The drumbeat is growing steadily louder against the ludicrous, draconian congestion pricing tax.
The powerful Municipal Labor Committee, representing nearly 400,000 municipal workers in New York City, has backed a federal lawsuit filed by Borough President Vito Fossella and the United Federation of Teachers that looks to stop congestion pricing.
The New York Post reported that unions think the $15 congestion pricing tax, to be charged for entering Manhattan below 60th Street, is “crazy.”
They’ve got that right.
They make the point that these workers are not coming to the city every once in a while for dinner, but are mandated to come every day for work.
Why should any of us be charged a hefty fee for the pleasure of driving to our place of work? It’s how every motoring commuter feels about congestion pricing.
Things are coming to a head with the congestion program possibly starting as soon as mid-June. A court case filed in New Jersey also looks to stop congestion pricing.
Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday looked to put some distance between himself and the congestion tax, the Post reported.
Adams told an Albany budget hearing that he wished the city had more power and authority over the program “as these are our streets” that are being tolled.
One of Adams’ big asks has been for city employees to be exempt from the tax.
It’s something that’s been in the back of my mind ever since it became clear that congestion pricing was definitely coming our way: how would city government officials, staffers and municipal workers feel about paying the tax?
I’m talking about the people with the parking placards and the specialized plates, including lawmakers, agency bigwigs and their staffers. The folks who already have driving and parking privileges that the rest of us don’t share.
And how would cops, firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers and the rest of the municipal workforce feel about the tax? You think they’re going to be happy about paying $15 for the pleasure of driving to work?
Nope. That’s why their unions are fighting it.
Drivers who take a tunnel on the way into the city will get a $5 break on the congestion toll. But even with that discount, the tax is a bitter pill to swallow.
And you know that the congestion fee is going to go up someday, just like transit tolls and fares go up and up on a regular basis. Its boundaries could easily be expanded as well.
So it’s great that there are lawsuits that look to stop congestion pricing, the money from which is going to be used to improve the city subway system.
But certain classes of motorists, including government and municipal workers, can’t get breaks that the rest of us don’t.
Salaries may differ between municipal workers and those in the private sector, but we’re all equal in that nobody is going to be happy about paying that fee.
And how are Staten Islanders supposed to feel good about congestion pricing when we don’t even have a subway here, and when the MTA itself said that the congestion program is likely to increase traffic on our already overcrowded roads?
It’s more money for nothing as far as we’re concerned. But if ordinary Joes and Janes have to pay it, then everybody should have to pay it.
And, sorry, that includes every municipal worker, including, and especially, those who work in in the mayor’s office, the City Council and city agencies, including the lawmakers who backed this program in the first place.
Getting rid of congestion pricing would be the fairest thing of all. But with cameras already being installed to dun drivers, that doesn’t seem likely.
But if I have to pay, then so does everybody else.
Eliminate congestion pricing or make sure that everybody pays (opinion)
7
0
07.02.2024
The drumbeat is growing steadily louder against the ludicrous, draconian congestion pricing tax.
The powerful Municipal Labor Committee, representing nearly 400,000 municipal workers in New York City, has backed a federal lawsuit filed by Borough President Vito Fossella and the United Federation of Teachers that looks to stop congestion pricing.
The New York Post reported that unions think the $15 congestion pricing tax, to be charged for entering Manhattan below 60th Street, is “crazy.”
They’ve got that right.
They make the point that these workers are not coming to the city every once in a while for dinner, but are mandated to come every day for work.
Why should any of us be charged a hefty fee for the pleasure of driving to our place of work? It’s how every motoring commuter feels about congestion pricing.
Things are coming to a head with the congestion program possibly starting as........
© The Staten Island Advance
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Andrew Mitrovica
Mort Laitner
Rami G Khouri
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
