Congestion Pricing Defeat a Win for the Boroughs?
The Times is describing the death of congestion pricing behind closed doors in Albany yesterday as something of a victory for Brooklyn and Queens, since the plan “was strongly opposed by a broad array of politicians from Queens, Brooklyn and New York’s suburbs, who viewed the proposed congestion fee as a regressive measure that overwhelmingly…
The Times is describing the death of congestion pricing behind closed doors in Albany yesterday as something of a victory for Brooklyn and Queens, since the plan “was strongly opposed by a broad array of politicians from Queens, Brooklyn and New York’s suburbs, who viewed the proposed congestion fee as a regressive measure that overwhelmingly benefited affluent Manhattanites.” Brooklyn City Councilmembers were clearly divided on the issue: Last week nine voted against the measure and seven voted for it. It remains to be seen now whether the residential parking permits initiative, which was contingent upon congestion pricing legislation passing, is also dead for the foreseeable future. Whether or not the defeat was a win for Brooklyn and the other boroughs, it was obviously a bruising loss for Mayor Mike. The mayor issued a statement that says, in part: “Today is a sad day for New Yorkers and a sad day for New York City. Not only won’t we see the realization of a plan that would have cut traffic, spurred our economy, reduced pollution and improved public health, we will also lose out on nearly $500 million annually for mass transit improvements and $354 million in immediate federal funds…It takes true leadership and courage to embrace new concepts and ideas and to be willing to try something. Unfortunately, both are lacking in the Assembly today. If that wasn’t shameful enough, it takes a special type of cowardice for elected officials to refuse to stand up and vote their conscience on an issue that has been debated, and amended significantly to resolve many outstanding issues, for more than a year.” Most of the dailies have stories about how Bloomberg played a hand in the bill’s defeat by using hardball tactics with legislators. The Times notes that “many opponents said they resented the pressure and threats that they said emanated from Mr. Bloomberg’s side, including hints that the mayor would back primary candidates to run against politicians who opposed congestion pricing.”
$8 Traffic Fee for Manhattan Gets Nowhere [NY Times]
It’s (Apparently) Official: Congestion Pricing Is Dead [Streetsblog]
Bloomberg Unleashes Fury as Silver Halts Congestion Pricing [NY Daily News]
Mayor’s Duck Is Looking A Bit Lame [NY Sun]
Nine Bklyn Councilmembers Vote Against Congest Fee [Brownstoner]
Mayor Rolls Out Resident Parking Permit Proposal [Brownstoner]
Photo by neysapranger.
5:23 a 6% reduction will not help business’s, that reduction is a best guess, and would diminish as time goes on.
5:33 you sound like a real ass. wanna set down mandates little king? i mean yea, screw nj… and screw anyone who wants/needs to drive into manhatten during business hours… even if they don’t need to stay. Lets make manhatten the rich mans island alone…. also screw those bike riders… instead of giving them a seperete space so they cause less issues… we should just run em over…. thatll teach them for being the GREENEST of all choices.
wow… really.
I get it now… CP is backed by assholes, idiots, or the rich. awesome.
I’m all for congestion pricing. If you need to get into Manhattan and can’t afford the parking, the tolls and the congestion pricing then take some form of public transportation. The luxury of being able to drive a vehicle with one person in it to an overly crowded Manhattan is over.
No, the MTA should not have any control over this money
Yes, the NJ residents should pay more as well. The current bridge/tunnel tolls are not a congestion pricing charge. they are in place to pay for the upkeep of the bridges and tunnels.
On the promotion of more bikes in Manhattan, I say NO. Having lived in Manhattan for 14 years and working there as well, the MAJORITY of people on bikes that I see pay no attention to stoplights and fly through the intersections, at best weaving in and out of pedestrians (who have the light AND, the right of way anyway). Most of them just fly right through and should be arrested…or better yet maybe they’d learn if a few more were hit by cars when they are riding against the light. The bike riders are a big problem in Manhattan whether most of you know this or not. Granted, most of the problem is with the parcel riders, most of whom are lunatics of some sort or another.
