Congratulations, Sheldon Silver, On Two More Years of Screwing New Yorkers
I severely overestimated the people of Lower Manhattan. Despite overwhelming grassroots support for Paul Newell and endorsements from every side of the news media, it turns out voters in New York’s 64th Assembly District are just as stupid and gullible as the voters in Middle America: against all odds, they’d rather vote for the status quo, even though he stands for everything that’s wrong with our crooked political system.
I used to place the blame for the MTA’s fiscal crisis on Silver. But next time around, I’ll point my blame elsewhere. To the nearly 10,000 primary voters who pulled the lever for Sheldon Silver: SHAME ON YOU!
This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 at 9:34 pm and is filed under Politics. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
September 10th, 2008 at 12:33 am
former east villager says:Chris - I think the problem is that you are the exception rather than the rule for transient New Yorkers. Lots of people move here for what they may think is a short period of time or even a long period of time but short in their first apartment. Folks like these don’t weigh in much in local elections, but if they do vote in local elections, its names they know, like Silver. I lived in Manhattan from 1990 to 2005, but all over the place for a lot of that time. Being a geek I tried to figure out the local stuff, but its hard. So, in neighborhoods like the east village, party registration and name recognition rule, which sucks a lot. If you really want to make a difference you should work on your own demographic in the neighborhood - people who are new and while they want to be voters, may not be registered and may not know anything about local (as in neighborhood) politics.
September 10th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Todd says:I was watching a re-run of the Daily Show where they showed Hillary during the roll call at the DNC. Was that Silver next to her?
September 10th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
Chris says:Yup, his smug face was right in the frame next to her. The guy is not only crooked, but also looks like he doesn’t know where he is or what he’s doing there.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:45 pm
Jonny says:You mean he listens to people in his district? You means he listens to assemblymen in his caucus? Hey wake up, manhattanite- you arent the only people on this planet. Your snobby congestion pricing (a regressive tax by definition, all of a sudden you dont give a s**t about the little guy)was a bad idea, would have turned the outer boros into big parking lots, just because you have an addiction to cheap public transportation that has been payed for now for decades by the bridge-and-tunnel crowd u so despise. So the Speaker did the right thing, those in his district recognize it. What the crazy thing is, if not for him, for all those years it was Pataki-Bush-Bruno-Giuliani, the only one who kept these jackals at bay, be it housing, public education, or mass transportation, was this guy. Thanks for nothing.
September 10th, 2008 at 10:13 pm
Chris says:Jonny: Wow. You have a lot to learn about congestion pricing if you actually think it’s a regressive tax (here’s a refresher: “regressive taxes” place a higher burden on the poor. People who own cars in New York City make more than people who don’t. Therefore, it is not a regressive tax.) You could always start by reading this because if you think the fight for congestion pricing is over, you’re sadly mistaken.
And by the way, if Shelly listened to the people in his district, he would have voted for congestion pricing, since the overwhelming majority of his district supported it.
And if you think Silver is so much better than the gestapo politics of Bush or Giuliani or Bruno, remember that Silver’s move on congestion pricing was to block a vote, so none of congestion pricing’s supporters or opponents had to go on the record. That’s a travesty of the democratic process.
September 11th, 2008 at 1:42 am
Jonny says:Let me get this straight- only the rich own cars? Huh? Have you left your cave? Plenty of poor have cars, and since the rich guy from Westchester crossing 96th St will pay as much as him, it is regressive. Period. And if you think that any congestion “win” on your behalf will come without any significant change in the way the MTA is run, and increase pay by users (i.e. like London, where there isn’t 24 hour service, where there is increased charge in certain areas at certain parts of the day, etc.), your win will therfore be ultimately pyrrhic. Manhattanites still need state approval, and it aint happenning so fast. The outer boros are so against this.
The Grand Street crew cared about congestion? The chinese? You are living in your little East Village cave again, friend. Come out and smell the bialys on Essex and Grand.
Did u scream when Shelley blocked voting all those years against gay marraige? How about his “gestapo tactics” when he kept rent stabililzed, with Pataki, Bruno, and landlords breathing down his back? It’s called legislative manuevering, an acceptable and legal historical legislative practice. Come now. This knnife cuts both ways. Shelley has brought so much to that district, I can tell you havent lived there long.
