Shortly after Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez called on the City Council to pass a resolution supportive of congestion pricing, Mayor Bill de Blasio said that while he's open to the idea, Albany isn't.
"I’ve said it’s something that is worth looking at, but as you’ve heard right now in Albany there’s no appetite for it," he said, following an unrelated press conference.
The MTA is facing a multi-billion-dollar hole in its $30 billion plan to fix up the region's subway and mass transit system.
Governor Andrew Cuomo and the mayor are engaged in an ugly battle over who should fill the gap.
One proposal that's been around, in various iterations, for years now, would put tolls on the East River bridges and along 60th Street and reduce them on inter-borough crossings, like the Verrazano Bridge.
Transportation experts like the idea. De Blasio has declared himself open to it. Rodriguez, who chairs the Council's transportation committee, supports it.
But the idea also appears to be dead on arrival in Albany.
12 comments:
More hidden taxes on the middle class. When will the politicians stop overspending our money!?
The transportation committee chairman hasn't lived long enough in this country to tell people they can't drive their cars. What experience does he have? And he gets, as a City Council lulu, $30k extra to run the committee??? Bull! Tell him to represent his constituents on real matters that we have to deal with everyday.
Let me get this straight.
Mismanagement of money at the MTA should result in "congestion tax" on the motorists to cover the "missing monies".
I have a better idea.
How about opening up the books *both sets* and we can take a look at the income and the expenditures.
And again the idea is to make driving a car cost prohibitive to all but the rich. Add this to the tolls that already exist on the other bridges, the bike lanes and the bus only lanes to make mass transit look appealing. The problem is mass transit is already overcrowded and not a viable alternative for many people who live in the outer boroughs. The actual problem is overcrowding of the city (no housing, paralyzed roads, not enough schools and services) to which no politician will admit. Once again I say NYC is FULL! When will any politician in NYC say no to the developers? They call themselves "progressive" but an overcrowded city is not progress, just foolish.
Anonymous #2 Said:
'The transportation committee chairman hasn't lived long enough in this country to tell people they can't drive their cars. "
Anonymous #2 that's an interesting statement, please elaborate...
None of you get the point of this it's not about making money (they only need a little to administer this service) it's about reducing pollution and making Lower Manhattan "greener" and safer for the children when they ride there bicycles around all the new housing and school development that will be built to house all the nice people that will come to make NYC a better place.
Remember Tolls on the bridges and tunnels where put there to cover the cost of building and when all bonds are paid off will be removed. Then came continuing maintenance costs, then came add tolls to stimulate people taking mass transit, Now to buy a nice vacation for MTA and Port authority people.
Ah yes. Force everyone to get ezpass!
The better to track, control and shakedown the lowly subjects.
You don't even know how much you pay, just happy the toll bar goes up.
With the click of a mouse there is a toll increase and you do not realize it with everything going up as you struggle to just muddle along.
When you see the ezpass statement you are disgusted to look closely anyway.
They need more and more money to grow government and waste.
You know, it takes a lot of money to run homeless shelters, and help line your friends' pockets that own and run them!
Less congestion makes it easier for the limousines to get around.
So we are forced into the old, crumbling, maxed out subway system that needs lots of work. Hey they just have to raise tolls MORE and the powers that be will fix it. sure.
Just wait until they start registering, licensing, tolling and taxing bicycles!
Rapidly approaching Detroit.
Get out while you can...
“Every man has a property in his own person. This nobody has any right to but himself. The labor of his body and the work of his hands are properly his.” – John Locke
Anonymous #2 Said:
'The transportation committee chairman hasn't lived long enough in this country to tell people they can't drive their cars. "
Anonymous #2 that's an interesting statement, please elaborate..
Ydanis Rodriguez has been living here since about 1983, according to his bio on Wikipedia. The real hypocrisy is not that he's an immigrant, but that he would promote congestion pricing but hasn't cracked down on things like this: http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20150406/BLOGS04/150409947/personal-parking-is-an-essential-perk-pols-say
"The real hypocrisy is not that he's an immigrant, but that he would promote congestion pricing"
Kinda visiting your house and rearranging the furniture, drapes, TV because I don't like the way they look :)
How about charging those who drive in from outside the five boroughs a premium toll and parking tax?
I find it absurd that city residents should pay extra for commuting into part of their own town.
The car haters, most of whom live in Manhattan and downtown Brooklyn, are cluuuueeeeless and indifferent to the reality of millions of New Yorkers living in Queens, South Brooklyn, eastern Bronx, who DO NOT have public transportation near their homes, and have to travel significant distances to take their children to baseball and soccer practice, to classes, to visit family and friends. How much more money are the politicians going to take from us? When will the MTA be truly audited?
Nice to see a bad idea shot down for a change.
The people proposing this clearly never had to drive.
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