Bike riders need to learn that the pedestrian has the right of way.
And what’s this BS I’m hearing about a “millionaires tax” in lieu of the congestion pricing???
Missing from this debate is the concensus that congestion pricing actually helps business. Congestion is estimated to cost the city $13 billion a year. One such study:
http://www.drummajorinstitute.org/library/report.php?ID=52
CP was basically not about reducing pollution or traffic. It was about making Manhattan even more of an enclave of the rich and entitled. Why?
1. Congestion would be reduced only by 6%
2. The much vaunted money for the MTA would not improve much of anything because as someone pointed out, the system runs at capacity now in terms of trains it can run. If you want to get people out of their cars, you have to add more subway lines and bus routes.
And if they haven’t done that before- after all the promises of what they would do with increased fares, etc- what makes anyone think they will use the money to improve transportation service? In the outer boroughs- since we would be the ones paying for it- not in Manhattan on 2nd Ave., or a for a new crosstown line, also in Manhattan. Screw Manhattan. All that does is make it easier for them, while we still have the same problem here.
3. congestion happens all over- why price it only for below 60th St? Oh- the the upper westsiders and Eastsiders would pay and goodness! we can’t have that.
4. Trucks and vans are business related and ergo the financial health of the City dpepends on them. Need food? Well, it gets delivered in a truck. CP is the worst idea for trucks and business vans I have ever heard of- demand they clean up their act regarding fuel emissions but forcing them to pay just to drive in just means we will be paying higher prices. they’ll make it back and keep going. We’ll be paying twice over.
5. There should be exemptions for people who do not have easy access to public transportation but need to get into the city for work. Make car pooling more attractive, improve public transportation, but CP as it stands would do nothing but punish those -which includes cops and firefighters by the way-who live further out in the boroughs (and who couldn’t afford to live in Manhattan anyway). Can we say elitist?
6. CP was just another way of approaching the implementation of the Bloomberg “Only the Rich deserve to live in Manhattan” concept.
goodbye CP
Well I am definitely hugely in favor of CP and Pro-AY. B/c despite the huge income that Bruce pays me to post on this board (not) I think both are parts of making NYC a viable and successful city for the next 50yrs
Alas – things have not been going my way of late.
Well I am definitely hugely in favor of CP and Pro-AY. B/c despite the huge income that Bruce pays me to post on this board (not) I think both are parts of making NYC a viable and successful city for the next 50yrs
Alas – things have not been going my way of late.
I agree with Montrose on this one. From what I see, most SUV’s are owned by working-class folks. Take a drive through the working-class districts of Brooklyn, NJ on a Saturday, and you’ll see them parked in the driveways everywhere.
I don’t see anything wrong with this, though it’s not my cup of tea. Live and let live. However, I do agree that they should pay for the pollution they spew into the air, which is a common property. Hence, my continued support for a higher consumption tax (coupled with a reduction in the income or property tax).
Once that is said, that is the end of the story for me. If some guy gets his kicks out of using his hard-earned money to drive around a Hummer – well – more power to him, despite the tsk-tsks from the New York Times editorial board and their fellow travellers. When you see one of these types wagging their finger at you, hit the accelerator and blow past them.
Benson
what a well written fart.
Can someone point me to the “Master of Universe Territory” and please explain to me WTF is a “long island sticker”?
I agree with 3:24, it isn’t the people living in the inner neibs who work in midtown or Wall Street who are driving in large numbers, its the less affluent folks who live a little further away. This is why every ritzy neighborhood association from the Upper East Side to brooklyn Heights wants to impose fees for driving and parking. They want to get rid of the riff-raff as much as possible. Never mind that the riff-raff takes care of their children, cleans their houses, fixes their furnaces, etc etc. The NY Times and the wealthy classes do not want the unwealthy clogging up the streets and slowing down their trips to Whole Foods or the Hamptons.