Her weight has risen to 400 pounds from 277 in the past three years, much of it, she says, on account of twice-daily shots of insulin.

[One of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases] is now too big to fit in the complex’s elevators, so if she needs to visit the hospital, or to go anywhere else, the Fire Department must come and carry her down four flights of stairs.

. . .

Because [one of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases] cannot easily leave her bed, even for the bathroom, the world comes to her.

A home health aide comes four days a week, eight hours a day. A doctor visits every two weeks. A psychotherapist meets with her weekly. Volunteers come twice a week to engage her in conversation. Food typically comes from Meals on Wheels, or neighbors or a restaurant with delivery service.

“It’s impossible for me to go out, and I don’t want to fight anymore,” [one of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases] said in Spanish.

The highlight of her day has long come from watching television. A religious woman, [one of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases] said she spends much of her time in prayer, and does not start watching TV until late afternoon, after her second self-administered insulin shot of the day.

But this summer, when her television set suddenly stopped working, [one of The New York Times’ Neediest Cases] said she felt even further cut off from the world. She sank into depression.

“I was looking at the ceiling,” she said.

Mr. Carrión was elected Bronx borough president in 2001 and re-elected in 2005. He is one of several prominent Hispanic officials reportedly under consideration for a cabinet post; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, who is considered the country’s most influential Hispanic politician, is a contender for secretary of commerce.

Mr. Carrión, 47, met with transition officials last week, but a decision on the selection of a housing secretary is not expected to be made before next month, people involved with the transition said.

The 44-year-old, a landscaper by day, pedals his racy rickshaw while a sexy dancer shimmies up and down a shiny 8-foot metal pole on a neon-lit platform attached to the back of the bike.

The PoleRider, as he calls it, is already stopping traffic. In one case, he said, cops briefly pulled him over in Times Square.

“It’s all legal. The cops can’t really stop us — I’m riding my bike and she’s exercising,” he said of flash dancer Marlo Fisken, 25, a pole-dancing teacher.

The Polo designer’s high-flying ways couldn’t escape the reach of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance when it came to operating his $50 million Gulf Stream V private jet.

On Oct. 2, Lauren’s shell company, R.L. Wings, technically the jet’s owner, paid $4.18 million on its two-year-old tax debt, according to public documents.

Thompson’s plan would stick all metro-area car owners with supersized-vehicle use taxes based on the weight of their car.

The sliding-scale tax would be in addition to the sliding-scale, weight-based state registration fee they already pay every two years. That means about $200 extra for cars and $400 or more for heavyweights like SUVs.

“We need to assure that all those who benefit from a healthy transit system will pay their fair share,” said Thompson, noting that transit ridership reduces congestion.

Thompson’s proposed tax would affect all 12 counties of the so-called Metropolitan Commuter Transportation District served by the MTA — and raise as much as $1.8 billion annually, he said Sunday.