100% agreement with you, glenn QNYC - it would have been a cash cow for some lucky appointee.

The MTA is a CASH BUSINESS - someone's going to tell me that with the average 7 million riders daily - that the MTA can't make ends meet with $10,000,000 every day? The MTA is another entity - all the positions are appointed. And if the true number is that 7 million one hundred thousand really ride daily, there is no way whatsoever to account for the addition $200,000 daily.

The goal is not to reduce traffic and not to help the asthma sufferers - that's all smoke and mirrors and my head is spinning when I keep hearing people parroting this garbage. By far, the area in Manhattan with the highest levels of asthma is Harlem, some twenty blocks above the zone.

I'm a Manhattanite born and raised. I have a question for all of you, if the streets of Manhattan aren't for New Yorkers, then who are they for?

Bloomberg has let his power go to his head. He was shoed in by Giuliani who backed him when most of us were still dumbfounded and reeling from 9/11. Then he ran against people who couldn't run New York with a rented brain and he won again. Now Bloomberg thinks he's a genius.

The people who look at the Congestive Pricing plan also mention the successes in Stockholm and London. Stockholm implemented a huge improvement in their sorely lacking public transportation RIGHT BEFORE they started the pricing scheme. So the statistics make no sense whatsoever. In the winter everybody in Sweden who has a car will drive it but the statistics they give you are for the warm weather months. It is complete hooey.

In London, businesses closed, restaurants closed and the areas around the zone were choked with congestion. Furthermore, the system itself cost so much to maintain, they had to double the tariffs to sustain it. And the money they do get is largely from penalties if you don't pay the fee within 48 hours - a $200 dollar fine. AND the area that was zoned is not an island rather a neighborhood so there was another possible way for you to go across the zone to a destination on the other side.

In the case of Manhattan, it basically charges you from entering any area that has businesses, shops and restaurants. It forces the person to pay with no option whatsoever to avoid the area.

Why would you trust government to monitor your movement? It is a tiny step from that to have a police officer stop your car and ask you "Where are you going?"

Instead of this antagonistic approach, why not offer incentives for trucks to deliver before rush hour? If they want less cars coming into Manhattan, why not have transit cost fifty cents each way during the rush? Why not offer positive reinforcement? The answer is that government always turns against the citizens - everywhere and all the time - unless it's kept in check.

And don't forget folks, New York is a wonderful, busy, chaotic, interesting, bustling metropolis not some dinky one horse town. If you don't like the hustle and the bustle and the crush of the people around you and the honking of horns, I suggest you move to someplace quiet like Montana and let us New Yorkers enjoy our city in peace.

Tim N., Yes, my elected officials did fail to represent my view. Nonetheless, I will continue to make a difference where I have more control, starting with myself.

The many comments made above do indeed reflect monetary reasons as the primary concern. I think many are missing the point on what the underlying goal is really about.

"No wonder this country's currency is falling as the stock market is rising."

Czech are you against making American Goods cheaper overseas and bringing more tourist here?!?

That's how it sounds!

"Great news! This plan was a money grab, and would do NOTHING to reduce congestion. How exactly were the trucks going to avoid their $21 tax with mass transit? They weren't, we the consumers were going to pay the bill.

Come up with a plan that will actually reduce congestion and pollution and people will support it.

[65] Posted by: glennQNYC | July 18, 2007 12:23 AM "

Bravo-after reading that idiot Reality Czech go back and forth with another guest poster-I was looking for some sanity. You came fairly close.

Except-their should be no Federal money. The idea that cities around the country should get cash from the Fed to pay for roads and transit. That's insanity! Congress should do away with these "Grants"

Tim N., you typed this-"The only people who pay taxes to the City of New York are the residents of the City of New York."

No couldn't be further from the truth.

City employees pay a commuter tax. It's called the "City Waiver" and generally a higher rate than the city income tax. They are taxed.

-A different guest.

Great news! This plan was a money grab, and would do NOTHING to reduce congestion. How exactly were the trucks going to avoid their $21 tax with mass transit? They weren't, we the consumers were going to pay the bill.

Come up with a plan that will actually reduce congestion and pollution and people will support it.

