NEW YORK (Reuters) - Not long ago, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was touted as a potential U.S. president. Now the self-made billionaire, who has enjoyed largely unimpeded success in business and politics, is facing setbacks in his own city.
Some of Bloomberg's grandest plans for the city are dead or in disarray. Most notably, his "congestion pricing" plan to charge drivers $8 to enter much of Manhattan was defeated by state legislators. Bloomberg saw it as a way to reduce traffic and pollution while raising money for mass transit but legislators saw it as political poison.