Cuomo's Legacy? Corruption And Unpaid Bills For Big Projects

The NY Times today:

It is a commonly held belief among political leaders: Long after they have left office, they will be remembered in large part for legacy projects that outlast their political lives, if not their natural ones.

In less than five years, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, has managed to move ahead on two such projects: a replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester Counties, and an overhaul of La Guardia Airport in Queens.

Political analysts say the governor’s penchant for large-scale projects is unmatched among his recent predecessors, and is reminiscent of the administration of Nelson A. Rockefeller, the Republican who was elected to four terms as governor and whose lengthy construction resume included state office buildings and college campuses.

“It’s in the sinews of Andrew Cuomo’s very way of viewing what the role of a governor is,” said Bruce N. Gyory, a political consultant who served in the administrations of three New York governors. “In that sense, we haven’t had a governor who had both the interest and the financial underpinnings to sustain a building agenda since Rockefeller.”

The interest and financial underpinnings to sustain the biggest building agenda since Rockefeller?

What "financial underpinnings"?

But Mr. Cuomo’s zeal for marquee construction projects has come with some consequences. It remains unclear how, exactly, the state will pay for the estimated $3.9 billion Tappan Zee replacement, and how high the tolls may climb for those who cross it.

The state had hoped to use a $511 million loan from a clean water fund toward the Tappan Zee project, but the federal Environmental Protection Agency rejected most of that plan.

As for the improvements at La Guardia, Mr. Cuomo has said the first phase of the ambitious plan, which involves replacing the central terminal, would cost $4 billion. In January, he proposed constructing a rail link that would connect the airport to the subway system in Queens; he was vague about where the estimated $450 million needed to build it would come from.

Likewise, Delta Air Lines has not said how much it would spend to help achieve Mr. Cuomo’s vision of a “unified” La Guardia, but the company said this week that it was committed to redeveloping Terminals C and D in conjunction with the replacement of the central terminal.

Cuomo's legacy will be grandiose press conferences about grandiose building projects with grandiose price tags that eventually get paid by taxes, tolls, fees and levies against the not-so-grandiose in this state - the working and middles classes.

That and corruption, of course.

New York Road, Bridge Tolls Might Have To Double In Order To Pay For Cuomo's Tappan Zee Bridge Boondoggle

Yancey Roy at Newsday:

New York might have to double tolls on its highways and bridges over the next  five years to help pay for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s plan to rebuild the Tappan Zee Bridge over the Hudson River, a financial expert said Wednesday.

The rest of the story is behind a paywall but if you've been watching the TZB project closely, you know it's got a hefty price tag that hasn't been paid for and when that money comes due, it will come from not only an increase to the TZB toll but increases to tolls all across the state.

When Cuomo and Christie wanted to raise the Port Authority tolls and PATH fares, they coordinated in secret to keeo the politicla heat off of themselves.

I am sure Cuomo will try and do the same with TZB boondoggle.

But without a hapless entity like the Port Authority to take the heat, Cuomo is going to be squarely in the sights of people looking to cast blame.

This was his baby, his boondoggle, his toll increases.

Cuomo Wants To "Bridge The Broadband Divide" At Same Time He Can't Pay For The Tappan Zee Bridge Project

It is becoming increasingly clear that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo is building a $3.9 billion dollar replacement for the Tappan Zee Bridge that has no funding source.

Cuomo tried to get half a billion in loans from the EPA clean water fund for the bridge, but that attempt was rejected yesterday.

Now people are worried that Cuomo will have to raise tolls on the Thruway and pull money from other sources in order to pay for the bridge.

Cuomo's administration has not released a financial plan for the funding of the bridge, though they do tout this bridge replacement and the speed with which it is being built as proof for how quickly Cuomo can get things done.

What I haven't seen connected to the bridge story yet is the bond act Cuomo is pushing this year to wire schools across the state with the technology needed for online computerized testing, which he calls the Smart Schools Initiative:

$2 Billion Smart Schools Bond Act Referendum November 4, 2014 – Proposal #3

In January 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo called for New York State to invest $2 billion in its schools through a Smart Schools Bond Act that will build out schools and classrooms for the 21st Century to ensure that our students graduate with the skills they need to thrive in the economy of today and tomorrow.

Smart Schools Commission

Under the leadership of Governor Cuomo, the Smart Schools Commission will lead a research effort into best practices into technology-enabled education and broadband connectivity efforts. In preparation for the Commission’s final report that will be developed in Fall 2014, we will invite local and national experts to present best practices for the Commission’s consideration over the coming months at public symposiums and Commission meetings.

Cuomo's selling this thing as an upgrade for school infrastructure, but what it's really is a boondoggle for his tech and edu-entrepreneur donors.

