July 17, 2007
Albany Nixes Mayor's Congestion Pricing Plan;
Alternatives Discussed, Federal Funding in Question
Yesterday, Albany lawmakers failed to decide on the proposed congestion pricing program for New York City, missing the deadline for NYC to qualify for $537 million in federal funding. Congestion pricing revenue, as well as federal funding to enact the plan, would go towards mass transit and road improvements.
The Assembly was meeting in Manhattan, while the State Senate was meeting in Albany; theDaily News explains, "no deal could possibly get passed" without both houses in Albany. And while State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno said the Senate bill on congestion pricing would pass, he was short by at least 12 votes. Bruno did took the opportunity to accuse Governor Spitzer of a "failure in leadership," but the NY Times reports that the Mayor seemed to make his own Senate enemies.
In a tense meeting on Monday, testy exchanges erupted between the mayor and the Democratic state senators he was trying to win over. At one point, according to several people present, Mr. Bloomberg told the senators that his administration had sent plenty of information about his plan in the mail, and that it was not his fault if they had not read it.Ah, that's the Bloomberg we know and love/hate - telling his constituents (in this case, the lawmakers who wield ultimate power to make or break his plan) what they do and do not know or understand. Still, State Senator Eric Schneiderman told the Daily News, "It's not dead yet. It's staggering around with blood pouring out of its guts, but it's not dead yet." Well, for some, congestion pricing is like a horror movie.“If the mayor came in with one vote, he left with none,” said Senator Kevin S. Parker, a Brooklyn Democrat.
“His posture was not ingratiating,” he said. “He says he doesn’t know politics, and he certainly bore that out by the way he behaved.”
So angered were Democrats that they decided to vote as a bloc to defeat the measure, and there were not nearly enough votes among the Republican senators for it to pass.
Silver did offer to create a commission to study congestion pricing, but the mayor and Bruno have said that federal funding will only come with approval for congestion pricing itself, not a commission to study it. Interestingly, the Assembly also wants to "scour the MTA capital plan and hear from the City Council before voting" (per the Daily News). We hope Silver and other legislators consider how the state has reduced its funding to the MTA in the past years. The commuter tax goes to a general fund, whereas congestion pricing revenue would be earmarked only for mass transit projects and other projects to make sure the city is in a "state of good repair."
Right now, Bloomberg and Spitzer are reportedly working on a tentative proposal to keep the plan alive and to make a late appeal to the federal government. At 11:30AM, the Mayor has a press conference, and we'll imagine he'll mention congestion pricing at some point. He issued this statement:
Although we continue to talk to the Legislature and the Governor, it’s sad to note that after 3 months of working with all parties to address their questions, the failure of the State Assembly to act in time on a deadline imposed by the federal Government is a terrible setback for clean air and to our critical commitment to fight climate change.Update: During a press conference to discuss the city's efforts in fighting illegal guns (and to shame Congress for not repealing the Tiahrt amendment), Mayor Bloomberg was asked if congestion pricing was dead - or if there were any last-minute plans to save it. He said all he knew was that the city missed the federal deadline for the $537 million in federal funds. He emphasized that the loss was not a Bloomberg administration loss, because he and his people will fight for lots of plans - the losers are the people of NYC who have to breath the air, the people who have businesses here, the 95% of people who use mass transit to commute to the city.I can’t ascribe motives to the lack of action in Albany, but I can definitively say the environment and the future quality of life in New York took a beating. This Administration will continue to work with the more than 140 civic, business, environmental and labor organizations that support our plan to make progress, and we will continue to press for real solutions, not interminable study groups whose only real purpose is to avoid accountability and results. Therefore, we will work to implement the initiatives contained within PlaNYC. While business as usual in Albany may be an impediment to congestion pricing at this time, we can still make a difference for the future of our City and create a greener, greater New York.
Photograph of a traffic jam downtown by H2D2 on Flickr
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Silver is a useless politician. Can we have a recall vote in the LES?
And to think, some people want Bloomberg to be President of the United States! If this man cannot even mobilize people to fix something as simple as congestion pricing, how's he supposed to get us out of the mess in Iraq?
Never underestimate the value of political skill and experience. Welcome to politics, Bloomberg.
Can't we use the Patriot Act on Shelly Silver?
He is engaging in some sort of economic warfare here that is going to have a harmful effect on the largest city in the country. People have been taken away by the secret police for less.
Obviously, Bloomie has too many balls in the air. If he wants to run for Pres, he should resign now. 8 million New Yorkers need and deserve better than they've gotten from Bloomberg over the last few months.
Bully Bloomberg doesn't get his tax to build a huge new surveillance bureaucracy!
