Mr. Greenberg said yesterday that he had no idea why the city was backing out of the deal.

It's a race to the finish, to see whether a city backed racetrack will settle things down, or push the pedal to the metal.

The city is backing the gamble, at rather high stakes.

In the 1970's, the city backed away from adopting tougher pollution-control measures.

In one way, the city backed itself into a corner.

The city leaned that way for a time but, after much public debate, backed away.

But despite the cost, the city cannot back away from eventually reducing nitrogen discharges, he said.

If the city backs away from recycling, he said, the job "is not fun anymore."

The city later backed out of the deal.

The city backed away from its deadlines, and managed to make peace.