Earlier this month, I was on the uptown campus of my alma mater – the University at Albany – meeting with two friends of mine who still attend the university. Now, this was during what is known as “intersession” – that time between the end of finals in mid December and the return of students on campus in mid January, so the campus was fairly dead.

It was snowing and I decided to park on Dutch lot – I figured I would do this to save the $5 from not parking in one of the newer Visitor’s lots, since I was only going to be on campus briefly.

After meeting with my two friends, I offered to drive one of them back to Empire Commons. We walk back to Dutch lot and find that the car’s gone. Instead of panicking, I knew the culprit immediately.

Parking and Mass Transit Services.

I called their office and asked whether my vehicle had been, in fact, towed by their department. The woman over the phone, in a snide manner, confirmed. I then proceeded to walk over to their trailer of an office. When I entered, I was greeted in a lovely manner by one of their associates (note the deep sarcasm). Their story was that during my time as Director of Programming for the Student Association (in which we brought President Clinton, Barbara Walters, and others to campus), that my account had been tacked on tickets for vehicles registered in the name of the department, not the Student Association.

When pleading with them to instead charge these tickets to Student Association, the woman went on the offense, saying “Well, I don’t know you from anyone.” Not the kindest words, nor even words to be uttered to anyone who went to this campus – considering we pay your salary.

$400 later, I got my car out of Dott’s Garage (who were very nice). The reason why I’m telling you this story is not to simply rant (which I wanted to anyway), but to plead with Albany County and other municipalities to strengthen the anti-towing laws currently in effect. According to the Times Union, a number of landlords and towing companies want to repeal the five-year old “predatory towing” law.

It all comes down to the money. UAlbany’s Parking and Mass Transit Services, in an e-mail sent to both staff and students, said they would start booting cars (yes, now you can get a boot while you educate yourself or go to work) after $100 in tickets incurred. This, of course, from a department that outpaces every other university center or college in the SUNY system in revenue collected.

I spoke to another friend of mine about parking. She once incurred $500 worth of tickets, therefore making education a second priority to of course, paying tickets. She pleaded, cried, and begged for them to negotiate. No answer.

She called her father, who then called their office. He called her back, saying he got them down to $150. So, pretty much, no regard for the student or staff member, but if “Mommy or Daddy” calls, then they bend over backwards. I see.

The problem is what gives an institution or a private company the right to impose this behavior on your own private property. I asked, after the 30 or so minutes debating with one woman and finally asked a reasonable associate at Parking and Mass Transit about their appeal board. She told me, “Well, I can’t tell you who is on the board.”

What?

When did we, I don’t know, completely just not care about open meetings? When I was at Hudson Valley, I served on the parking appeals board – you knew the members, they consisted of students, faculty, and staff members, and the decisions were explicitly stated – not some e-mail that says “your appeal has been denied.” Did you know that they also place a hold after 14 days, regardless of whether or not you have appealed or knew you had a ticket? Again, where is the accountability here.

I normally don’t ask folks to get behind anything, but this is a serious ethical issue that has long range ramifications on the way our institutions and governments earn revenue. If you could, please sign the petition - I appreciate it.

Really, sorry for the rant, but I’m mad and I’m not going to take it anymore.

The “cavalcade” (no pun intended to my other column) of themed bars opening in Albany doesn’t seem like it will be slowing down, as the Merry Monk (90 North Pearl Street, Albany) brings a decidedly Belgian flavor to the North Pearl Street scene.

The Merry Monk is located at the corner of North Pearl and Sheridan, a block that has seen its share of bar openings and closings. The Merry Monk’s exact location has been home to D’Amici’s Pizza (during the Skyline Lounge era), the Assembly, and the Corner Bar. Unlike the Assembly and Corner Bar, the Merry Monk presents a unique and welcomed difference than the rest of the North Pearl clubs and lounges.

I’ve been talking up going to the Merry Monk for the last couple of weeks and had the pleasure of having fellow columnist Sean Collins, our managing editor-in-chief Jaqi Cohen, and the Goitz Man to join me on this expedition.

