> In NYC, we have a pretty good public transit infrastructure,
> but people still drive heavily.
It's pretty good, but it's not great. It's not even in the top 10. People drive in NYC because it's (still) more convenient than transit. People who have near-door-to-door transit opportunities don't drive much; everyone else? Even in Manhattan, the whole east side is a wasteland of transit. Look at Queens: it might as well be Kansas City out there.
You whistled this tune when you lived in Manhattan and worked downtown; now that you live in Brooklyn, you have a car.
QED?
/jordan