A Statement from Borough President Vito Fossella on the Indefinite Postponement of MTA’s Congestion Pricing Scheme
Editor’s note: BP Fossella and political allies have lawsuits pending that will make this change permanent. In support of the lawsuit, as well as potential legislation, the Borough President released a study on how congestion pricing would increase, rather than decrease, pollution, pushing it to other boroughs such as Staten Island. Similarly, it will disproportionately affect low income neighborhoods, particularly those on Staten Island.
Finally, the MTA’s own study on congestion pricing shows that traffic will get worse here if implemented, and when traffic increases, so does ambulance response time. When someone is in a life threatening situation, those extra moments can be critical.
It appears that congestion pricing is on hold, for now.
From day one, we have said that congestion pricing is a three-strike loser for Staten Island and for everyone who drives into Manhattan.
Plain and simple, this is just another toll for the people of Staten Island to get into Manhattan. To make matters worse, air quality will get worse, and traffic will get worse on Staten Island.
That is why we joined forces with the UFT and other elected officials, to file a lawsuit in Federal court to prevent congestion pricing from happening.
The bottom line is that congestion pricing doesn’t work, especially for the people of Staten Island.
It is a momentary breath of relief that congestion pricing has been put on hold. However, we have to remain vigilant and vocal to continue to sound the alarm on the negative effects of congestion pricing.
We will continue to pursue our case in the courts, and we will continue to be advocates in opposition to congestion pricing wherever necessary.
Ideally, there is still a
legislative fix, and we could bury congestion pricing once and for all. We are hopeful that legislators who are on the fence or support congestion pricing will reconsider and stop it from happening.
There is an old expression, “trust but verify”.
For now, we shall trust the decision, but we will see that it is verified before and after the election.
Banner Image: Traffic. Image Credit – Musa Haef
About The Author
The Office of the Borough President has a responsibility to advocate for the entire Borough of Staten Island and all its residents, and represents the Borough's interests within City government.
The Borough President communicates directly with the Mayor and the City Council to emphasize Staten Island’s budget priorities.
In addition, the Borough President is responsible for reviewing major land use decisions and proposing sites for city facilities within the Borough.
As the chair of the Borough Board, the Borough President leads Staten Island’s City Council delegation and Community Board chairs in the process of reviewing and approving the transfer of public properties to private use. The Borough President’s Office houses the Borough's Topographical Bureau, which maintains the borough’s official maps and assigns street addresses.
The Borough President monitors the delivery of city services on Staten Island, and acts as a liaison between residents and city agencies when problems arise to devise solutions. The Borough President is also responsible for appointing one member to the Panel for Educational Policy and one member to the City Planning Commission, as well as some 150 members to Staten Island’s three community boards.
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