As New York’s “congestion pricing” inner-city tolling plan takes impact Sunday, certainly one of its main proponents is questioning whether or not the timing is true for a coverage meant to drive folks to an more and more harmful mass transit system.
By a spokesman, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo confirmed that he nonetheless backs the system that now tolls drivers $9 to cross under Central Park or enter Decrease Manhattan from Brooklyn and New Jersey – however questioned whether or not now’s greatest to implement it.
“Governor Cuomo believes congestion pricing is in the end the appropriate coverage, which is why he fought and succeeded in passing it after greater than a decade of failed makes an attempt,” longtime spokesman Wealthy Azzopardi advised Fox Information Digital on Friday.
Azzopardi stated that Cuomo’s unique plan, which discovered settlement from then-Mayor Invoice de Blasio, was based mostly on a “protected and dependable subway system” and a thriving metropolis core. Prior Mayor Michael Bloomberg had proposed the same plan in 2007, however it died in Albany.
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“[G]iven the apparent insecurity the general public at present has within the subway system – mixed with the tenuous state of New York Metropolis post-COVID, [Cuomo] known as for a data-driven research on the influence of congestion pricing to tell the timing of such a serious coverage change and to make sure New York was not creating extra obstacles to its comeback.”
Cuomo beforehand wrote in a March op-ed that congestion pricing’s success hinges on confidence within the MTA and mass transit, which he famous has additionally statistically nonetheless not recovered from COVID ranges.
He famous how congestion pricing is supposed to “incentivize” subway use – however that that’s onerous to do when persons are getting brutally attacked underground – and famous that it was his father, Gov. Mario Cuomo, who first beefed-up police presence after the “unhealthy outdated days.”
On the time of a previous column within the Submit, Cuomo cited a conductor with 24 years of service to the MTA vowing by no means to return underground after he was slashed within the neck and required 34 stitches whereas working an A practice in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.
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MTA Chairman Janno Lieber and Gov. Hochul (Getty)
Extra not too long ago, an Ocean County, N.J., lady was burned alive in Coney Island, and there have been a number of near-fatal instances of individuals being randomly shoved in entrance of trains, occurring from Morningside Heights to TriBeCa, since Christmas.
“It’s simple that New York is in a dramatically totally different place right this moment than it was in 2019, and with no research forecasting its penalties based mostly on information, not politics, it may do extra hurt than good to New York Metropolis’s restoration,” Cuomo’s spokesman stated Friday.
However Cuomo’s onetime deputy, Gov. Kathy Hochul, appeared full-steam-ahead in enacting the coverage, which is meant to drive commuters and residents to think about mass transit to move to work or play in Midtown.
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In a current assertion lauding her present plan, Hochul’s workplace stated the discount of the congestion toll from its unique $15 will save drivers $1,500 per yr, and that commuters will see “new and improved subway companies.”
“By getting congestion pricing underway and totally supporting the MTA capital plan, we’ll unclog our streets, scale back air pollution and ship higher public transit for thousands and thousands of New Yorkers,” Hochul stated.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber, who oversees the state-run metro subway, bus and rail community, stated that Hochul is “stepping up” for individuals who need cleaner air, safer streets and fewer gridlock.
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The FDR Drive on Manhattan’s East Facet; certainly one of few roadways exempt from tolling. (Getty)
He additionally famous that upgrades have already taken place on the 7 subway from Instances Sq. to Flushing, Queens, and the L practice from Union Sq. to Canarsie.
Nonetheless, Cuomo’s camp maintains that it was he who envisioned and oversaw the upgrades to New York’s transit community with out the added tolls in impact – and ripped Hochul and Lieber for claiming that he had gotten chilly toes.
When the New York Post asked Hochul for touch upon Cuomo suggesting she “hit the brakes” on congestion pricing, the governor directed remark to a Lieber spokesman, who blasted Cuomo for “flip-flopping.”
“What would actually hurt New York’s persevering with restoration is ravenous subways of a desperately wanted supply of funding after a long time of underinvestment,” the MTA’s Aaron Donovan stated.
“The $15 charge was handed by the MTA below Hochul’s watch, however please gaslight away,” Azzopardi advised Fox Information Digital. “New Yorkers aren’t silly.”
Cuomo beforehand advised WNYW that folks have the choice to do business from home, which they didn’t have when he first pushed the plan in 2019 – and that if he have been a commuter, he would seemingly balk on the thought of added prices at a time of “excessive crime and homelessness.”
Cuomo’s camp additionally stated that Hochul likes to take credit score for the achievements of his three-term administration that presaged the brand new tolls.
“The distinction right here is that Governor Cuomo constructed the [new Amtrak/MetroNorth] Moynihan Prepare Corridor and the Second Avenue Subway [extension to East Harlem], in addition to mounted the L practice and did the onerous work to get [Grand Central’s] East Facet Entry and the LIRR Third-Monitor completed. All Hochul wished to do was lower the ribbons,” Azzopardi stated.
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Cuomo’s requires a pause have been joined by a number of New York Republicans, but the previous governor and potential 2025 mayoral candidate stays supportive of congestion pricing, whereas the GOP desires it nixed completely.
Commuters from New Jersey should nonetheless pay Port Authority tolls to cross the Hudson River, and outer-borough commuters the identical through the East River – albeit with a slight credit score towards their “congestion” charge.
Drivers who stay on the FDR Drive or Joe DiMaggio West Facet Freeway won’t be charged except they flip onto floor streets.
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