However, Spitzer acknowledged that coming up with the money for these projects is a challenge--a point that was underlined by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's announcement on Tuesday that its forthcoming Fulton Street transit hub might have to be scaled back. "We're struggling" to fund transportation and infrastructure upgrades, Spitzer said, which is why he pushes for the creation of revenue streams that can finance big capital projects and lead to the expansion "that everyone is depending on."

For example, Spitzer said he supported the fare and toll increases that the MTA board approved last month, although he knew he would take flak for doing so. He reaffirmed his support for the congestion-pricing plan proposed by the Bloomberg administration. "Congestion pricing is critical to the future of New York City. Without it, we will not have a city that is viable."

Conversely, Spitzer said he "couldn't rationalize" the $5-billion cost of expanding the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and therefore scrapped the project. "If we don't make those tough decisions and change the way we think about the budget, we will never be able to pay for the projects you are here to talk about," Spitzer told the NYBC audience.