Here we go again: New York is struck by disaster, and politicians’ eyes instantly light up with dollar signs.
Last week, Gov. Cuomo pronounced a need for a cool $30 billion if New York is ever to be made “whole” from Superstorm Sandy.
City Council Speaker Chris Quinn said at least $20 billion would be needed — in part for sea walls and such.
That made Chuck Schumer and his pale shade, Kirsten Gillibrand, look like pikers (no easy task) when they called for a measly $1 billion to protect New York coasts. (Though they made it clear that that was one item on their to-buy list.)
Think of it as disaster déjà vu.
After 9/11, Gov. George Pataki raced to stuff every possible porkpie he could think of into a shameless $54 billion plea — a flatulent $34 billion more than the Bush White House had offered.
Among Pataki’s demands: Dough for commuter-rail projects, highway work and (get this!) a “high-speed rail” system to Schenectady. The Bush folks reminded him that Ground Zero was located in Manhattan — and kept the aid to $20 billion.
As for Cuomo’s $30 billion grab-bag, nobody knows what the cash would go for — because nobody’s actually toted up a credible list of Sandy-related damages.
Cuomo & Co. cite $3.5 billion to fix bridges, tunnels and subways, nearly $2 billion for housing and $1 billion for overtime costs for emergency personnel.
He also wants infrastructure upgrades — such as to the power grid, to help utilities respond faster to outages.
Wise investments? Fair requests? Maybe.
And surely, as the state’s advocate-in-chief, his impulse to ask for the moon and hope for the best is understandable.
But, again, as Nicole Gelinas noted on these pages last week, no one really has any firm grip yet on what’s even broken.
Let alone the cost of repairs, who should pay what or how best to spend DC funds.
She also splashed cold water on the notion that federal cash is “found” money: Fact is, New Yorkers pay a disproportionate share of federal taxes, so they’d be digging into their own pockets even more than other Americans for the “free” cash.
Meanwhile, New York’s hold-us-harmless mentality can lead to huge waste — just as it did after 9/11.
With Bush’s $20 billion — plus billions more from insurance and other private sources — the pols launched an unconscionable spending spree: a $4 billion PATH terminal, a billion-dollar 9/11 museum, a similarly overpriced subway hub . . . etc., etc., etc.
Today, 11 years later, those projects are unfinished, and folks using Port Authority crossings are paying for the cost overruns through higher tolls.
Small wonder most of the rest of the country looks at New Yorkers and sees grasping advantage-takers.