Bloomy Criticized For 8$ Tax

From NYDailyNews.com:

"Mayor Bloomberg lambasted Rep. Anthony Weiner, a potential 2009 mayoral candidate, yesterday for opposing the mayor's controversial proposal to charge motorists for entering the busiest sections of Manhattan.

"He was opposed to it before he's even heard what it was about," said Bloomberg, referring to Weiner. "I assume that he won't remain a candidate with that kind of in-depth analysis for very long."

"While Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens) is the only potential candidate to openly oppose the proposal, none of the other prospective candidates has endorsed it.

"We should have an open debate about this because I firmly believe that his ideas are wrong for the middle class," he said."

You know, I've been thinking about this 8 buck tax for a while now, and my perspective has changed since I've moved to Brooklyn. For a while I was against it, and then yesterday I was forced to take a taxi from Fulton Street to 14th Street at around 2PM. It was insane. I mean to get three blocks took five minutes, a three mile drive ended up costing me 15 bucks, and I nearly got into an accident. Simply put, there are way too many cars in the city and especially downtown--bumper to bumper all the time. This forced me to reexamine the issue and I'm wondering now how many people need to drive in the city. Note I said "in the city" and not "into" the city. NYC has some of the best mass transit in the world, hands down. If you're a commuter you know that mass transit is where its at. It's faster, cheaper, and less of a hassle. Not only that but when one looks around at the excess of Beamers and Lexuses (or is that Lexi?) on the streets one realizes that the "middle class" aren't the ones who would suffer from a tax. In fact the middle class aren't doing much driving in the city because they either can't afford cars, or gas, or parking. Not only that but for those who really do need to drive around the city--buses, taxis, delivery vans, and emergency vehicles--fewer cars on the streets means they can get to where they need to go faster and safer. I fear if an attack happens to downtown NYC our police and fire trucks won't be able to get to where they need to get in time with the mass of traffic that will, not might, but will ensue. I understand Weiner's populist stance, but once again Bloomy's talking sense, and acting pragmatically.