The upgrades are needed to run the computerized standardized tests the NYSED, the Regents and their Gates Foundation/ed reformer funders want in the near future.

Cuomo's Smart Schools Commission is meeting today:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s Smart Schools Public Symposium

WHAT: Public Symposium – Bridging the Broadband Divide in New York State 

WHEN: Wednesday , September 17, 2014 from 12 pm - 2 pm

WHERE: Fifth Floor Atrium, Clinical and Translational Research Center, University at Buffalo 875 Ellicott Street , Buffalo NY 14203

 Come hear from technology and education experts about innovative, successful approaches to school and community connectivity and technology - enabled education practices that can help to reimagine New York’s public schools for the 21st century.

It's ironic that Cuomo's looking to get state voters to pony up $2 billion to "bridge" the broadband divide when he can't find the $3.9 billion he needs to pay for the other bridge he's building at the same time - the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement.

I do hope voters reject Cuomo's Smart Schools bond boondoggle, since it's really about nothing other than getting schools wired for computerized testing.

But given the mess he's made with the Tappan Zee Bridge project, who knows where the money will actually end up if voters say yes to the bond.

Hell, if Cuomo can try and divert money meant for sewers and clean water to a bridge project, you can bet he might try and take money meant to "Bridge the Broadband Divide" and put that into other things as well.

Perhaps even a real bridge.

Although if it's between paying for a real bridge or "bridging the broadband divide" so they'll have the infrastructure for computerized testing, I suppose I'd rather they build a real bridge.

At least a real bridge would be useful.

Cuomo Has To Hike NY State Thruway Tolls To Pay For His Bridge Mess

Oy:

ALBANY – The federal government Tuesday rejected most of the Cuomo administration’s bid to use $511 million from a clean water fund for the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement project, a decision that has implications for Thruway tolls across the entire state.

The Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of all but $30 million in funding from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund highlighted criticism of the project over the Cuomo administration’s failure as yet to release a detailed financial plan for covering the costs of the $3.9 billion bridge project.

The EPA’s decision to deny most of the funding was greeted with enthusiasm by environmentalists, who had accused the administration of inappropriately raiding a fund dedicated to clean water improvements.

Representatives of Thruway users said the EPA rejection brings renewed attention to the fact that the state is proceeding with bridge construction without releasing a financial plan on how it will be funded and how the cost will affect users of the Thruway or the bridge. The Tappan Zee Bridge, which crosses the Hudson River, is part of the Thruway system.

When asked if tolls systemwide could increase as a result of the rejection of the federal loan, John Corlett, legislative committee chair of AAA New York State responded: “I think one can draw that conclusion, yeah,” said.

A trade group that represents truck companies said worries about future toll hikes are increasing.
“With or without that loan, we’re concerned about pressure on system-wide tolls,” said Kendra Hems, president of the New York State Motor Truck Association.

Hems noted that the clean water funding the EPA rejected was going to have to be repaid by the Thruway Authority anyway.

“At the end of the day, the money they need for the Tappan Zee is the money they need for the Tappan Zee, with or without that loan,” she said.

“Truthfully, the bigger concern is a lack of a public financing plan. They’re making all these decisions … with absolutely no indication of how they’re going to pay for it,” Hems said.

Cuomo's building a $3.9 billion dollar bridge without saying where most of the money to pay for the bridge is coming from.

You know toll hikes are coming, and given the cost of the bridge, they're going to be big.

I ride the PATH every day, and we have one more fare hike coming after Cuomo and Christie got together to engineer toll and fare hikes on Port Authority entities so that they could use the money for the World Trade Center boondoggle down in lower Manhattan.

Cuomo will do the same here, only unlike with the Port Authority hikes, where he had some political cover and didn't take any political hit for the increases, this time around, Cuomo's out there all alone.

When the toll hikes come on the Thruway - and they will - Cuomo will own them:

Cuomo has pushed the Tappan Zee project not only as necessary for transportation but as a symbol of how his administration can get things done more quickly than past governors.

Cuomo's getting this bridge built very fast, that's for sure.

So fast, no one knows where the money's coming from.

Big Loss For Cuomo

The losses are mounting for Governor Cuomo:

In a blow to the Cuomo administration – and a big win for the environmental community – the EPA has rejected almost all of the controversial funding approved by the Environmental Facilities Corp. for projects related to building a new Tappan Zee Bridge, deeming them ineligble for funding from revolving loan fund intended to pay for clean water initiatives.

In June, the EFC’s board of directors voted to provide $511 million worth of loans to the state Thruway Authority for 12 projects related to the bridge, and the Thruway Authority quickly voted to accept the money. The EPA has determined that seven of those projects, worth $481.8 million, do not meet the revolving fund’s criteria, while the other five are eligible.

