Podcast: Break ground now, pay for it later

Whether you’re a resident of the five boroughs, Long Island or even parts of upstate, there’s a good chance that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has floated a transportation or infrastructure proposal in the last two weeks that won your favor.

From revamping Penn Station to adding a third track to the Long Island Rail Road to wiring the subway system with Wi-Fi, Cuomo has taken his infrastructure roadshow around the state to great fanfare. But these various costly proposals have stoked a burning question among fiscal and transportation policy experts: How do we pay for it all? …

Nicole Gelinas, an author, City & State columnist and Manhattan Institute fellow, joined Alexis Grenell and me this week to try and answer that question. Nicole’s recent New York Post column on the scheduled repairs to the L subway line serves as a microcosm of Cuomo’s deferred infrastructure payment plan – float a project, get shovels in the ground and push costs to the taxpayer ledger far in the future.

Nicole, Alexis and I also ran through the latest developments in the prolonged New York City horse carriage debate (or debacle, depending whom you ask), and the efficacy of the flimsy Uber/Lyft traffic study the city released last week.

Later, Gerson Borrero joins me for our "Bochinche & Buzz" segment, in which we discuss Brooklyn Assemblyman Charles Barron's verbal assault of Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the State of the State address. Gerson got the lowdown from Barron himself on his reasons for grandstanding, and reveals that several of Barron's Assembly colleagues supported his protestations. Will Barron make a habit of interrupting the State of the State in the future? Stay tuned. 

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