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The Brooklyn Bridge may not be for sale, but it's one of the East River crossings that has inspired haggling worthy of a Persian marketplace. And the latest back-and-forth between the Metropolitan Transit Authority and New York State legislature has taken us one step closer to tolls on all East River crossings that are currently free.

First, the transit authority said that a $5 per vehicle toll was the minimum it would have to charge to raise revenue and close its budget gap. Then political leaders like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Mayor Bloomberg floated the idea of $2 tolls. And like a novice bargainer, the MTA agreed too soon.

Senate Leader Smith got suspicious.

This morning, he said the authority needed to agree to a full audit. 'You know they kept two books at a time,' he said.

Brian Lehrer ask's Planet Money’s Alex Blumberg and Adam Davidson "why not just let the banks fail?"
Listen to the whole interview

The last NYC school snow day was in January 2004. (brianpjcronin)

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein says he and other city officials waited until 5:40 this morning to call a snow day because they were waiting for the latest updates on wind and road conditions. It's the first time city schools have been shut down in five years. Klein told WNYC's Brian Lehrer that New York City doesn't call snow days as often as suburban districts partly because the city has mass transit.

'A lot of suburbs have almost everybody riding buses to and from schools or parents in cars, we have a lot of people walking to schools,' says Klein. 'So, in general, where it's sensible and prudent we try to keep them open.'

Klein also acknowledged many city students come from families where both parents are working, so he prefers to keep schools open whenever possible.

WNYC's Don Mathisen and Madalit del Barco report on the World Trade Center bombing on February 26, 1993:

The victims of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing are being remembered today. A Mass was held at St. Peter's Church ...

New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) participates in a House Appropriations Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, December 11, 2008. (Getty)

New Jersey ...

On February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay, 22, is crowned heavyweight boxing world champion after a shock win over Sonny Liston.

New York, NY —

New Jersey governor Jon Corzine says he'll "absolutely" sign a medical marijuana bill for chronically and terminally ill patients if it gets to his desk.

Corzine told WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show that the law could be structured so patients are comfortable and there are safeguards against ...

(Spencer T Tucker)

A city-funded animal shelter has announced a deal to let low-income residents get their pets spayed and neutered for free. The Animal Care & Control Center is leasing space to the nonprofit Toby Project for $1 ...

Today is the birthday of W. E. B. Du Bois who was born February 23, 1868 and died August 27, 1963.

Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis waves before testifying to the House Financial Services Committee. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Your daily dose of numbers ...

Pete Seeger and Lee Hayes perform on WNYC's American Music Festival.

A $375 million runway renovation is on the docket for JFK international airport. Port Authority commissioners are expected to approve the plan when they meet today. Photo credit: BlueBusDriver ...

On February 19, 1878 Thomas Edison patents the phonograph. He later recounts his initial words on the device.

$2.5 billion - That's how much education aid Sen. Chuck Schumer says the city will receive from the stimulus.

3 -That's how many Trump casinos will continue to operate in Atlantic City, as bankruptcy proceedings begin for Trump ...

9,200 - That's how many bedbug complaints were filed through the city's 3-1-1 hotline last year. That's a 34 percent jump over the year before.

24.6 billion - How many dollars New York State stands to get in ...

New Yorker staff writer Adam Gopnik talks to WNYC's Leonard Lopate about his new double biography Angels and Ages, which looks at the lives and legacies of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. Both men were born 200 years ago.

You can listen to Lopate ...

A riot breaks out as U.S. Ambassador Adlai Stevenson addresses the United Nations General Assembly February 15, 1961, speaking on the death of Congolese Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.

WNYC's Bob Hennelly and Andrea Bernstein discuss Mayor Michael Bloomberg's re-election bid with Brian Lehrer.

Brian Lehrer speaks with Peter Schiff, the broker from Connecticut who predicted the economic crash. Schiff explains why he thinks the economic recovery plan is a big mistake.