Inside, the place is well-put together. The bar itself is large – with the counter’s composition a teal crystal tile encased in glass (unlike it’s next door neighbor Legends on Pearl that has the Miami-style light up counter). There is a lounge area on your left walking in, with booth seating on your right.

Not to be outdone, the draft list is impressive – why wouldn’t it be? It’s Belgian! The list includes Ommegang (Abbey, Witte, Rare Vos, and Adoration), Palm, Duvel Single, La Chouffe, Maredsons Brune, Liefmans Cuvee Brut, Lindemans Framboise, Unibrou Ephermere Cassis, Saison Dupont, Corsendonk Christmas Ale, Chimay Triple, and Monks Stout, to start.

I had the Duvel Single, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Sean and Jaqi both had the Monks Stout, which was rich in flavor. The prices aren’t bad either, considering you’re getting a quality drink.

Of course, with it being below 32 degrees, a patio experience cannot be fairly judged, but hopefully they will have a few cafe tables set up along both the front and the side of the building.

Overall, a great addition to an area that needed a bit of a variety.

The Merry Monk
Rating: Four 1/8 out of Five Pints
90 North Pearl Street, Albany
Facebook: The Merry Monk

Last week at the State of the State address, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced his intention to get the ball rolling on a new convention center in Queens, which he said would be “the largest convention center in the nation.” Using examples such as McCormick Place in Chicago in comparison to the aging Javits Convention Center in Manhattan (ranked 12th in size in the country), the governor wants to restore New York’s reputation as building the biggest and most expansive buildings.

A convention center? Let’s review.

Cuomo gave his hour-long speech inside the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany, a space that is large enough for a regional ski and snowboard expo, but with some of the worst sight lines imaginable. Granted – the recent new lighting and some of the A/V upgrades bring the facility into the 21st century.

Let’s also not forget that Albany, which has been trying to fund and build a convention center for nearly a decade. In a letter sent by Capital Region legislators to Cuomo, they argue that “Albany is the only Capital of a major state without a Convention Center facility. We therefore invite your favorable consideration of this vital project.”

Gavin Donohue, the chair of the Albany Convention Center, said to the Business Review’s Adam Sichko, “The reality is, the arguments the governor made for a convention center in the city are the same ones, on a smaller scale, why one is needed in Albany,” Donohue said. “But these two facilities are apples and oranges. I don’t think the two have anything to do with each other.”

Convention centers are weird animals in their own right. They bring people into urban cores for a defined period of time, greatly assisting nearly lodging establishments and retailers. However, most centers remain empty for most of their use due to their design. In Boston, the Hynes Convention Center is a large edifice in the middle of Copley Square. The best thing that happened to it was the development of the Prudential Tower’s shopping complex.

A friend of mine who ran for Albany Common Council at a debate in 2009 said of convention centers, in particularly in respect to Albany, need effective transportation networks to be worthwhile for a region. Without such networks or planning, the reach and possibility of what a center could do for a region isn’t fiscally responsible or reasonable.

A Queens convention center on the surface sounds like a good idea… for someone who’s never lived or been in Queens. The location of the proposed center, the Aqueduct racetrack, is nearly as far from Manhattan as one can get without leaving New York City. By car from Manhattan, one would need to take the Long Island Expressway (good luck) to the Van Wyck Expressway – both already under the stress of daily Long Island and airport traffic. Adding a convention center would only further stress these roadways. By subway? The A train’s going to be a lovely, long train ride.

The governor brought up redeveloping the West Side rail yards, which were to be the site of West Side Stadium in the early 2000s before plans fell apart due to resistance from Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver. Instead of contesting Silver on the West Side rail yards, Cuomo essentially gave in – allowing a redevelopment plan to begin and to instead allow the center to be built in Queens in conjunction with racing giant Genting, the operator of the racino there.