September 11th, 2008 at 8:56 am
Chris says:Jonny: Plenty of poor have cars? Yes, they do, but they don’t drive them into Manhattan. That’s what the link I referenced shows. You obviously didn’t read it.
And by the way, the proposed Congestion Pricing boundary was at 60th Street, not 96th St.
But voting out Sheldon isn’t just about improving the MTA, it’s about improving the safety of our citizens. Asthma rates are noticably higher around choke points in Shelly’s district: the Holland Tunnel, the East River bridges, and Chinatown. Some of the most dangerous intersections for pedestrians in Manhattan are in his district. Congestion pricing would have helped to solve those problems, but he has offered no alternatives. In fact, he publicly complained to CB3 about a pedestrian improvement on Grand Street that narrowed the street’s car lanes.
This is not the only issue I care about - I am still incredibly angry about the fact that a gay marriage vote has yet to come up in a Democratic-controlled Assembly, and his unsavory ties to lobbyists and sexual harassment charges are shameful. In my 5+ years here (which I think is plenty to understand his record - I attend community board meetings and have seen him speak several times), I’ve been incensed by the backroom politics that he has made commonplace in Albany.
The bottom line is, no matter what he does for the district, going unchecked in the exact same political position for 32 years is not healthy for democracy. Sheldon Silver is living proof of that.
September 11th, 2008 at 9:45 am
Jonny says:Chris,
I grew up in the district in 60’s and 70’s. It was a hell hole, a pit. My father was mugged monthly. My grandmothers never left their apartments. You have no clue what the district was like, and what difference his shepherding state largesse has done, and what a novice replacement would end up doing. Simple.
Yes, the poor and working class drive where they need to work. Newsflash: there are hospitals below 60th street. Charge the sick, and those visiting? There are businesses, mostly small mom and pop deals, that would suffer immensely.
Choke points are a problem. But charging tolls wont make them go away. It needs to be managed better. I am certain there is a fair solution, outside of congestion pricing.
The sexual harrassment affair is something he fumbled with, then recovered, and the NYS Assembly has one of the strictest rules concerning this issue.
He lives in the same apartment for 30 years. He doesnt go on political junkets to Cancun. No drugs. No illegal payments from lobbyists. No whores in the backroom. No liquor anywhere. He can be found at the same seat in the same synagogue on Saturday mornings as for the past 64 years. MOst constituents would kill for that type of connection and character. And in the final line, his constituency overwhelmingly sent him back, despite the support of the NYT, Daily News, NY Post, The Sun, for his opponents.
Sorry Don Quixote.
September 11th, 2008 at 10:15 am
Chris says:Jonny: You make some good points, and I’m sure your experience in the past lends some credit to your argument. But as you probably recall, when Silver was first elected in the 70s, the city was in a fiscal crisis. The state stepped in, and upstate Assemblymen hijacked the state’s budget process to take control of the city’s funds. As a result, we now have upstate Assemblymen (who Silver appointed to committee chairmanships) blocking funding for simple infrastructure improvements and aiding in creating the MTA’s budget crisis. Silver has been the Assembly speaker for more than half that time, yet nothing has changed. If he holds so much power, why won’t he use it for the good of his district - and the good of the city?
There are a lot of arguments against congestion pricing, and even you agree that there has to be some sort of solution. But Silver won’t hear it. He has proposed nothing since blocking a vote on it, and then goes on to complain about how hard driving is in his district when 85% of his constituents don’t drive.
Look, Sheldon Silver is a respectable man, but he’s a horrible politician. He stands for the corruption that has so many New Yorkers fed up with Albany. And interestingly, despite his progressive political stance nationally, he hasn’t brought progressive ideals to his district or the Assembly. A lot has changed for the better in his district since the 70s, but these days, he seems perfectly satisfied with the status quo.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Jonny says:City’s fiscal crisis was one thing, but the tide hasn’t raised all boats- go to Bed-Stuy, Woodhull Hospital; even areas of Staten Island have been ignored and stagnant.
MTA is a huge problem. Ridership is up, but finances stink. Tolls keep rising (Verrazanno Bridge- $10!! How much higher can one go?), but even after they raise the fares, they plan another raise. If I were an upstate politician, I too would wonder how the MTA has squandered what should be a surplus.
Shelley knows that his caucas would have squashed it. The outer boro assemblymen dont want to hear of it, because districts in Brooklyn and Queens would become large parking terminals, just moving the problem from Canal Street to other streets. No thank you.
