A lifesaver or 'cash grab'? Speakers chime in on MTA congestion pricing

The first public hearing on the MTA's congestion-pricing plan, an effort to declog gridlocked Manhattan streets and raise revenue by charging up to $34.50 in daily tolls, drew speakers endorsing the plan as a lifesaver and others dismissing it as a wallet-draining "cash grab." 

The Thursday virtual hearing began at 5 p.m. and was the first of six over the next week on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Central Business District Tolling plan, all streaming on the MTA's website. It drew 391 registered speakers, and was expected to continue past midnight.

The hearings aim to gather feedback on the recently released environmental assessment for the pricing plan, which, if approved by federal regulators, could take effect by late 2023. Under the proposal, motorists would be charged new tolls for driving inside Manhattan’s “Central Business District,” which is below 60th Street.

Although the amount of the tolls have not been determined, project officials have said drivers using E-ZPass could pay as little as $5 for driving in the toll zone during overnight hours and as much as $9 for driving between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. On the high end, the E-ZPass tolls could be as much as $12 overnights, and $23 during peak hours, according to the report.

For non-E-ZPass customers, the tolls could be as high as $34.50 during peak hours, according to the environmental assessment.

Speaker after speaker took to the virtual podium Thursday night. Some, like Bob Friedrich, who lives in Glen Oaks, said many senior citizens in his eastern Queens community rely on vehicles to get to and from medical appointments in Manhattan. He said the proposals would deliver them a “financial crush.”

“Have you lost sight that we are in very tough economic times and just coming out of a pandemic?” Friedrich asked the panel of MTA and other transportation officials who presided over the hearing. “Our seniors could be your grandparents, and we should not be punishing them or making their trips to a doctor more difficult than it already is.”

MTA officials are counting on the new tolls to generate $1 billion in annual revenue that would be used to fund infrastructure improvements throughout the transit system, including on the LIRR.

Although there were few Long Island representatives at Thursday's hearing, the first speaker, state Sen. Anna Kaplan (D-North Hills) offered her conditional support for the congestion-pricing plan, which, she noted, by law would commit 10% of toll revenues toward the Long Island Rail Road.
Kaplan said the funds will "allow for transformative investment to take place for our local infrastructure, like the purchase of desperately needed new train cars."

Many New York City residents railed against the proposal, including some who live inside the Manhattan toll zone.

“For you guys to tell me that there’s going to be $23 every day that I need to take my car out of my driveway is outrageous,” said Colette Vogel, who lives in Midtown and relies on her car to bring her children to and from after-school activities. 

But other New York City residents supported the plan, including Forest Hills resident Pedro Rodriguez, who said the new tolls are needed “now more than ever,” including to reduce traffic accidents.

“Reducing the number of cars on our streets will not only save countless lives, but it will also help fund the lifeline of our city, which is the MTA and our transit system,” Rodriguez said. “Without it, workers won’t be able to go to work. Children won’t be able to go to school. Elderly New Yorkers won’t be able to go to their doctors’ appointments.”

Manhattan resident Evan Ferrer similarly said he’s “lost friends to traffic violence,” and “desperately” supports congestion pricing.

“Let me tell you plain and clear. There are too many cars on New York City streets,” Ferrer said. “Congestion pricing is not just another toll, and certainly not a tax on the poor. It’s a means by which we will fund the future of our infrastructure.”

How much motorists will pay will depend on how many are required to pay at all. Various exemptions are being considered, including for buses, taxi drivers and other for-hire vehicles. 

MTA chairman Janno Lieber, in an interview Sunday with WABC-TV/7, said the plan also would bring about several other benefits by discouraging driving in Manhattan.

“Gridlock is bad for New York and New Yorkers. It's also bad for the region because the Central Business District has to function to help fire the economy. We need to fix it. This is one way to start doing it," Lieber said.

By Alfonso A. Castillo

alfonso.castillo@newsday.com@alfonsoreports

Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.