New York City’s failed Olympic bid also plays a role in the convention center plan. In preparation for redevelopment, the city authorized rezoning changes in order to redevelop various waterfronts, upgrade transit, and fast-track infrastructure projects. With the plan dead, private developers have since come in and have built condominiums in the place of proposed public property. When the West Side Stadium plan was not to be, Olympic organizers felt that Flushing Meadows Park would be a prime space to build a new Olympic Stadium. This site is now home to Citi Field.

At the end of the day, this idea isn’t new nor does it have a clear conclusion. Coming off a year where Cuomo accomplished much of what had been considered impossible in New York state politics, building the convention center may be his midterm “Waterloo.”

It’s been more than a year and a half since Albany’s Lark Tavern closed it’s doors due to an electrical fire. A landmark establishment in Center Square, former owner Tess Collins brought familiarity and class to the Madison Avenue bar/restaurant. Everyone’s who’s anyone in Albany knew that Lark Tavern (453 Madison Avenue, Albany) was the place to go – nothing more than that – for everything: from drinks, to great food, to live music.

With the location remaining vacant after a dispute between building owner Michael DiNapoli (also owner of DiNapoli Opticians) and Collins, the building only relatively recently had started renovations. DiNapoli, along with business partners Ryan Hancox and Laura Bianchino, have restored and expanded the building with an estimated $1 million price tag.

This evening, I stopped into to check the place out, bought myself a Sam Adams Boston Lager and perused around. The bartender told me that the building’s been open since New Year’s Eve and will be fully functional by this Friday, January 6.

For those who remembered what Tess’ Lark Tavern looked like inside, much has changed. The kitchen is now located in the back of the building and wood paneling (good wood paneling – not 70′s cheap-ass paneling) is adorned throughout the interior. If there’s one word that describes the look of the new compared to the old: sanitized.

However, with the kitchen move, Lark Tavern now has two stages: one in the front where the kitchen used to start (now the location of a grand piano) and the second in the back (location of the old stage). The grand piano provides some ideas of how Lark Tavern could capitalize off of Justin’s recent cancellation of jazz performances; the back stage, however, is not as robust as the previous stage. The back section includes some booth seating, but not nearly the amount in the past.

The bathrooms? Gold star improvement and if kept up, probably the cleanest bar bathrooms in Albany.

Lark Tavern, however, does have a robust beer selection that includes Magic Hat, Coors Light, Blue Moon, Yuengling, Ommegang, Heineken, Newcastle, Sam Adams (both Boston Lager and seasonal), Utica Club, Guinness, Smithwick’s, Sierra Nevada, Harptoon, Dirty Penny, Rare Vos, Stella Artois, Budweiser, Davidson Brothers, and Mackenzies on tap. Additionally, Lark Tavern also serves Labatt Blue, Molson Canadian, Landshark, Rolling Rock, Brooklyn (both Brown Ale and Lager), Peroni, Saranac, Angry Orchard, and Corona by the bottle.

With winter now in full swing, a patio review won’t do justice here but I can see that the front of the building, if done the right way, could hold a dozen or so folk in a cordoned off space (depending on how obstructive Shogun Sushi will be once opened next door).

Do I miss some of the draftiness and grit of the previous Lark Tavern? Sure. But with Tess now at McGeary’s and a substantial amount of time has passed since the building has been occupied – this is a good move for the neighborhood. With Magnolia’s on the Park closed and construction at the Shogun Sushi site ongoing, the North Lark bars need some love and with the addition of Lark Tavern – all will be right with the Albany bar universe once again.

Lark Tavern
Rating: Four 1/4 out of Five Pints
453 Madison Avenue, Albany
Facebook: Lark Tavern

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo will about to reveal his plans for 2012, his sophomore year in office as the governor of the Empire State. After pushing forward a property tax cap, marriage equality, and renegotiating labor agreements, New York state government isn’t seen with the same comical scorn as was the case in the waning days of the Paterson administration.

I’m here at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center and will be providing commentary and coverage of the event live. Refresh your browser periodically for the latest.

Updates:

3:14 p.m. – Cuomo ends speech, exactly 60 minutes long.

3:13 p.m. – Cuomo, “Last year, we learned to run. Next year, we’re going to run!”