The EPA informed the DEC and the EFC (headed by former Syracuse Mayor Matt Driscoll) of its decision in a letter sent today. The Cuomo administration has 30 days to appeal the ruling, otherwise it is final.

Among the projects rejected for funding: $66.7 million for a pedestrian walkway to be attached to the new bridge; $100,000 for relocation of a peregrine falcon nesting box on the Tappan Zee; and $70 million for riverbed dredging and “armoring.”

“In light of this determination, EPA is enclosing the FFY 2014 capitalization grant agreement, which is awarded, as modified, to NYSDEC,” wrote Joan Leary Matthews, director of the EPA Region 2 Clean Water Division.

“EPA’s determination of ineligibility of seven Tappan Zee Bridge-related projects applies to funds from the capitalization grant as well as to the recycled funds in the CWSRF. Therefore, if New York State spends either capitalization grant funds or recycled funds toward projects that EPA has determined to be ineligible, EPA will disallow those costs.”

This is a big problem for the Cuomo administration, which repeatedly insisted that this unusual EFC loan – a funding scheme that has never been tried before – was completely legal.

More and more, Andrew Cuomo is learning he is not above the rules.

The US attorney is investigating him for meddling in the Moreland Commission and has publicly warned him over witness tampering.

Last week, Democrats gave him the lowest victory totals in a contested Democratic Primary in New York State ever.

And now the EPA has hit him for trying to divert funds to the Tappan Zee Bridge project that shouldn't be going there.

Just wait until voters find out that Cuomo's going to have to raise tolls on bridges, tunnels and roadways across the state to pay for his Tappan Zee Bridge boondoggle.

I'd bet a month's worth of Tappan Zee Bridge tolls that he'll learn another lesson in rule-breaking.

Cuomo Has His Own Bridge Scandal

Hey, what do you know - another link between Christie and Cuomo.

They both have a bridge scandal:

ALBANY—State investigators are looking into the controversial Tappan Zee Bridge loan and whether a board controlled by Governor Andrew Cuomo violated state laws when it approved the money.

The state Authorities Budget Office, an independent body, is examining allegations the Environmental Facilities Corporation board, largely made up of Cuomo appointees, rushed through a $256 million loan that raided the state's clean water funds to pay for a new bridge. A.B.O. director David Kidera said he expects to meet with E.F.C. officials soon and will then decide whether to begin a full-scale investigation.

Kidera could not say how long such an investigation might take, if his office decides to launch one.
“They take as long as they need to take,” he said.

...

In June, Cuomo announced the approval of the loan before the E.F.C. board even voted on it and without enough time for public comment, the environmental groups contend. The loan application skipped the required public notice and comment period and was made months after the legally required deadline. To quickly approve the loan was a failure of the board's public trust, the complaint alleged.

The $4 billion bridge project is frequently touted by Cuomo as one of his signature achievements after it was stalled for decades. State officials have said the clean water funds would help environmental projects associated with the bridge, like river dredging and oyster bed restoration, but would also keep tolls low.

Money for the bridge loan comes from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, which is usually designated for sewer upgrades. State and local lawmakers, newspaper editorial boards and environmental groups have across the state criticized the loan since it would strip money from much needed sewer upgrades. The federal Environmental Protection Agency has also questioned the loan, and may not approve it, which could claw back the money.

As with Christie, so with Cuomo = the weaker they are perceived to be as a result of their respective scandals, the more the other things they do will come under scrutiny.

Truth is, the Tappan Zee Bridge loan was under scrutiny well before the NY Times and Preet Bharara caused Cuomo public headaches the past two weeks.

But with Bharara warning Cuomo about witness tampering and obstruction of justice charges over Moreland and with Cuomo and his aides under investigation for alleged tampering into the Moreland Commission work, the other funky stuff he's done is going to come under increased scrutiny as well.

Cuomo is at the weakest point of his governorship, so I wouldn't be surprised to see this TZB investigation given more legs than might have happened without the Moreland mess.

Governor Cuomo Plays Pre-Election Games With Bridge/Road Toll Hikes

It is important that Governor Cuomo be made to publicly defend what his administration is doing here:

ALBANY—The state Public Authorities Control Board on Wednesday approved a controversial loan for the Tappan Zee replacement bridge, but not before the amount was cut in half without explanation and officials admitted for the first time there would be a toll hike to pay for the project.

The board voted to approve a $255 million loan from the state clean water fund to pay for parts of the $4 billion bridge project. State officials acted as if that was the plan all along, even though a printed copy of the meeting agenda included the original $511 million request that was to be voted on Wednesday. The Environmental Facilities Corporation, largely comprised of appointees by Governor Andrew Cuomo, approved the full loan last month.

