"They're using the public authority system as a piggy bank," he said.
"I'm sure Robert Moses was a nice man, but these are Frankenstein monsters," Mr. Brodsky added, referring to the official credited with developing New York's public authority system.
The most sweeping measure of the day was an overhaul of the state's sprawling public authority system — a maze of quasi-independent entities like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Long Island Power Authority.
ALBANY — Lawmakers took baby steps toward bringing spending restraint and more-rigorous government oversight to the capital on Wednesday by closing most of a $3.2 billion state budget deficit, scaling back pension benefits for new government employees and overhauling the public authority system.
New York State is on the agenda because of the size and complexity of its system of public authorities, which operate enterprises like hospital systems and toll roads, and are not bound by the rules that limit the amount of debt the state itself can issue.
First, public authorities should make payment system infrastructure more efficient so as to eliminate inefficiencies in the flow of funds, both internationally and domestically.
They are necessary if: (1) the U.S. is to achieve full employment, retain global leadership, reindustrialize, rebuild infrastructure and reduce the national debt and (2) our states, cities, public authorities and public education systems are to survive the crippling and bankrupting burdens of healthcare and pensions.
Much is not known about the sprawling system of public authorities, which number in the hundreds.
The New York State comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, said on Wednesday that he planned to call on the Legislature in January to overhaul the state's system of public authorities.
So issues like same-sex marriage and measures to reform the pension system and public authorities are likely to dominate the session.