3:09 p.m. – Cuomo calls out “naysayers and cynics, saying that last year was fluke. I’m here to tell you that they don’t know us; they’re no way we’re going down, we’re going up.”

3:07 p.m. – Cuomo closes saying we are not Democrats or Republicans first, we are New Yorkers first.

3:04 p.m. – Cuomo calls for the end of fingerprinting for food stamps for children, “make sure no child in New York State goes hungry.”

3:03 p.m. – Cuomo lauds SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher for service to SUNY.

3:01 p.m. – Cuomo calls the State University of New York as the “precious jewel” of the state, says it’s the great equalizer for the middle class.

3:00 p.m. – Cuomo wants to create a Tenant Protection Unit as part of the rent regulation reform.

2:59 p.m. – Cuomo names former NYC emergency czar Jerry Hauer to build up statewide emergency network.

2:58 p.m. – Cuomo calls for the creation of a statewide emergency network in response to what the governor saw in Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee responses.

2:57 p.m. – Cuomo wants to form a bipartisan commission for education in the legislature. Wants the report to be done this year.

2:54 p.m. – Cuomo cites that state has highest spending in nation for education, but ranked #38 in graduation rates.

2:54 p.m. – Cuomo says this year the students will have a lobbyist in him.

2:53 p.m. – Cuomo: “Everyone in education has a lobbyist.”

2:50 p.m. – Cuomo says that the property tax cap worked and continued support for local government is needed.

2:50 p.m. – Cuomo wants to reform pension system and to create a Tier VI for employees who don’t even exist yet.

2:49 p.m. – Cuomo to continue to hold the line for no new taxes or new fees.

2:48 p.m. – Part 2 of the presentation begins: “Reimagining Government.”

2:47 p.m. – Cuomo estimates $25 billion in economic activity for collective Year Two plans.

2:45 p.m. – Cuomo plans to improve more than 100 bridges and to build new Tappan Zee bridge. Tappan Zee is currently seven years over it’s use-life.

2:43 p.m. – Cuomo proposes the NY Works Fund and Task Force to coordinate capital infrastructure projects across the state. Uses six agencies that have separate capital project bureaus.

2:41 p.m. – Cuomo estimates $1 billion in economic activity if state regulates casino gaming. Gets a mixed response from crowd.

2:40 p.m. – Cuomo says that the state is “living in denial” about casino gaming.

2:39 p.m. – Cuomo wants ESDC to “go global,” to work with Port Authority.

2:38 p.m. – Cuomo says regional councils were a success and thanks Duffy for running economic councils.

2:36 p.m. – Cuomo says that Buffalo will receive $1 billion in state support to create $5 billion of new economic activity. Says what happened in Albany (nanotech) can happen there.

2:35 p.m. – Cuomo addresses “crisis” in Western New York, “Buffalo, specifically.”

2:33 p.m. – Cuomo wants to build a new convention center at Aqueduct Race Track in Queens into the largest convention center in the nation. Wants to turn Javits into a private development site of 18 acres.

2:32 p.m. – Cuomo calls Javits Center as non-competitive; compares this to Chicago’s McCormick Place with 3.2 million sq. ft. compared to Javits’s 800,000 sq. ft.

2:29 p.m. – Cuomo introduces a three-part plan: next phases of economic development, reform, and job growth.

2:28 p.m. – Cuomo thanks emergency responders from storms, thanks the ones present in the audience, including New York National Guard troops.

2:27 p.m. – Cuomo calls 2011 a challenging year and uses Tropical Storm Lee and Hurricane Irene as examples.

2:26 p.m. – Cartoon of Silver and Skelos as children gets big laugh.

2:24 p.m. – Cuomo showcases “fair tax” brackets and new middle class tax cut.

2:22 p.m. – Cuomo lists accomplishments such as property tax cap, etc. Cuomo then states that New York has regained it’s place as the progressive capital of the country.

2:21 p.m. – Cuomo asks for legislature to stand up to be recognized.