I'm not quite sure you understand how basic economics work. Once you have a grasp of it, maybe you can particpate to make a difference.

By your stance, you are upset over financial inequality. Is this correct?

If congestion pricing did succeed, and your island received the tax from every driver. Has this solved the problem? Think about it for a moment.

Reality, Mr. Czech, is hard to put a price on.

Oh don't give me any crap about "your" corporation paying taxes. If you did your homework you'd know that corporations pay about 50% less of the tax burden then they did about 40 - 50 years ago because they hire a bunch of accountants to hide their profits. It's disgusting. No wonder this country's currency is falling as the stock market is rising.

Umm... check again. There has been no commuter tax in NYC for at least eight years. The only people who pay taxes to the City of New York are the residents of the City of New York.

And the point is that you wouldn't be buying breakfast and lunch here (and thank you, many bring it) if it were not for the job you have that you could not get in White Plains or Parsippany or the Five Towns.

I don't know what you specifically do for a living, but many jobs (finance, publishing, the arts) are ONLY available in NYC.

If you are the person who was in favor of the congestions pricing, then #1 thank you, and #2 your argument is with your elected representative, who completely misrepresented your position.

These comments are great, I don't even know where to start.

You whiners sure like to go on about Smog and cars. Buch of sissies moving into this town.

Smog..yeah, ok pal.

-Ph

Awesome! Totally fucking awesome!

I love New York Politics. :D

-Ph

This should have been a no brainer. 540 million is a lot of cash. Take the money and sort out the details later. Too bad our best leaders are being stymied by a state senate so overridden with lobbyist controlled politicians that the best plans of those with the insight for change cannot succeed.

"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!"

The last I checked, I have taxes deducted from my paycheck that pays your police, firemen, and EMT. I think I am just as entitled to their services as you are.

Maybe you would like to charge tourists. They use these services without paying a tax.

I also spend my hard earned money buying breakfast, lunch and other various goods and services at Manhattan prices, which microscopically support your businesses and help pay their rents. They have to pay taxes too somehow, don't they?

I am only a miniscule part to a larger corporation that does business in Manhattan. This corporation plays a vital part in more significant taxes and revenues for your beloved island. The more business we do, the more taxes we pay. The more business we do, the more people we hire. So, this funny thing called the economic cycle continues.

So, check this, Czech. I may just be a suburbanite who schlepps into the city and walks 12 blocks. But who is the leech now?

Leave Uncle Eddie alone. Where's your sense of humor? He's just being sarcastic . . . I hope. ;P

SILVER: He's the Smog who choked New York.

(First he vetoed the Moynihan railroad station. Now, he's smothered congestion pricing -- and all the non-automotive transportation improvements it would pay for. He's cost New York the opportunity to cut air pollution -- and, as a by-product, to speed travel times.)

23- No science offhand to back this up but I would be quite sure that bars, restaurants, and shops located on pedestrian roads or in pedestrian-friendly areas fare significantly better than those located on a typical NYC stretch. For example, imagine one of the avenues in the 20's or 10's with little or no traffic and wide sidewalks that allow for bikes and outdoor lounging/dining areas. I don't see anything but benefits considering that the only traffic in that area should be commercial. I would be shocked if many people drive along 6th Avenue in the 10's or low 20's to get to work. I would imagine the vast majority of private vehicles there are just passing through to get somewhere else while a slight number of them are driving to visit various attractions. And those people can go f*** themselves.

Also, if Bloomberg is going to include green-ness and all that in his rhetoric he should get real and acknowledge that increasing pedestrianism (and thereby mass-transit) would be a great solution. Problem is, I don't think he cares about making the streets more friendly or being friendly to the many pedestrians of the city, he just wants to create another revenue stream to augment "mass transit."

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.

I am finding it fascinating that the suburban and now borough hating crowd are some of this sites most dependable liberals. I thought the most prominent plank of the Democratic Party was tax the rich and redistribute the money to society. Manhattan has the wealthiest people. Pay your taxes and shut the fuck up.

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.

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.

Ignore "Uncle Eddie." He's not serious, just trolling.

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.