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This Week's Attitude
Nonetheless, before he even jumps into that arena, the transplanted New Englander, who has less than a thousand days left as mayor, has the best interests for the future of New York on his mind. Among other accomplishments, the mayor has instituted several plans attempting to make New York a healthier place to live. Among his notable - and controversial - directives were to reduce smoking and to decrease deadly trans fats in city restaurants. A few proposals, especially the two cited, rankled some, but, nevertheless, were enacted. The smoking ban has worked and its success has quieted the critics who thought it would ruin small businesses. The trans fat ban begins this summer, but it could take a while before its effects can be fairly evaluated. Just as he has been at the forefront of the coalition of American mayors attempting to reduce the plague of illegal guns that is responsible for 30,000 deaths a year and the majority of violent crime nationwide, he is now tackling the problem of global warming, albeit to a smaller degree, and an anticipated influx of over one million residents in less than 15 years. On Earth Day, April 22, Bloomberg announced the particulars of PlaNYC: A Greener, Greater New York , an impressive plan featuring more than 125 separate initiatives, including an additional one million trees and "congestion pricing," for the greening of New York City. "We need to increase open space, expand housing, deal with our congested roadways, create better mass transit options, increase our energy sources and stabilize our water supply or we simply won't be able to continue the high quality of life we now enjoy. If we act now, we'll have a better future, a better quality of life, and more importantly, our children and their children will too," said Bloomberg. If nothing else, Mayor Bloomberg should be commended - not taken to task - for having the backbone and foresight to announce hard-hitting strategy and viable alternatives that may help stem the tide of global warming on a local scale. Other elected officials, particularly California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and a handful of mayors across the country, have introduced policies to reduce the existing environmental crisis, but none has taken on such a bold vision as the mayor. Politicians on the state and local levels, as well as influential city leaders, would be wise to scrutinize Bloomberg's environmentally-friendly proposals - even if a few bits and pieces initially seem unmanageable and unwelcome. The mayor's ambitious plan has already met resistance, particularly the component about congestion pricing. Ensuing administrations would also have to adhere to Bloomberg's ideas, in the same way he has employed the tactics that incite the ongoing drop in city crime started under the supervision of his predecessor. However, nothing will change if the mayor's handcuffed by the powers that be in Albany, who must eventually sign off on about 40 percent of the plan, especially its most divisive aspect. At a glance, congestion pricing, which amounts to an $8 fee ($21 for trucks and $4 for Manhattan residents who live beyond the boundary) for anyone who drives into the city on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., south of 86th Street, seems unfair to outer borough residents. Opponents have likened it to a commuter tax and believe it would only put a dent in Manhattan's workday traffic. The money accumulated is targeted for improving public transportation, which is the whole point of the initiative - to get drivers to use subways and buses, thus reducing traffic congestion, as well as pollution, which is believed to have resulted in the surge in asthma cases citywide. On the surface, congestion pricing will unjustly impact those who can least afford it - the lower and middle class workers who find it necessary - and perhaps convenient - to drive to and from work. They already pay higher costs than public transit commuters with the rising cost of gas and the wear and tear to their vehicles. Regardless, whether commuting by car is a necessity or expedient preference, another $2,000 a year seems a bit much. Meanwhile, those who reside south of 86th Street would be free to jump into taxis, private cars or indulge in the luxury of limousines without any added expense just to drive short or moderate distances. Taxis, which create a sea of yellow - not to mention a good amount of unsafe fumes - in the heart of the borough on most weekdays, are justifiably exempt from the fee since it is the livelihood of drivers, but Manhattan residents, who prefer them to overcrowded subways and crawling buses, should somehow contribute to the congestion they abet. Obviously, the price current and future generations pay to slow or reverse global warming won't come cheap. But New Yorkers may be saddled with some of that cost sooner than expected. Nevertheless, it is imperative to act now, even though we may not immediately reap the benefits that ultimately result. There are those who may snicker at the mayor's inconvenient truth for a greener New York, but as the great lyricist Ira Gershwin wrote: "They all laughed at Christopher Columbus when he said the world was round They all laughed when Edison recorded sound They all laughed at Wilbur and his brother when they said that man could fly They told Marconi wireless was a phony, it's the same old cry…" If Michael Bloomberg's ideas are ignored or diluted, nobody will be laughing thirteen years from now if his forecast comes to pass. But, if his ideas are executed and flourish, New Yorkers will applaud the legacy of a mayor with the foresight and guts to enhance their quality of life.
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