2:20 p.m. – Cuomo cites the turnaround such as expediting the Capitol complex’s sped-up renovation and the historic legislative session in 2011.

2:19 p.m. – Prepared remarks begin (you can see a copy via Gannett Albany’s Jon Campbell) and slideshow begins.

2:18 p.m. – Cuomo thanks OGS staff and commissioner for renovation of the Empire State Plaza and the Capitol complex.

2:16 p.m. – Cuomo shouts out Attorney General Schneiderman, Comptroller DiNapoli, Majority Leader Skelos, and Speaker Silver.

2:15 p.m. – Cuomo thanks Duffy. Calls Duffy the personification of “pride, integrity, and performance.”

2:14 p.m. – Cuomo takes podium.

2:13 p.m. – Duffy talks about turn around of New York state government’s perception in one year.

2:12 p.m. – Duffy talks about Cuomo staffers wearing pins that say “I work for the people.”

2:11 p.m. – Duffy introduces New Yorkers in audience, including 300 school-age children.

2:10 p.m. – Skelos ends remarks, hoping to partner with the governor in the new year for further reform.

2:07 p.m. – Skelos talks about the $3 billion state deficit gap.

2:07 p.m. – Skelos cites the reason for this is having a partner in Governor Cuomo.

2:06 p.m. – Skelos says that Senate “threw the playbook of Albany dysfunction.” Cites closing $10 billion state deficit and cut taxes for middle income families.

2:05 p.m. – Skelos calls Cuomo an “innovator and friend.”

2:04 p.m. – Majority Leader Dean Skelos takes podium.

2:04 p.m. – Silver ends remarks, Duffy returns.

2:01 p.m. – Silver wants funding reform for community colleges, cites that the rate of state support has never been what it was supposed to be. Calls for an increase of funding for these “learning centers.”

2:00 p.m. – Silver wants to increase state minimum wage, cites NY is behind more than a dozen states.

1:59 p.m. – Silver looks forward to working with Cuomo and Skelos in the new year.

1:57 p.m. – Silver calls Cuomo the “most effective chief executive in our nation today.”

1:56 p.m. – Silver takes podium. Thanks Duffy for service as lieutenant governor.

1:55 p.m. – Duffy introduces both Ron Canestrari and Tom Libous, both have no microphones.

1:55 p.m. – Introduces legislative leaders.

1:54 p.m. – Duffy returns to stage to introduce mayors in audience, including Buffalo’s Byron Brown, Rochester’s Thomas Richards, Syracuse’s Stephanie Minor, and Albany’s Jerry Jennings. Yonkers’s Mike Spano gets a big plug, as does New York’s Mike Bloomberg.

1:50 p.m. – Duffy returns to stage, introducing the New York State National Guard to lead the pledge of allegiance.

1:46 p.m. – Archbishop giving secondary blessing.

1:45 p.m. – Rabbi gives interfaith blessing. Event running 12 minutes late.

1:44 p.m. – Cuomo enters.

1:43 p.m. – Duffy introduces Senate Majority Leader Skelos.

1:42 p.m. – Duffy introduces Schneiderman, DiNapoli, and Silver.

1:42 p.m. – Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy enters room.

1:38 p.m. – TU’s Jimmy Vielkind reports that Sandra Lee, the governor’s girlfriend, has just arrived – reportedly giving Albany Mayor Gerald D. Jennings two kisses on the cheek.

1:34 p.m. – Assembly procession continues, members filling in and being guided to their seats by Cuomo staffers.

1:29 p.m. – Members of the New York State Assembly have begun coming into the ESP Convention Center.

1:25 p.m. – Members of the New York State Senate begin coming in through the northside entrance onto the floor.

1:24 p.m. – Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman is starting the judicial procession of the Court of Appeals.

1:20 p.m. – Attendees are asked to take their seats, 10 minutes away from advertised start time.

With a decidedly different atmosphere in Albany, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo will roll out his legislative plans for 2012 on Wednesday at the State of the State address at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center. The question that will be posed up until this is what, exactly, does the governor have in store to be accomplished?

