Robbing Peter to pay Paul?

Albany’s plan to bailout the Metropolitan Transportation Authority by taxing taxis has drivers crying foul.

Albany gridlock may be dooming the MTA bailout. The divided state Senate is hung up on taxes versus new tolls. Governor David Paterson described the stand-off on Wednesday.

“There are Democratic senators who won’t vote for the tolls and Democratic senators that won’t vote for the mobility tax, and the Republican senators — all of them — who won’t vote for anything,” Paterson said.

The overwhelming Democratic majority in the Assembly made it easy for them to produce a plan. The Senate is more evenly divided, but even the Assembly plan was catching flack on Wednesday.

It includes a 50 cent-per-ride taxi surcharge that the New York Taxi Owners Association is vowing to resist.

“To take from one mass transit that knows how to operate and give to another mass transit that does not know how to operate is not right,” Fernando Mateo said.

So much is not right, but the governor said someone has to bend. If they don’t the doomsday plan will go into effect.

“We are coming to the last hour and if we don’t address this there will be 23-30 percent increases on the tolls that exist now and 23 percent increase to the fares of commuters of the MTA and I think that’s deplorable,” Paterson said.

The bottom line is that mass transit doomsday continues to approach as Albany continues to work on the state budget.

CBS 2 HD learned some late details Wednesday afternoon. It looks like Governors Island will remain open as a park this summer. It looks like they found money for that, but statewide libraries funds have been cut.

It also looks like the Olympic-style Empire State Games that are normally held in July will be canceled this year.

The Assembly has already passed all nine bills authorizing a budget. On Wednesday night the debate will continue in the Senate.

(Source: WCBSTV)