Thruway Authority director Tom Madison admitted at the meeting that bridge tolls would likely rise next year to help pay for the replacement, but would not say by how much. The admission was the first acknowledgement by the Cuomo administration that systemwide toll hikes are coming, but after the election.

Cuomo is using money from the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, money that is meant for sewer upgrades, but he managed to finagle it to build a bridge instead, one that he is touting as a major accomplishment of his administration.

But not everyone thinks Cuomo's doings are on the up and up:

Republican Senator John DeFrancisco of Syracuse, who threatened to vote against the loan weeks ago, said he was the one who cut the $511 million in half because not all of the funds would be spent appropriately.

“We got half of the loan off the table until we see what's being done with this part of the project to make sure it's spent appropriately,” DeFrancisco said.

DeFrancisco said $100 million was for engineering and other items that were “difficult to pin down.” He said he was concerned the Cuomo administration had “fudged” some of the intended uses of the loan because they had nothing to do with environmental projects.

“What this is all about is the Thruway Authority and, indirectly, the governor doesn't want to be able to say what the actual increase in the bridge toll is going to be, that's what it amounts to,” DeFrancisco said. “The plan is obvious, borrow money and then pay for it out of tolls.”

This is similar to the game Cuomo played with toll increases on the NY/NJ bridges and tunnels, as well as the PATH fare - though that time he had help from his pal, New Jersey Criminal-In-Chief Chris Christie.

It's called "Head Fake The Toll Hikes":

On Aug. 5, 2011, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey issued a jaw-dropping proposal to immediately raise bridge and tunnel tolls by $4 for E-ZPass subscribers and $7 for cash customers, followed by another increase in 2014. The proposed hikes amounted to a 75 percent increase for E-ZPass users and 112.5 percent for those paying cash.

The authority also proposed PATH fares go up $1, from $1.75 to $2.75.

The reaction was swift and angry, with commuters and lawmakers blasting the increases.
Gov. Chris Christie, who said he had no advance knowledge of the proposal, was among them.

“You’re kidding, right?” Christie told reporters three days after the announcement, describing what he said when briefed on the proposal.

But within two weeks, after a blizzard of 36 press releases by the Port Authority on behalf of toll hike supporters and after public hearings packed with union laborers backing the plan, Christie and his New York counterpart, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, consented to a more modest increase. Even then, the governors conditioned their approval on a top-to-bottom financial review of the agency.

The thing is, a former Port Authority official told The Star-Ledger, “It was all bullshit.”
From the start, the fix was in, said that former official and five others who occupied key Port Authority posts when the toll hike was rolled out and eventually approved.

The whole process, the authority officials said, was orchestrated from the outset to make the governors look good even as they reached deeper, through the long arm of the authority, into the public’s pockets.

The former Port Authority officials (five who are no longer with the agency and one who is still there) outlined the strategy and execution of the plan in separate interviews with The Star-Ledger. Each asked that their names not be used because they feared repercussions from speaking out even after they had left the agency.

The first proposal disclosed to the public, the former officials explained, was deliberately inflated. Also planned was Christie and Cuomo’s shocked — shocked! — reaction and an unusual one-day series of eight public hearings. Those hearings were all held during the morning or evening rush hours to discourage attendance by irate commuters, but were stacked with union members who backed the hike because of the construction jobs it would fund.

All this, the sources said, was designed to set up the governors’ ostensibly reluctant approval of a more modest hike, accompanied by their stern admonitions that this was it and that the agency had better get its financial house in order once and for all.

But it was all Hollywood on the Hudson, the six sources said, scripted all the way through.

“They knew what the toll increase would be,” said one former official. “They set the governors up to look like heroes. It was all a farce.”

BTW, the PA officials Cuomo and Christie played "Headfake The Toll Hikes" with were some of the same officials involved in Christie's Bridgegate - Bill Baroni and David Samson.

So if you're looking for a connection between Cuomo and Bridgegate, there is one - he got help in his PA toll hike game from the same guys who worked the GWB bridge closure.

In any case, the game Cuomo is playing with the toll hikes around the state as a consequence of the TZB work is the same game he and Christie played with the Port Authority toll hikes and PATH fare increase.

And, to quote the former PA official when talking about the Port Authority toll hikes that were engineered in such a way as to make the governors look like heroes by lowering the increases from what was originally released, "It's all bullshit."

Cuomo needs to be called on this BEFORE the election - how much are the tolls going up on the bridges, tunnels and roads as a result of the TZB work?

Why is there no plan available for the TZB to be viewed by the public?

Why hasn't Cuomo owned up that there would have to be toll hikes?

Cuomo needs to be held accountable here.