If he believed in democracy he would put this on a ballot, but knows the voters would never approve this regressive TAX.
If he is really concerned about congestion, he would ban limos and SUVs and those black towncars and leave the citizens alone.
hey, there goes Bloomie in his jet to his estate in Bermuda. Again.
this whole plan is crazy. forget congestion pricing. widen appropriate sidewalks and eliminate some lanes of traffic in manhattan (maybe even a couple streets altogether), so that the city begins to become a pedestrian/mass-transit friendly city. my bet is that considerable extra revenue would be generated from these measures. use some of that money to improve subway service
sad how "democrats" are killing a bill that will help the environmnent
shameful
Silver seems like some old doddering fool to me everytime I see him--so does Bruno. Who keeps voting for these geezers? Albany really SUX! No wonder this state, with the exception of the City, has people fleeing by the thousands every year. I don't think this congestion pricing thing would have that much of an effect on Manhattan's traffic. That windfall to mass transit would be GREAT, but being the skeptic I am I wonder if that money would actually make it to the MTA.
the lack of action is that the people saw through your plan and was concerned.
You bring something to the table mr. mayor and stop with the bullying and snide remarks.
The people have spoken. Your plan will only hurt the poor.
If Bloomberg really did act in such a manner as to anger them, it's pretty lame and unfortunate that the plan was a casualty as a result. However, the manner in which Silver has conducted himself in regards to this plan has been terrible as well. A good idea dies due to shitty politicians. Keep up the good work guys!
This is Silver's fault. And to think he's from Manhattan. He's a jerk. Bloomberg is right on this. Basically, if you are against this than you are a suburban idiot. This would have given funds for mass transit improvements as well as eased congestion in Manhattan. If you don't like this plan, then you are a selfish assh*ole, you can't hack the subway, you feel that for some self-centered reason you must drive your vehicle into an already crowded Manhattan. You really don't care about what is better for the city or the world but only what is better for your own small minded world. I loathe each NJ, CT license plate I see with only one person in it. I see all you greedy little jerks driving your pollution mobile into the city everyday. Wake up fools, there is a world out there, you are not alone.
I don't think we can completely blame Bloomberg for the bill collapse. Albany didn't even have to agree on a finalized plan to get the half-billion worth of federal funds. They just had to agree on a three-year trial of congestion pricing - with details to be decided later.
A free half-billion isn't just going to come out of nowhere now. Seems like we f-ed up on an extremely advantageous program that would have spared us at least a couple of years of fare increases.
Ahh leave it to NY government (city and state) to miss an opportunity. Congestion pricing in some for is inevitable (see same issues cropping up in all major cities). So we could do it now and get some $$ back from the feds, $$ we get too little of as it is, or we could wait, do the same thing and pay for it out of state dollars. Same stupid thing happened years ago when there was a plan, paid for by federal dollars, to redo the west side highway. It would have been an actual interstate, sunken below the park (ala BQE in Brooklyn). Would have made the river more accessible, cut down on congestion, cut down on noise, all paid by the fed and what did the city do? Oh yeah sit on it and then spend millions on the park years later. More money and worse outcome, great thinking.
Serves you chuckleheads right! Me and Constantine don't wanna be payin 8 bucks to drive to my damn job workin' for Con Ed. Next thing ya know it'll be a ten bucks just to piss in a hole. Last thing I wanna do is climb on the subway, it's like you're riding through Beirut next to some kid with purple hair, next to some queer with AIDS, right next to some dude who just got out of jail for the fourth time, right next to some 20-year-old mom with four kids. No thanks. Get a job people.
Uncle Eddie
what you have is a mayor who's not used to hearing the word NO and has a hissy fit.
we've seen his hissy fits before.
his GF don't look so good, hope she's OK.
and regarding money from the Feds, this admin has been known to reject free fed money before, most notably, programs for the POOR.
Too good to take mass transit Uncle Eddie? or too self-centered?
I'd pay ten bucks to piss in a hole... if Uncle Eddie was in it.
shouldn't our senators be voting for or against this bill based on what is best for the state/city/enviornment and their constituents rather than banding together to vote against the bill's backer because he angered them? is this 'mean girls'or state gov't?
Amen, Uncle Eddie.
Amen.
so move to atlanta, uncle eddie...or is that john rocker?
If you loathe NJ and CT plates, then why punish the Manhattan car owners who already pay an 18 percent tax. Make the plan plain and simple.
tolls on all inbound extrances, easy, what's with the charge if you're already in Manhattan?
Here's what happened here, people. The folks who represent the suburbs killed this bill.
