How do you know if someone has pulled a fast one on you: a con, a snow job? There are just so many descriptions of this act of betrayal. Yet so many New Yorkers don’t believe anyone can con them. Especially those of us who grew up here in the 70s and 80s, which were arguably the most challenging times in New York City’s history. Well, what if I told you that was patently untrue and New Yorkers have been getting bent over for our political elite for decades?
The recent actions by our so-called elected officials in the State of New York resemble more what you would witness in a corrupt Banana Republic than in the self-described most important city on Earth. The reality is that citizens of the Empire State have been getting bamboozled for years by the very people we have entrusted to protect and serve the People of the state—and they don’t even know it.
The latest and most egregious of this kind of behavior is all tied to the proposed Congestion Pricing Zone. Let us start with the architect of this horrific piece of legislation, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo. He approved of congestion pricing in 2019. Yet one morning last week, I opened the New York Post and saw an Op-Ed from Mario Cuomo’s corrupt offspring saying that congestion pricing should not move forward at this time because the state hasn’t recovered from the aftermath of COVID yet.
HE KNOW NO BOUNDS
Um, are we kidding? Andrew Cuomo is the main reason the state is suffering the way it is! This is a guy who, for three years, didn’t believe he was Governor. He did honestly believe he was King. At least, that is how it appeared to anyone who understands politics in the Empire State. Notice I said “believe”—because he didn’t “think” it. He “knew” it. In other words, Andrew Cuomo’s arrogance knows no bounds. I knew Mario Cuomo on a few different levels. Was I a fan of his policies? Largely no. But I was a fan of his. Why? He was not only an incredible orator, but he also believed in balance without ego. He also believed in doing what was right by the very people who elected him to office. His son believes that it is his right to tell us what to do while we elected him. So much for the representation of the People.
Remember folks, the buck stops at the head of the table, and Cuomo was the head of the Albany table for far too long. He was solely responsible for countless nursing home deaths because of his “orders” to the various departments in state government. So now he wants us all to believe that it should be shot down because he says congestion pricing is wrong for this time.
Um, that’s not how it works, Handy Andy. You made your bed, pal—time to sleep in it. Or, frankly, it’s time to sleep in a nice 8 x 10 prison cell. That is where Cuomo belongs. It’s the same for congestion pricing.
THE MONEY TAKING AGENCY
Despite all evidence that the entire state’s population doesn’t want congestion pricing (let alone any of our surrounding states’ citizens), current Governor Hokum (Kathy Hochul) is basically doubling down on it. Despite decades of evidence that the MTA has mismanaged the public transportation system, failed to do upgrades and basic maintenance on infrastructure, and continues to burn money on overtime and mismanaged holdings, Hochul is betting the MTA will do what is right by the state. So, who wants to bet that she is either taking a nice vig under the table, or she is just that inept? Either way, the People are the ones who suffer. And my earlier argument that we have been getting screwed for decades holds true. Why? Because at every level, we as citizens of the Empire State have failed to police our elected officials who are only here for themselves. We have been fooled time and time again. It’s time to hold these people accountable and say goodbye to congestion pricing.
“Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me for believing you.” Doesn’t that hold here since no single thing Handy Andy or Governor Hokum has promised has ever happened?