Like the City Council’s holiday party, the annual event hosted by the mayor for City Hall reporters is being scaled back from previous years. Now, it’ll cost $45 (it used to be free), and won’t be in Gracie Mansion, but at restaurant. On the upside, it’s a buffet!

9:30 a.m. M.T.A.'s Long Island Rail Road Committee meeting; M.T.A. Headquarters, 347 Madison Avenue, 5th Floor Board Room. (10:30 a.m. Bridges and Tunnels Committee meets.) 11:30 a.m. Business, labor and environmental groups call for increased funding for public transportation and announce formation of new coalition; M.T.A. Headquarters ...