Those Deep Pockets Have An Annoying Little Hole Where The Stitching Is Coming Apart

More on the mysterious Bloomberg Independence Party campaign contribution in the Daily News:

The Manhattan DA is investigating how the state Independence Party and a prominent GOP operative handled a $750,000 payment from Mayor Bloomberg’s personal checkbook — and why they can’t fully account for how they spent it.

Earlier: Did Bloomberg Pay Street Money To Get Reelected?

We Are All Bond Up Together

The Daily News’ Adam Lisberg shows what raising bonds for what could be the most expensive subway stop of all time means for this year’s city budget:

So next year’s budget includes $83.3 million to pay for the 7 train extension, even though it’s highly unlikely all of it will be spent.

At the same time, the budget closes four FDNY companies to save $5.6 million. It closes a center for the homeless to save $2.4 million. It closes four swimming pools and shuts the rest down two weeks early to save $1.4 million.

It also lays off 834 city workers.

The city can’t afford to pay their salaries anymore, but it can still afford to set aside money in reserve to impress the bond markets. It’s cold comfort to those workers, but the bankers will be happy.

Did Bloomberg Pay Street Money To Get Reelected?

Street money? Are you kidding me? Was he watching that Cory Booker movie or something? That’s what some are suggesting after details of a mysterious campaign expenditure emerged in the Post:

A $750,000 personal campaign contribution that Mayor Bloomberg channeled through the state Independence Party during last year’s mayoral election landed in the hands of a top aide, The Post has learned.

The aide, John Haggerty Jr., served as a Bloomberg “volunteer involved in some of the activities” of Special Election Operations LLC, a hastily formed company that hired 200 to 300 workers to do poll watching on Election Day, according to Ken Gross, counsel to the campaign.

. . .

One veteran GOP consultant said he believed Special Election Operations was designed to dispense “street money” — cash that’s spread around on Election Day to volunteers and for such incidentals as lunch.

But Howard Wolfson, the mayor’s campaign spokesman, insisted the $750,000 — part of a $1.2 million personal contribution Bloomberg made to the state Independence Party right before the election — didn’t go for that purpose.

“The [Independence Party] made the same Election Day expenses that all party committees make every election for Election Day workers,” he said in an e-mail.

“Because the IP does not have the infrastructure to handle this kind of activity in-house, it used Special Election Operations to handle the payroll payments to all these individuals.”

Wolfson’s “explanation” even sounds like it’s street money. And $750,000? That’s not even close to what was suggested Obama would have to spend to get elected in Philadelphia. We’re taking a lot of pizza parties!

See also: Bloomberg For Mayor 2009.

We Elected Bloomberg In Part For His Cunning Business Acumen

It’s a genius plan — taxing jet fuel will raise millions and mean that fewer of us will leave the city, leading to even more spending at home:

He proposed a sales tax on airplane fuel yesterday as part of his spending plan for the 2011 fiscal year, a move that could mean the cost of flying will soar.

. . .

By extending the 8.875% sales tax to jet fuel at airports, he expects to raise $169 million. Airline executives wouldn’t say how the tax would spill over to customers – but they are against the plan.

It Can Be One Or The Other But Not Both

I thought we had this big traffic congestion problem, so why the need for speed cameras? Another gadget, I guess:

Mayor Michael Bloomberg will push state legislators to allow the city to install cameras equipped with devices to capture speeding motorists, similar to the ones already installed at dozens of red lights.

The big “I love it! Island roads are too dangerous and we need to do something”/”I hate it! That technology does nothing but take money out of the wallets of unsuspecting drivers” poll in the Advance is running two-to-one against the idea . . .

As far as it being a big money-making mechanism, that tends not to turn out as well as some think it will.