Recent Streetsblog NYC posts about State Legislature

Jim Brennan’s Transpo $ Plan: Gas Tax, Income Tax, and Forced City Funding

By Stephen Miller | Apr 10, 2015 | 10 Comments

A bill from Assembly Member Jim Brennan, who chairs the Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions, would create a transportation finance authority to collect new taxes and help fund the MTA as well as roads, bridges, and transit statewide. It’s the first major transportation funding proposal to come out of Albany this year. “Time is growing […]

Albany Bill Would Bar Police From Cuffing Bus Drivers Who Hit People

By Brad Aaron | Mar 26, 2015 | 3 Comments

State lawmakers have introduced legislation that would prohibit police from detaining, but not charging, bus drivers who hit pedestrians and cyclists. The bill appears intended to spare bus drivers from being handcuffed and taken into custody for violating the Right of Way Law without exempting them from the law altogether, as a City Council bill would do. The council bill, which currently has […]

$100 Million in BRT Funding at Stake in Albany Budget Negotiations

By Stephen Miller | Mar 25, 2015 | 3 Comments

There’s $100 million for Bus Rapid Transit in the Assembly’s budget proposal, and advocates are working to ensure the funds emerge intact from closed-door negotiations with Governor Cuomo and the State Senate. The New York League of Conservation Voters, which has joined with Staten Island business interests to advocate for North Shore BRT, is asking supporters to contact lawmakers. […]

Gianaris: Time for Albany to Stiffen Penalties for Unlicensed Drivers Who Kill

By Brad Aaron | Feb 24, 2015 | 13 Comments

This morning State Senator Michael Gianaris again called on state lawmakers to pass legislation that would stiffen penalties for motorists who hurt and kill people while driving without a valid license. Joined by State Senator Toby Stavisky, Assembly Member Francisco Moya, and reps from Transportation Alternatives and Make Queens Safer, Gianaris spoke to the press […]

David Gantt Remains Transportation Chair, But It’s Carl Heastie’s Assembly

By Brad Aaron | Feb 5, 2015 | 13 Comments

Surprising no one, the leadership of Carl Heastie’s Assembly looks just about identical to Sheldon Silver’s. After publicly voting in Heastie to succeed Silver as speaker on Tuesday, Assembly Dems announced top posts and committee chair positions yesterday. There were few changes to speak of, and as expected Rochester rep David Gantt will remain chair of the Assembly […]

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie: Good on Street Safety, Iffy on Transit

By Brad Aaron | Feb 3, 2015 | 6 Comments

For the first time in two decades, the New York State Assembly has a new speaker. Assembly Democrats elected Carl Heastie of the Bronx to succeed longtime speaker Sheldon Silver, a week after Silver was indicted on federal corruption charges. Until a few days ago, Heastie wasn’t all that well-known outside the Bronx, where he […]

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