Cuomo’s big swings
Gov. Cuomo bit off a supersized mouthful Wednesday in his 92-minute reelectionyear State of the State speech. Some of this “most challenging agenda I have ever put forth” will get spit out. Recall the 2012 plan to build a convention center at Aqueduct Racetrack, scrapped by that June?
Other massive promises smell decent but must get rapidly masticated, swallowed and digested.
Rejiggering a state school funding formula that shortchanges districts serving poor kids? Sure.
Restructuring New York’s tax code in response to the federal mugging — including maybe having a payroll tax replace income taxes? Depends!
Setting sweeping new standards to prevent sexual harassment in state government and in many private companies? Details, please.
Building a 400-plus acre park along Jamaica Bay in Brooklyn? Why not?
Potentially taking over Penn Station from Amtrak through wielding eminent domain, then rebuilding that rat’s nest? When does it start?
Pursuing an extension of the No. 1 train to Red Hook? Worth investment, provided Cuomo gets his act together on public transit writ large.
Which brings us to what might have been the centerpiece of his presentation, a necessary push to rescue the subway system and help unclog streets by smartly tolling the East River bridges and otherwise putting a price on car and truck traffic in the Midtown core.
Cuomo, who has gamely taken responsibility for fixing the MTA, barely stopped in the station, relegating his much-anticipated announcement to a promise to flesh things out in a few weeks.
The subways need sustainable long-term funding and aggressive restructuring to spend money wisely. The countdown clock is ticking, governor.