By Gideon Resnick 6/19 4:01pm

Planes Trains & Automobiles

Bill Thompson and Anthony Weiner chatting at the forum.

Prospective Mayors Spar on Transportation Policy

At a Democratic mayoral forum this morning focusing on New York City’s transportation policies, the candidates often agreed on many of the issues–stated support for bike lanes, for example–but starkly disagreed when it came to several topics, including school bus contracts.

Setting up the dispute, former Comptroller Bill Thompson, the leading candidate for the teachers’ union endorsement set to be announced later this afternoon, defended pricey school bus driver contracts and provisions that protect current employees. Read More

By Hunter Walker 4/29/12 2:01pm

Easy Being Green

Mayor Bloomberg and the new "Apple Green" Boro taxi. (Photo: Kristen Artz/NYC Mayor's Office)

Mayor Bloomberg Unveils New Lime Green Taxi Cabs

“Apple Green” taxis will soon be traveling the streets of the outerboroughs and Upper Manhattan that have long been ngelected by yellow cabs. Mayor Michael Bloomberg unveiled the bright new “Boro taxis” at a press conference at City Hall this morning accompanied by Taxi and Limousine Commission Chairman and Commissioner David Yassky who described the new color scheme as “pleasing to the eye.”

“Apple Green is very fitting for the new Boro Taxis,” Mr. Yassky said. “It’s pleasing to the eye, easy to see from a distance and blends well with the urban landscape. Just as the yellow taxi and the black car were once new services that became a trusted part of their users’ lives, the Boro Taxi, too, will take its long-awaited place as a part of the city’s comprehensive transportation network.” Read More

By Hunter Walker 4/03/12 2:32pm

Foreign Affairs

Bill de Blasio (Photo: Facebook)

Bill de Blasio Blasts Nissan’s Iranian Connection

Now that the city has given Nissan a $1 billion contract to manufacture New York’s “Taxi of Tomorrow,” public advocate and likely 2013 mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has launched an offensive against the automaker for doing business with Iran. Mr. de Blasio sent out a statement and a string of Tweets today demanding the car company stop selling its wares to the Iranian regime.

“You cannot do business with the people of New York City with one hand, and prop up the dangerous regime in Tehran with the other,” Mr. de Blasio said in his statement. “For our billion dollars, taxpayers and taxi riders deserve a guarantee that Nissan will stop selling its vehicles to Iran.” Read More