Wylde About Fracking For New Revenue

Kathy Wylde

At a Citizens’ Union forum on issues related to the 2013 mayoral election, one of the only things the panelists seemed to agree on was the fact that the city is facing a potential budget crisis sometime in the near future. David Jones of Community Service Society, NYU Professor Pedro Noguera, former Lt. Gov. Dick Ravitch and Partnership for New York City President Kathy Wylde were asked by an audience member at the CUNY graduate school to explain how they thought the city should fund infrastructure improvements. Ravitch, who had been beating the drum for more taxes the entire evening, responded, “You can’t do it without revenues. There’s no fairy godmother.” He cited the example of the Tappan Zee Bridge, a multi-billion dollar infrastructure project the state is planning to pay for with a combination of its own funds, federal loans and a proposed toll hike. “They’re learning you can’t build a new Tappan Zee Bridge without finding a new revenue source,” Ravitch said. “How about using the proceeds from fracking?” Wylde said, setting the mostly quiet audience to low whispering.