New Yorkers had become accustomed to be a largely ineffective state government with constant gridlock and the “three men in a room” philosophy – which in effect brought about several years of late budgets to the Empire State. With Cuomo, the number one thing the governor has done to New York state government has been turning the tide of building back the trust of a state that forgot that things could be accomplished in Albany.

A property tax cap, renegotiated labor contracts, “rightsizing” state government, marriage equality, creating a “tuition plan” for SUNY, and regions competing for economic development grants were all part of Year One.

Year Two is going to start off with figuring out how to close the state’s ever-growing budget gap, estimated to be between $3.1 and $3.5 billion. This comes off of a new income tax plan that took effective on January 1 that the governor’s office has been touting as the “lowest tax rate in 58 years for middle class New Yorkers.” With the elimination of the alternative minimum tax (AMT) to businesses in 2010, the state will find itself with less and less ways to close the gap without having to resort to cutting down services – something that a cut-weary legislature may not find itself as willing to do this year.

A major snag in the process will be the fight over redistricting and when exactly primaries for state and federal offices will be held (Assembly Democrats want May; Senate Republicans want August). Top that with LATFOR and it’s not exactly a clear path on what the legislature will ultimately decide, which will heavily play into what Cuomo sets to do.

Reducing unemployment will remain in the governor’s vision for the duration of his term. It remains to be seen whether another blockbuster deal – such as the $4.4 billion nanotechnology package announced in September – can see a sequel in 2012. A series of smaller moves will probably be the norm in 2012 such as attracting companies using hybrid state-county tax incentives across Upstate New York.

Most everything Andrew Cuomo set for himself at his first State of the State – he got done (for the most part). On Wednesday, we’ll start this year’s score card.

Christmas has now passed and we’re on that annual stretch before calling in Baby New Year to ring in 2012. With that being said, there’s still time for a great time with friends before getting drunk on champagne and finding yourself in a cab with twelve others.

One of the more uniquely put-together and always stunning establishments in Albany is the Midtown Tap and Tea Room (289 New Scotland Avenue, Albany), right in the mid New Scotland Avenue commercial corridor between Albany Medical Center and St. Peter’s Hospital. Instead of simply being a “tap room,” this establishment prides itself for being a “coffee house” by day and a place to grab appetizers and smaller portioned plates in the evening.

Midtown Tap and Tea has the typical array of drinks on tap – including my beloved Sam Adams – in addition to a strong slate of various wines, which makes for all the more festive of an occasion. Be it you’re out to dinner with that special someone, reminiscing of years gone by with old friends, or having that post-work drink, Midtown Tap and Tea is your place.

The best part of Midtown Tap and Tea are both of the patio sections – in the front and back – in warm weather months. The front has an approximate capacity of probably ten to twelve, with the back patio overlooking Ontario Street with the back-of-restaurant bar accessible. My sole criticism of Midtown comes down to the second bar, which seems way too big for the reception room setup.

I’ve been to a number of fundraisers and events in the backroom, and although having a large bar works in many cases – this bar creates a rubberneck situation. I find myself having to squeeze between elected officials and donors uncomfortably if I want to get from one side to the other, but it’s a here-and-there situation.

Overall, a very California-style exudes from this New Scotland Avenue watering hole. If you don’t mind driving up New Scotland Avenue and away from the core of bars on Pearl and Lark, make the visit to Midtown Tap and Tea. It’s worth it.

Midtown Tap and Tea Room
Rating: Four out of Five Pints
289 New Scotland Avenue, Albany (phone: 518-435-0202) 435-0202
Facebook: Midtown Tap and Tea Room

For the amount of demonization that the GOP gets for siding with big business for economic policy, one provision as part of the large spending bill passed this past weekend has many small business owners sighing in relief – a huge sigh of relief, in fact.

In order to compromise with Senate Democrats with their requests, the House Republicans pushed forward with a plan to delay mandating energy-efficient bulbs (the squiggly-shaped bulbs) to be installed in commercial storefronts and businesses. For energy savings advocates, yes – this was a loss but in terms of the economic savings of handling tax credits and regulation, this was actually a win for small business.

