The Fig File for 12.04.08

The Fig File for 12.04.08 by: Mike Figliola

The Fig File: Three of the Four Horseman it seems have devised a plan to save the MTA. By plan I mean the new feel good word of the day bailout of course. In an exclusive report broke by CBS reporter Marcia Kramer, Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Paterson and Lee Sander (the horsemen) have come together and said Yes to the Tri-State commuter and straphanger’s Armageddon:  Tolls on the East Side Bridge Crossings, an 8 percent fare hike on Metrocard fares and a payroll tax paid by Employers.

So I guess they didn’t get my memo on the commuter tax huh? No, it just had to be toll booths placed at both ends of the bridges looking so out of place and chocked up. Let me look into Fig’s crystal ball...I can just see it now: endless congestion at the tiny mouth of the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridges featuring bumper to bumper cars backed up for miles starting on the Staten Island Expressway and spilling over onto the Belt. I see Metrocard’s swiping through turnstiles at 3 bucks a pop - but no train in the station. What’s this? Cost conscious employers downsizing their workforce even more and making even few new hires?  Oh and still no train arriving at the station.

This plan stinks like my son Johnny’s diapers.

I gave a call to City Councilman John Liu (who also serves as Transportation Committee Chairman) and asked him point blank if this plan is the only way to save the MTA. “Unavoidable’ he said. ‘ The budget deficit is so huge there is no way the MTA can cover it by cutting services and raising fares’. Councilman Liu is a stand up guy and has fought for his constituency and our transportation services for years. But I couldn’t help but get a sense of surrender when he said this plan is unavoidable. The only thing that is unavoidable is the amount of angry blue and white collar workers in the Metropolitan and Tri-State area once this plan is officially announced.

Oh and who is the Fourth Horseman? Santa Clause. Why? Because this is one big lump of coal in my back pocket. Might as well, after this plan is announced that space will be devoid of any money anyways.

Inside Studio Four: An Inside Look Into The John Gambling Show: Holiday Studio: Most people mark the coming of the Holiday Season with the lighting of the Rockefeller Christmas Tree. But we on the John Gambling Show welcome the joyous time when Technical Director Al Randall decks the walls of Studio Four with Christmas lights and a Menorah. This years official lighting came a couple days late - but right before the First Morning News, Al strung the lights, flipped the switch and kicked off the Christmas/Chanukah/Kwanza countdown. Now all we need is some egg nog and cheer.

Odds and Ends: Big Jazz at Smalls: If you like late night jazz jams and a good slow gin fizz then hit up Smalls Jazz - a club that traditionally features underground and up and coming players as an alternative to the grand daddy-o of Jazz haunts The Village Vanguard (which still I love and frequent all the time). The cover charge is only 20 bucks and you get plenty of bang for your buck - expect three sets, a  club staple and sometimes the music goes at least until 4am.

Smalls Jazz Club
183 W. 10th St.  
212-252-5091

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