Suburbanites to a city are like parasites to a host. The take, take, take and give back nothing. The city affords them an opportunity to work at jobs at which they will accumulate great wealth, then scurry back to their homes of ticky-tack and garages full or large cars and blocks full of pulpy pink people. They work under the protection of the FDNY and the NYPD, which you and I, who live here, pay dearly for in our taxes, while they pay nothing for the privlege.
Then, when the city says, it's time for you to help take care of us, since we've bent over backwards many, many times to take care of you, they turn around and say "fuck you, I don't want to have to take mass transit and have to look at folks of a different race or economic class, I will defend my freedom to drive my large car right into the center of your traffic-choked metropolis."
Bear all this in mind when you can't cross the street, or drive your bike, or watch your taxi fare climb and climb and climb, or have trouble breathing because of pollution, that your quality of life isn't just being taken away, it's being sucked out of your pores by the leeches in the system.
It's moments like this that make me wish there was a residency requirement for every job in NYC.
[6] wrote:
How on earth would widening sidewalks and eliminating traffic lanes generate revenue?Tim N., you're right on with what you just said.
Moments like this when I wish NYC was its own state.
Hold on there, brother. "Tim N." if that's your REAL name, I'll pay *you* ten dollars to piss in a hole after I'm in it!
Now Constantine's never been a fan of Mayor Gloomberg ever since he put the kaybosh on the Powerhouse gettin' his smoke on on the dance floor. But if Mikey B. wants to flood the crosstown Shuttle with all the Cracker Jacks from Fagfield and Danqueery, Connecticut alongside a freak like me, then Constantine's looking all you Al Gore loving hippies in the eye and saying, "Don't sing it...BRING it!"
We're on it.
Bring back the commuter tax.
You have a valid point tim n.
My take on this is that it was just too much, too soon. I never expected it to pass. I see no reason why they couldn't look at it again next year (except that Bloomie's term will be wrapping up and the Democratic senators apparently hate him now.)
What's sad is that Albany is winning the rhetorical war about "style." We need more "what a typical day in Albany is like" pieces, to remind everyone why Spitzer and Bloomberg as so contemptuous of these clowns in the first place.
It's all about convenience folks, are you going to do something that maybe a little inconvenient for you for the benefit of the whole city or are you too worried about yourself?
Which is it?
I agree, bring back the commuter tyax and it is the suburbs fault!
Is it possible that anyone will see this as just a new tax they are proposing?
And does anyone else see the silliness in the officials telling us that is is the Federal Dept of Trans that is "forcing" this on us. It is though we are acting like there are no representatives responsible for the US DOT.
I just think it is interesting that at a time when gas prices are high, and global warming is such a concern that people are looking into carpooling more.
If people carpool, then the government needs to move their addiction to sales taxes of new vehicles and gasoline to an new revenue stream.
And here it is. The government double speak of "congestion pricing".
Look for a tax on carpooling in the coming years.
Our government gets 20% of sales tax revenue from New Vehicle sales. Gasoline taxes and registration fees are extra.
They want us to have cars....but seem to want us just to not have them in certain areas.
Hey I got an idea, why don't the politicians talk about carpooling honestly and it's role in solving traffic, energy, and air pollution issues.
Cause if you notice, the carpool concept is being killed so that they can convert lanes to toll roads just like they have done in California and Florida.
http://trafficbulldog.org is a carpool advocacy group committed to helping people form carpools.
Carpooling? Are you crazy? That means sharing. That means taking the time to think about others. That means taking into consideration what is best for society. That is not the American way. And, especially, that is not the NY way.
I don't know about Metro North, but the LIRR sucks. I take it every day. It is the financial equivalent of rape, the trains are constantly delayed, or malfunction somehow, fares rise constantly, you need to be an olympic hurdler to get over some of the gaps (and you know fares will go up to fix that now that people are falling through every day), and on top of it all there was (is?) a movement to try to deny passengers the comfort of alcohol.
I don't know about congestion pricing one way or the other, since I don't drive to work, but if the money for that tax will go toward improving mass transit, including the LIRR, I am all for it. We definitely do not get what we pay for.
I just dont think Bloomberg and his team sold this project very well. They seemed timid and scared it would fail. Too bad really; failure to implement some sort of system will hurt the city in the long run.
But, hey! No Transfats!
Right on 11 (Reality Czech) and 22 (Tim N).
I'm a Democrat, and reading this comments from these whiny asshole Democrats is embarrassing. Boo-fuckety -hoo Bloomberg didn't place nice at your tea party. Was what he proposing a good idea?
Spitzer and Bloomberg seem like the only politicians trying to actually do anything anymore. You have old trolls like Silver and Bruno affecting their own Tammany Hall to clog up the works.