I spoke with a couple of of small business owners – both progressive and largely in support of energy conservation. However, the cost of converting from incandescent bulbs to energy-efficient LEDs (in order to dim lights – typical energy-efficient bulbs don’t) would be too great of a burden at this stage in their business (for one business owner, the cost was approximately $9,400 upfront). It’s unreasonable to ask a small business – in which you constantly hear of the “50 percent of small businesses fail in their first year” – to put more money into long-term savings if the foundation of the business is not yet solid. If a rebate program was implemented, maybe – but that doesn’t help budgetary controls on the government side.

Sometimes, you gotta be patient – the newer bulbs will be the standard by the end of the decade and it’s adoption will happen naturally. And once it reaches a peak point, then passing a provision to mandate these bulbs makes sense in order to get everyone on the same page. But until that point, let’s wait.

The technology behind these bulbs is moving along, but it needs to reach the price point for business to make fiscal sense. Flat screen TVs, laptops, and hybrids all went through the same situation – at first, too much of a burden for business or consumer customers before reaching a point where it was more viable to purchase the more energy-efficient option. Bulbs just haven’t reached that price-point yet, but they will, rest assured.

Although the public stance could be seen as the House Republicans once again putting business interests before the environment, this one actually saved much needed capital for small businesses who would like to make the move to energy-efficient bulbs (because of the obvious long-term savings), but technology needs to catch up in price to benefit these enterprises.

A huge, if not paramount, concern of higher education activism groups Save Our SUNY and New York Students Rising is the amount of tuition being assessed to CUNY and SUNY students is (a) not reasonable to pay, (b) not supporting the programs they want, and (c) can be modified on a moment’s whim.

Their large-scale argument is valid – what you pay isn’t what you see, explicitly. However, the argument of capping the principal rate of tuition cannot happen for any other reason except for the tenets basic economics: what’s worth $1 in year 1 will not be worth the same in year 5 due to inflation. Therefore, I am now publicly advocating for something I’ve spoken about in private circles: tuition efficiency.

Tuition efficiency would present a detailed, itemized view of how tuition for public education is being spent at SUNY and CUNY schools, which would include costs associated with academic and staff salaries, program operating costs, capital expenditures, entitlement and legacy service costs, and various operating expenses needed to run a public higher education institution. Each dollar would be explicitly stated for a purpose – be it to repair a bathroom, provide proper funding for a Russian and Eastern European Studies program, or whatever. On the accounting and internal control side, you would still have the separation of capital and operating funds – this would still be disclosed.

This money furthermore would not be subject to “collection” by the State of New York into the general fund, but each dollar would need to be spent for CUNY and SUNY – no where else. Not for building a telecom system at the Harriman campus, or subsidizing high speed rail, but just for direct public education.

Tuition, in this case, would need to go up annually on an inflationary and program-specific basis. Not a blind $100, $500, or $1,000 increase, but an itemized increase (or decrease for that matter, given an institution’s savings) of where the new funding would go. Additionally, tuition efficiency would also need to require the legislature to allow individual campuses to set their own tuition given that each campus adopts the plan to itemize each expense publicly. A key to winning over support is the needed disclosure of what’s being spent where – once that’s done, further trust can begin to be established between the institution and students. Without that, students undoubtedly will feel helpless in determining the course of their institution for the present and the future.

The obvious obstacle here is how to justify in a budget setting how both SUNY/CUNY and the state would address such a change. For the state, the loss of tuition “collection” would present a larger gap than what the legislature and the governor will face next year. For SUNY/CUNY schools, developing a plan of action given the additional income would be the challenge, especially for schools that may be going through transitions of leadership on the staff level, but at the student level as well.

Challenges also arise in the way public higher education is being treated – the education activism groups (SOS, NYSR, etc.) need to step their game up, as well as each institution’s administration, in finding an equitable solution. NYSR provides a great, direct outlet for students who want to participate not only in the public policy element of education, but truly caring about the direction of their campus. Their lack of direct power lies with what could be seeing as their “competing organization,” the SUNY Student Assembly, who has a seat on the board of trustees.

