“Congestion pricing is just one of many tools that will help tame some of the city street chaos a generation of car-centric planning left us with. And one of the primary benefactors of congestion pricing will be automobile drivers themselves.”
“Police, Sanitation, and other government workers have long called Staten Island home, thanks to its affordability when compared to the other boroughs, great schools, and safer neighborhoods. Yet that affordability is now being threatened by a pricing program to fund a system that consistently underinvests in our great borough.”
This summer, utility companies must submit plans detailing how they’ll implement a series of solutions to make electricity rates more affordable for electric vehicles. But their plan has fallen short of giving the MTA the preferential rate it says it needs to able to foot the bill, as it seeks to transition its 5,800-bus fleet off fossil fuels.
“If New York’s city and state leaders truly prioritize a society where social equity as well as environmental sustainability are fundamental values, discussion of subway and bus fare increases would not be on the table. And if the overarching goal is to bring riders back to the nation’s greatest public transit system, why disincentivize them with higher fares?”
“In its current form, the state’s congestion pricing plan falls short of meaningfully addressing impacts on New York’s disabled community—a community the MTA has neglected for decades.”
“Instead of continuing to overburden already disadvantaged communities, we can bring freight rail through Gateway to a new distribution hub at Moynihan/Penn Station, which is already equipped with loading bays from its previous use as a postal facility.”
“For-hire driving in New York City has historically provided good-paying work and a path to the middle class for a vast minority immigrant worker base. Over the last decade, that work has slowly been chipped away despite the need for rides remaining high.”
“With years of work, riders pried congestion pricing from a recalcitrant Albany. We intend to see the program fully and fairly rolled out next year. When congestion pricing is implemented, drivers will pay their equitable share to access the most heavily trafficked and transit adjacent neighborhoods in the United States.”
‘Mayor Adams can make New York City a global leader in the fight against climate change and transition to a green economy. His administration must advance environmental priorities that will make our city more sustainable, resilient, and equitable for future generations.’
The de Blasio administration has made strides toward reducing carbon emissions. But cuts to organics recycling, delays to establishing commercial waste zones, even the slowdown in closing Rikers could hamstring New York’s ability to make the fast, deep reductions that the climate emergency requires.
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