Tell Them I Gave At The Office!

Aren’t we already being environmentally conscious by riding mass transit in the first place? I’d argue yes:

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning a hefty fare increase, but it thinks that some environmentally conscious riders might want to voluntarily pay even more for the privilege of riding on a crowded train or bus.

The authority said on Thursday that it was considering a “green MetroCard” program that would let riders make donations to help pay for making its operations more environmentally sustainable. The program would also apply to commuter rail tickets and E-ZPasses.

The idea was among dozens of proposals in a $1 million report by a commission appointed by the authority to recommend ways to lessen the adverse environmental impact of its operations.

Under the program, whose details are still being developed, riders buying MetroCards or commuter rail tickets at station vending machines could tack on an extra charge in the form of a tax-deductible contribution for green projects, said Ernest Tollerson, the authority’s policy director.

On The Absurdity Of Rebates

Smoke and mirrors, just without bothering with the smoke and mirror part:

Facing unexpected resistance in the City Council over his midyear budget changes, Mayor Bloomberg warned yesterday that he’ll order more drastic agency cuts in two weeks if a deal isn’t reached quickly.

“If we decide to — or have to — send out the [$400 property-tax] rebate or the City Council doesn’t act, the $1.4 billion cut is not adequate, and we will send out another letter next week,” the mayor said.

That letter would be directed at agency heads, who were told on Wednesday to come up with another $1.4 billion in savings starting July 1.

Sources said the chief sticking point in the negotiations is the 7 percent property tax increase that the mayor has asked the council to approve as of Jan. 1 to generate an extra $600 million.

The sources said Bloomberg is willing to accede to the council’s demand that he send out the $400 property-tax rebate to small-home owners this year — but only after it approves the property-tax hike.

No Quip, No Pun, No Smirky Comment . . .

. . . instead, just where the fuck is all this money coming from? I thought there was a huge fiscal crisis:

The Bloomberg administration is in serious negotiations to buy 10.5 acres of real estate in Coney Island that once appeared unobtainable — a move that would save both Astroland Park and the mayor’s plans to revive the slumping seaside amusement district, The Post has learned.

Developer Joe Sitt is ready to give up his controversial plan to build a $1.5 billion Vegas-style entertainment complex, which the mayor wants no part of, and instead sell all of the beachfront land he’s purchased to the city.

“God willing, we will get this done soon,” said Councilman Domenic Recchia Jr., who convinced both Sitt’s company, Thor Equities, and the city to go to the bargaining table and is helping broker the deal.

While a price is still being negotiated, it is expected that the city would have to shell out $200 million to $250 million for the land, sources close to the negotiations said.

Recchia said the mayor wants the deal done quickly so the city can finally get going on Bloomberg’s 47-acre rezoning plan for Coney Island, which includes building a nine-acre amusement park.

By purchasing Sitt’s land, the city would become owner of 3.1-acre Astroland Park, which is the process of closing because Sitt failed to renew its lease.

Recchia said the mayor “is committed to bringing back Astroland,” at least for next summer.

So Either . . .

. . . this is the most important use of city money, and far, far outweighs incurring potential multi-gazillion-dollar deficits or the mayor is totally full of shit and there is not and will not be a crippling financial crisis (in which case, take a third term off the table!). Because it can’t be both:

The city has gobbled up another chunk of Willets Point in Queens as Mayor Bloomberg pushes his plan to transform the gritty industrial zone near Shea Stadium.

In the biggest land deal to date in the neighborhood, the city persuaded Indian food distributor House of Spices — the second-largest landowner at Willets Point — to sell its 4 acres, city officials told the Daily News.

The deal is expected to be announced Monday along with an agreement for a third of an acre owned by another company.

Combined with previously inked deals, the city now controls more than 40% of the 62-acre tangle of auto body shops and other businesses — and could soon have half the land.

Bloomberg wants to spend $3 billion to turn the area into a glitzy enclave of 5,500 residences, stores, a hotel and a convention center.

Location Scout: Iron Triangle.

How About PlaNYC 2130?

Given that the mayor seems to want to stay in office, perhaps we should rename certain long-term planning departments? Because now it should for sure take longer to get to one million more people:

Expecting a national recession to compound the effects of the Wall Street crisis, the New York City comptroller’s office is now forecasting that the city will lose 165,000 private-sector jobs over the next two years.

That would be almost twice as many as the comptroller’s office had projected three months ago, when it said that about 85,000 jobs would be lost. The difference, according to the comptroller, William C. Thompson Jr., is that the nation has slipped into a general recession with effects that will spread far beyond the financial services sector and across the whole city economy.

About one-fifth of those lost jobs, about 35,000, will come in investment banking and other financial services, according to the revised forecast. The previous projection was for a loss of 25,000 jobs in financial services, or almost one-third of the expected total.