Andrea Bernstein

New York, NY —

The Working Families party is getting into the fight against subway fare hikes - the first formal political response to the stalemate in Albany on an MTA bailout package. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

The Working Families Party was a major player in the democratic takeover ...

Now that the New York state budget has passed, Governor Paterson is losing no opportunity to tell us how he's spending the state's $24 billion in stimulus funding. Today, it was housing money and money for Long Island Infrastructure. Late last week it was bike paths ...

New York, NY —

New York State is funding some $81 million in bike paths and public spaces. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

BERNSTEIN: A greenway in the south Bronx, a riverfront bike path in Brooklyn and a plaza in Queens are among nine projects to get about $20 million ...

NY Highway Infrastructure Investment Projects

The city released its list of transportation stimulus projects yesterday, and Staten Island is walking away with the lion's share of funding -- $175 million out of $261 million total. But ...

New York, NY —

New York State just released an 800-page list of proposed projects to be funded under the Recovery Act. It says it is up to local planning organizations to winnow down the lists. But meanwhile, New Jersey has already settled on its projects. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein ...

Andrea Bernstein and Matthew Shuerman discuss the yes vote that just came down on three resolutions for higher MTA fares and less service.

It's March 25th, the deadline lawmakers have to come up with a plan to save New York City transit. WNYC reporters Andrea Bernstein and Matthew Schuerman discuss the fare hikes, service cuts, and other provisions being decided on in Albany.

New York, NY —

The MTA's board gave its approval to a deficit-reducing budget that will mean a $2.50 bus and subway ride, a $6.50 Battery Tunnel and RFK bridge toll, and a $13 one-way charge to cross the Verrazano bridge. WNYC's has more.

In a series of three 12-1 ...

New York, NY —

The man Governor Paterson has put in charge of spending federal stimulus money says he has $4 billion to spend on transportation and infrastructure. But Tim Gilchrist has almost $100 billion in requests from local elected officials.

GILCHRIST: The governor's office has received requests for 5,800 ...

New York, NY —

MTA CEO Lee Sander has confirmed that the MTA could approve a $2.5 subway fare next week. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

REPORTER: With little movement in Albany on the Ravitch plan, Sander said an MTA committee will vote Monday, to be followed by the full ...

The president stopped by a meeting of 49 state representatives gathered to discuss ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (aka "the stimulus bill") and got a big rou...

Go ahead take a peek... your inner wonk is dying to. So far, up to now, it's been all PR, pretty much — how much money will be allocated by the stimulus bill, how many jobs will be...

New Governor Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation as his wife Silda Wall Spitzer stands by his side.

It was a warm day, I remember, and I'd just come back from grabbing a falafel outside. It was a week after the Texas and Ohio primaries, PA wasn't until late April, and I was luxuriating in what was looking like my first slow month in half a year. Ha! A few moments after getting back from lunch a message landed in my inbox with the subject line 'spitzer.'

Mayor Bloomberg's staff has been all over the state in the last two days, slapping them upside the head for "shorting" the city Medicaid stimulus money to the tune of $200 million -- or $600 million -- depending on how severe unemployment gets in the city. (The state says its ...

The Paterson administration announced the release yesterday of 2.7 billion dollars in Medicaid funding, but Mayor Bloomberg isn't happy with how the stimulus aid is being handled by Albany. WNYC reporter Andrea Bernstein updates the dispute.

The Senate is getting ready to grill the Office of Management and Budget on transparency and accountability... OMB Deputy Director Robert L. Nabors is on the hot seat this morning ...

New York, NY —

In one of his sharpest breaks with Governor, Mayor Bloomberg is accusing David Paterson of shorting the city of hundreds of millions of dollars in Medicaid funding from the federal stimulus package. WNYC's Andrea Bernstein has more.

REPORTER: With some fanfare yesterday afternoon, the Governor trumpeted ...

New York, NY —

The distribution of Medicaid economic stimulus money in New York has spawned a full-on city-state brawl. It was started by Mayor Bloomberg, whose office issued a statement late last night accusing Governor Paterson of shortchanging the city. Congressman Anthony Weiner piled on today. His office ...

You can find every dollar on recovery.gov, right? Not exactly. But you can find your state's recovery Web site. The reporting on the recovery act funds begins today, with agencies ...

Craig Jennings, the federal fiscal policy director at OMB Watch, still has concerns about the level of transparency in the stimulus bill. Tracking on Recovery.gov will be 'pretty useful,' he says -- 'but not ideal.' For example the level of disclosure only requires contract summaries down to the subcontractor level. Say New York gets federal money (making New York the contractor) for a bridge. The contractor building the bridge -- e.g. ABCXYZ Construction -- is the sub, and the contract summary stops there. If ABCXYZ hires Concrete Boots to provide the asphalt, we won't necessarily know. Moreover, if the state gives money to the city, the city is technically the sub, and that contract trail ends.