And these changes would need to be discussed with significant input from all parties – from the board of trustees, academia, from non-teaching staff, students, and regional partners in business and government. For instance, if a college’s School of Political Science wants to build a new building, they would allocate ‘x’ amount of dollars for a number of years to be part of their school’s tuition allocation in order to finance construction (if they didn’t want to use Dormitory Authority or institutional advancement funding).

Of course, this is only a start of where the discussion needs to go. Inflation is here to stay and with that, tuition needs to be modified, but in the way that all sides can participate in a more interactive fashion.

It was June 24, 2011. I was outside the State Assembly chamber with a number of staffers and onlookers, watching a TV adorned with a video feed from the State Senate where Sen. Mark Grisanti was giving his reasoning on why he was voting in the affirmative for the state’s marriage equality bill.

Once the bill passed 33-29, a defiant Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo passed the onslaught of reporters outside the Senate doors to congratulate Sen. Thomas Duane and other Senate Democrats on passing the bill. In a post-vote press conference, Cuomo stated, “The other states look to New York for the progressive direction… What we said today is, you look to New York once again. New York made a powerful statement, not just for the people of New York, but for people all across this nation.”

Cuomo – unlike his counterpart on the other side of the Hudson, N.J. Gov. Chris Christie – was on the “side of history,” as many commentators would note. This would be the high point of what was seen as six months of extremely effective governing from the eldest son of Mario Cuomo. The younger Cuomo, unlike his father, would not embrace the same liberal mantra Mario had so effusively and proudly promoted.

That day – June 24, 2011 – would mark the midpoint of an effective first six months in office followed by a bruise-filled second six months.

In Andrew Cuomo’s fifty four years, the Queens native has gone through a number of transformations and humblings. As his father’s primary aide and enforcer through the 1970s and 1980s, Cuomo displayed tenacity and grit equal to someone 20 years older. He would later earn his own chops first as Assistant Secretary of HUD during the Clinton administration before becoming Secretary for Clinton’s second term. As HUD Secretary, Cuomo, in his own words, had fixed HUD. Current HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan lauded Cuomo to the New York Times, saying, “It’s pretty clear Cuomo helped save the agency.”

After a bruising primary battle against then-Comptroller and now-SUNY Board chair H. Carl McCall in 2002, Cuomo went into the shadows and reconnected with a number of key supporters before humbly succeeding Eliot Spitzer as Attorney General. Unlike Spitzer and uncharacteristically, Cuomo did not display the same pugnacious nature of years prior but a silently intense advocate for consumers. When Cuomo finally announced his run for Governor, it was the accumulation of ten years of returning to his home state and becoming his own name statewise.

However, for all the joy that supporters across the spectrum had for the effective nature of the first half of the first term of the fifty-sixth governor of the Empire State, that same excitement has worn thin in the past six months in which should line up to be a more intense budget season in early 2012. Besides the ESDC Bill Clinton event in October, Cuomo’s second half has been a mess of tangling with unions and arresting protesters.

Most recently, Cuomo’s op-ed concerning changing the state’s tax structure earned him criticism of Capitol bureau reporters and editors, who critiqued the use of “op-ed” for his statement regarding how fix long-term New York State’s current taxation structure.

Cuomo’s use of state police at the Occupy Albany site, although in the great scheme of things is insignificant, but telling of an individual who proudly supports expanding the rights of the LGBT community but cannot fathom having a “Cuomoville” across from the state capitol.

Cuomo’s challenge in Year Two no doubt will look similar to what he encountered in Year One, but like the age-tested phrase, “game has changed but the people remain the same.” With an estimated $3.5 billion deficit to encounter and a Republican-led Senate that’s looking for a reason to remain in power, the environment of navigation for Cuomo will not be nearly as effective.

The honeymoon of Andrew Cuomo is over, and with that, Albany will go back to being a tug-o-war of wants, needs, and desires from across the state.