ronald seems to be saying is that cars that the US Government says are safe when driven by most drivers are not safe when driven by taxi drivers.

I guess that means the City needs better regulation, training and enforcement for taxi drivers. Thanks for the heads up, Ronald.

By: JP

JP — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 15:33:40 +0000

Are the highway funds going towards new construction? If so, why would we be building more roads when VMT is dropping? What are the levers of power to rethink our highway spending?

By: Larry Littlefield

Larry Littlefield — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:58:36 +0000

Now we know the number of people who count as "real people" whose needs count as "real needs."

By: Susan Donovan

Susan Donovan — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:47:47 +0000

Silver won with 6743 votes. More people live on my block than that.

By: Urbanis

Urbanis — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 14:33:22 +0000

Just what I needed! To be told that Hudson Heights is a great neighborhood for car owners.

By: brent

brent — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:53:13 +0000

The highway fund bailout is outrageous. When mass transit agencies have budget shortfalls, fares increase. It’s only fair do the same thing for gas taxes. Instead of making motorists pay their share, everyone is being forced to contribute. This unfairly affects people who choose not to drive. I’ve said it before and I’ll keep saying it- if you don’t drive, you are not cashing in on history’s most massively subsidized system. That’s why cycling to work really doesn’t make much sense fiscally- good thing I enjoy it so much.