Nov 6, 2008 7:43 pm US/Eastern
NYers None Too Happy About Bloomberg Budget Cuts
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (file)
CBS
Mayor Michael Bloomberg's budget cuts are costing you more than you think.
New Yorkers can expect to be hit with tax hikes, job losses, extra charges for the commute, and even a trip to the grocery store.
More cars will be towed, an expected $2 million worth to be exact, and new block-the-box summonses will bring in $60 million. And Bloomberg has doubled – yes, doubled – the cost of parking at nearly 5,000 spots.
"The parking meter is way out of control," says Bronx resident Al Barker, who had to go scrambling for change Thursday when he discovered the cost of parking below 60th Street – river to river – has sudden risen from $1 an hour to $2 an hour.
"It's quite expensive, that's all I can say," says Barker.
And that could be problematic for commuters like Siddiqur Rahmn from Long Island city.
"Sometimes people don't have change in their pocket," he says.
Bloomberg also plans to save by putting lower watt bulbs in 250,000 street lights; cutting down street cleaning and the emptying of trash cans; and increasing the cost of ambulance services.
"I understand what he's trying to do to raise money, but there could be other ways that he could come about it. Pinch, don't pull it out of the pockets of people," says Brooklyn resident.
Taxed to cut the budget to deal with the fiscal crisis, Bloomberg has come up with lots of ways to raise dough.
Want to hold a red carpet event in NYC? It's gonna cost you -- $14,000 for a large event, and $24,000 to super-size it.
New technology will allow the city to identify 1,000 businesses a year that have under-reported or failed to file taxes that will bring in an extra $8 million annually.
Bloomberg is also pulling out of the bag a proposal to charge shoppers 5 cents for every plastic bag they get at the grocery store.
"There must be another way of doing it," says Manhattan resident Marlene Rosenberg. "I would be opposed to that. Every time you use a bag, throw it out, 5 cents? It's just not right."
But some New Yorkers see the benefit in Bloomberg's idea.
"To protect the environment, I have no problem with that," says Manhattan resident William Rodriguez.
And others have their own ideas.
"Considering all the money he's gotten, maybe he should chip in and buy them for us," says city resident Gil Aponte.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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