During his 2006 campaign for New York governor, Eliot Spitzer pledged that on "Day One, everything changes." Little did anyone know that the change he was speaking of would be a bizarre world where the Empire State is on the brink of a constitutional crisis and people are left pining for the placid last days of the Pataki era.

The chaos which has gripped Albany for the last week, with two Senate Democrats defecting to the Republican party, giving them a majority, and now one Democrat switching back, leaving the two parties tied, does not just impact residents in New York. Albany's actions also affect the lives of suburbanites living around New York City.

One result of the turmoil is that proposals to reestablish a commuter tax are now officially off the table. With Republicans needing support from suburban New York City in order to regain any footing statewide, and Democrats relying on four suburban senators to have any semblance of Senate power, it is likely that any discussion of using a commuter tax to plug budget holes won't come up for a year to 18 months.

If the Republicans make a resurgence in Albany, Upstate New York will likely claim more money from the state purse. The GOP's main base has long been Upstate and a tied Senate will mean they will push for more money to be distributed to that region. With billionaire Tom Golisano being the main force behind the new developments and Golisano being a strong advocate of more resources for Upstate, this will keep the issue upfront.

How does this impact Westfield? Any distribution of money away from the city will have a major impact on commuters. Money will not be around for road repairs, mass transit improvements and other services that Westfielders who commute in and out of the city utilize on a daily basis. With subway fares under debate seemingly daily, any lack of funding from Albany will have an impact. The major infrastructure projects to build a new tunnel under the Hudson, which will likely bring Midtown Direct to Penn Station, could have changes in funding from Albany under the new arrangement. Even the development of Ground Zero could move back to square one (not that it has progressed that far anyway) with a new power arrangement in the Senate.

This is not to say that Westfield, N.J., will suffer while Westfield, N.Y., prospers under any new arrangement. With it appearing more and more likely today that the Senate will be evenly divided and under a power-sharing arrangement, our Westfield will have some protections. Downstate senators will have an equal share of the power, which will allow for the interests I mentioned above to remain status quo or not to be unevenly distributed in favor of Upstate. Issues of interest to commuters will likely remain at the forefront now that every issue will be a compromise and uneven distribution will be unlikely.

Will the Albany chaos continue? I am not even going to guess that because this soap opera makes Melrose Place look normal. But I think I can safely say (and I am hesitant to say anything definitive on N.Y. politics right now) that no matter what happens, Westfield residents should pay close attention. This saga will continue to place our community of 28,000, sitting in another state no less, in the middle of the feuding.