Tuesday Morning Links

3 Weeks- that's all it took for the MTA to back out of it's promise to improve bus and subway service after it's recent fare hike. The MTA cited a fall off in real estate related tax income in March as it's reason. So, it took 3 weeks to dash a $30 Mil. promise. While subway service remains lousy in many areas and bus service spotty, the Bloomberg administration is working diligently to make the alternative, driving, more costly through congestion pricing. The Mayor's plan is said to generate over $300 Million for mass transit "service improvements". If we can extrapolate how quickly a $30 Million dollar promise evaporated, it would take around 7 months for the congestion pricing money to disappear.
MTA Renegs On Service Upgrades, 3 Weeks After Promise And Far Hike (Curbed)
Home Prices Fall By Record In January (NY Times)
Global Stocks Surge On Encouraging US Housing Numbers (NY Times)
City Council Split On Congestion Pricing (Newsday)
Mall On Bowery, Not So Fast! (NY Post)
First Crane Lawsuit Looks For $30Mil. (Metro)