Shelley also came within a hair a dragging Hillary to the nomination. This is simply not something a 34 year old can do.
It’s not a total loss. You got rid of Marty Connor at least.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:09 pm
Chris says:Jonny: True. At least the reformers went 1-for-2. Squadron also had a much better backing of local politicians, deeper pockets, and a far more organized campaign than Paul Newell. It’s going to take a lot more than that to unseat Silver.
I agree that the MTA’s mismanagement is a huge problem that we can’t just throw money at. But rather than simply deny funding, the state needs to take action and do something about it. The state can’t avoid total blame - Albany has to approve every member appointed to the MTA’s board.
The outer borough problems with Congestion Pricing could have easily been solved through a system of parking permits - something that Park Slope has been clamoring for regardless of CP’s approval. In addition, one of the biggest problems in Shelly’s district is in the outer boroughs: the one-way Verrazano toll that gives truckers a free ride back to Jersey through Manhattan. These are baby steps, but if we’re ever going to see safer streets and clean air in Lower Manhattan, Silver needs to start wielding his power for good.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Jonny says:I live in the Bronx, I commute through 4 boros daily. My monthly EX Pass bil surpasses $500 easily- more than $6000 a year, and I am not alone. The MTA as well as the TBTA requires so much more transparency that no fare hike or change of rules can be implemented beforehand. And a loud thank you to Robert Moses for creating these 2 nearly impervious state authorities.
September 11th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
Chris says:Jonny: Well, at least we can agree on our hatred of Robert Moses’ legacy.
September 11th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
Jonny says:To be fair to Moses(Robert Caro’s book is a must read for any true student of NYC civic development), nothing got done before he came around. He swung the pendulum in an opposite direction so far that we live with the effects today, in both ways, and let me explain:
1.Building highways without planning for the future, highways going through residential neighborhoods without ability to expand,
2.No one trusts city planners, ever. So on the 7th anniversary of 9/11, there still is a big hole in the ground, will be that way for a while.
The Triboro bridge worked out OK. West Side Highway is a disaster(an underground connection from the Holland Tunnel to a functional W SIde Highway would have solved about 50% of the problems in your district). Jones Beach and the other beaches good. FDR an eternal mess. The effects of the BQE are still felt in brooklyn.
Being a city planner is a huge challenge, and on the face of it, understand why the state at that time passed legislation to make it someone not directly answerable to the voters.
But times have changed, and so should this aspect of public planning. And this should apply to the Board of Directors of the MTA/TBTA.
September 11th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Chris says:Jonny: Believe me, you don’t need to lecture me on this. I’ve read Caro’s book (and Jane Jacobs’ The Death and Life of Great American Cities), I’ve watched documentaries on the guy, and I’m about to embark on an endevour to earn my Masters Degree in Urban Planning.
For the most part, Moses steamrolled the city and destroyed neighborhoods when this money could have been directed toward a massive public transit expansion that was first proposed in 1929 (only one element of this plan - the 2nd Avenue Subway - exists today). The power that he wielded was remarkable. These days, urban planners want to pick up the pieces of 50 years of the auto-centric culture that has created two generations of sprawl, antisocial behavior, and a general lack of community, but the problem now is bureaucracy. In American cities that desperately need infrastructure improvements, it will be years before a shovel is lifted because of the slow approval process. Is that a blessing or a curse? Well, if this approval process had been in place in Moses’ era, many of the projects he spearheaded would never have been built. But today, the projects that are so very much needed spend years in the pipeline before they’re finally approved.
I don’t know how to solve that… it’s one of the many things I’m hoping to learn. Not only is an education in urban planning a lesson in technique, but it’s also a lesson in public policy. Given my passion for planning and politics, I’m thrilled to learn more.
September 15th, 2008 at 12:37 am
The SUBWAYblogger says:@Todd Yeah, he actually introduced her.
September 15th, 2008 at 9:41 am
Sheldon Silver Wins Primary Nomination says:[…] Now, since we’ve done nothing to oust the old guard, we can look forward to such wonderful legislation as increased subway fares. […]
September 27th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
newell sucks says:just for the record, newell is just as much a snake as silver. at least silver has enough power to make changes if he wanted to. newell is a lying scumbag with no credentials.