The push for congestion pricing has failed to garner public support because savvy New Yorkers know it’s just a money-grabbing con — and not about reducing traffic jams, Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella says.
“Congestion pricing is just bad policy — it’ a money grab,” said the pol, whose borough is the city’s most car-reliant, making drivers there heavily impacted by tolls, on Sunday.
“There’s a mentality unfortunately in this city and state by a handful of folks — they just don’t want people driving cars,” Fossella said in an interview on 770 WABC “The Cats Roundtable” radio program.
“Over the last 15 years, every decision made is, ‘How do we make driving as miserable as possible?’ They add bike lanes. They take away [traffic] lanes. They put in more traffic lights, even though they may not be warranted,” he said.
For good measure, restaurant sheds have also contributed to traffic, the beep said.
“I know they serve a purpose, but sometimes they’re right in the middle of the street. All these things add up to say: ‘How come we have all this congestion?’ A lot of it is government-imposed,” the pol said.
“Congestion pricing is one of those examples where a small minority of people want to impose their views on a good majority … We just have to stand up and fight,” Fossella said.
A firestorm of opposition led Gov. Kathy Hochul to put the brakes on a planned first-in-the-nation $15 “congestion” toll to enter Manhattan’s Midtown business district south of 60th Street.
Fossella, a former Republican congressman, joined the United Federation of Teachers in filing a federal lawsuit in January to block the new toll from being implemented.
He expressed concern about a Post report last week that Hochul is reconsidering implementing congestion pricing — although at a lower toll rate and with exemptions for many city workers — early next year after the November elections.
Hochul, during a subsequent interview with Politico, did not dispute that a lower toll is on the table.
“There are rumors that [the toll] may resurrect its ugly head after the election. We hope that’s not the case,” Fossella told radio host John Catsimatidis.
“We hope they realize that it’s just going to hurt people. … Probably more than 60% of New Yorkers don’t support it,” the pol said. “We’re hopeful that it stays dead. But we are still prepared to sue and go forward and do whatever we can to stop congestion pricing.”
Staten Island has a city ferry that goes to and from Manhattan and some express bus routes but no direct subway line connecting to the other boroughs.
The borough’s only rail line — Staten Island Rapid Transit — does not connect to all neighborhoods.
Fossella said he doesn’t want his constituents to leave the borough because they are socked with multiple tolls.
They already have to pay a toll to enter Brooklyn through the MTA’s Verrazano Bridge and tolls to enter New Jersey at its Port Authority crossings.
But Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber has said the money generated by the proposed new toll is needed to finance the transit behemoth’s capital needs to upgrade and expand transit access and keep infrastructure in good repair. Most people in the Big Apple still get around by train or bus, he said.
The MTA board is scheduled to adopt the agency’s 2025-2029 capital plan on Sept. 25. Sources have said the plan could come with a $50 billion price tag.
Hochul has pledged to find the funds to pay for the $15 billion in projects outstanding from the current MTA’s capital program to make up for the loss in the $1 billion that would have been leveraged from the aborted congestion-toll revenues.
Meanwhile, the debate over the toll rages on. Two lawsuits were filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court last month claiming Hochul did not have the authority to stymie a state law approved by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic-run legislature enacting congestion pricing in 2019.