Have any of you baboons bothered to look out of your windows?
What do you think is the ratio of commercial traffic to private vehicles? You probably don't need a DOT study to figure that one out. I don't like seeing the single driver private cars as much as the next guy.
But labeling all "suburban" folks into one category is an ass pirate move. I happen to take Metro North in, and walk 12 blocks from Grand Central to avoid crowding the subway.
Newsflash. I live in "suburbia" and supported congestion pricing. Morons.
Suburbanites to a city are like parasites to a host. The take, take, take and give back nothing. The city affords them an opportunity to work at jobs at which they will accumulate great wealth, then scurry back to their homes of ticky-tack and garages full or large cars and blocks full of pulpy pink people. They work under the protection of the FDNY and the NYPD, which you and I, who live here, pay dearly for in our taxes, while they pay nothing for the privlege.
You are such a hate filled asshole and yet you manage to top yourself day after day.
The money would NOT have gone to anything good.
It would simply disappear... like the cigarette tax revenue.
If you're serious about reducing the amount of cars in NYC, then remove the amount of car lanes... give them to bikes. The more difficult it becomes to drive, the less who will do it. Sitting in traffic going nowhere is a greater deterrant than the 8 bucks.
Otherwise, you're just looking for another way to funnel money from the people.
I don't have a car.
I ride a bicycle.
I have an unlimited metrocard.
I'm against congestion pricing.
I've got a few nice bridges I'd like to sell to some of you knuckleheads.
Driving in Manhattan is already hell. You already have to sit in traffic going nowhere. People are still going to pack the roads and try to drive here, why not make extra money off of it?
First of al: SO not agreeing with people on the personal attacks on opponents of this bill (i.e. on Uncle Eddie, et al.) Grow up people. You're worse than the Albany politicians. Especially you Tim with your piss-in-a-hole comment. You're usually right, but right now you're behaving like an infant. What's wrong with you?
Secondly I have to agree with EVERYONE else and wonder how the h**l Bruno and Silver keep getting re-elected. I'm beginning to think Bush wasn't a fluke and the voting public really is that stupid on a regular basis. If ever there were two people who were totally destructive to New York it is Bruno and Silver. They need to be ousted in a BIG way.
If ya ask me, Bumburg should have to pay me to leave the burbs every day and come into this crack den you people call home. Excuse me, I didn't realize it was some sorta privledge to have ta put up with a bunch a cab drivers from Mujabujastan and homeless jerk tryin' to wipe crap off your car. You know how much I pay in gas?
Does anyone find it funny that Silver convened the Assembly in Manhattan to shoot down the congestion pricing plan?
I hope his private car service ride to that meeting was really, really delayed by traffic. Would that constitute poetic justice?
can someone clearly point out to me again how this would have hurt the poor? the car owning, filling up tanks with gas, car driving poor?
because this manhattan dweller who can't afford cable and internet is totally confused by how a car owner can be labeled as poor.
Tim N nails it
Uncle Eddie's schtick was amusing at first, now it's just old.
#42 . . its classic class warfare being played by the Albany democrats
as a left-leaning independent, it sickens me
Uncle Eddie writes, "You know how much I pay in gas?"
Who gives a shit. You should be paying more. You like to drive into the city because it's convenient for you, then pay up and shut up.
OK Mr. Suburbanite who walks 12 blocks, why don't you petition your assembleyman to reinstate the commuter tax? Come one now, pay up, you use our police, our firemen, our EMT's, pay up!
We missed the deadline to be eligible to compete for the money, not to get the money. Please stop implying that the money would have been the city's IF ONLY Albany would approve.
If Tim N. is going to require that everyone live within the city limits of their job is he going to find housing in Manhattan for about million more people and their families? Or should we just distribute the jobs out to the suburbs?
OK Mr. Suburbanite who walks 12 blocks, why don't you petition your assembleyman to reinstate the commuter tax? Come one now, pay up, you use our police, our firemen, our EMT's, pay up!
Most middle and upper class commuters don't use any of those things. They work in midtown for 8 to 12 hours a day when the crime and fire rates are at their lowest. And they chip in plenty when they pay the city sales tax. And they help the city economy by paying for goods and services in the city.
Ignore "Uncle Eddie." He's not serious, just trolling.
It's not just the burbs, it's the outer boroughs. NYC is just too big - time to separate it into boroughs - that'll stop the outer boroughs from sponging off Manhattan income tax revenues.
Nope, here's an idea.
You work as a FDNY or NYPD living in manhattan or it's five boroughs, you'll get housing vouchers and first dibs in any NYC Housing Authority project. Win win proposal.
I'm not kidding, as this idea has been proposed before.