How Many New Yorkers Actually Commute to the CBD by Auto?
If you are planning to write a letter urging your local City Council Member to support Mayor Bloomberg’s congestion pricing proposal, the chart below will be useful to you. Based on 2000 census data, it shows the percentage of New York City workers who commute to work by car into Manhattan south of 60th Street (also known as the region’s Central Business District or CBD).
The rate of car commuting into the CBD is, to me, at least, surprisingly low. Queens City Council Member David Weprin insists that congestion pricing will be harmful and unfair to his district. Yet, only 7.40% of the 65,000+ workers who live in his district commute by automobile into the CBD. So, even in the furthest reaches of Eastern Queens, only a small percentage of workers are driving into the CBD for work. On average, only 4.60% of New York City workers commute into the CBD by automobile. And who represents the Council District with the lowest rate of auto commuting? That would be Council Speaker Christine Quinn at 2.00%.
| Council district | Borough | Member | Pct of workers who commute to CBD by auto |
| 51 | Staten Island | Andrew J. Lanza | 9.00% |
| 19 | Queens | Tony Avella | 8.80% |
| 50 | Staten Island | James S. Oddo | 8.00% |
| 30 | Queens | Dennis P. Gallagher | 7.50% |
| 23 | Queens | David I. Weprin | 7.40% |
| 49 | Staten Island | Michael E. McMahon | 7.30% |
| 46 | Brooklyn | Lewis A. Fidler | 6.60% |
| 24 | Queens | James F. Gennaro | 6.40% |
| 32 | Queens | Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. | 6.20% |
| 18 | Bronx | Annabel Palma | 5.60% |
| 27 | Queens | Leroy G. Comrie, Jr. | 5.60% |
| 20 | Queens | John C. Liu | 5.60% |
| 13 | Bronx | James Vacca | 5.50% |
| 11 | Bronx | G. Oliver Koppell | 5.20% |
| 43 | Brooklyn | Vincent J. Gentile | 5.10% |
| 28 | Queens | Thomas White, Jr. | 5.10% |
| 31 | Queens | James Sanders, Jr. | 5.10% |
| 12 | Bronx | Larry B. Seabrook | 5.10% |
| 44 | Brooklyn | Simcha Felder | 4.80% |
| 5 | Manhattan | Jessica S. Lappin | 4.70% |
| 22 | Queens | Peter F. Vallone, Jr. | 4.60% |
| 29 | Queens | Melinda R. Katz | 4.50% |
| 25 | Queens | Helen Sears | 4.50% |
| 47 | Brooklyn | Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. | 4.40% |
| 48 | Brooklyn | Michael C. Nelson | 4.30% |
| 45 | Brooklyn | Kendall Stewart | 4.20% |
| 4 | Manhattan | Daniel R. Garodnick | 4.10% |
| 7 | Manhattan | Robert Jackson | 4.10% |
| 26 | Queens | Eric N. Gioia | 3.90% |
| 42 | Brooklyn | Charles Barron | 3.90% |
| 16 | Bronx | Helen D. Foster | 3.70% |
| 39 | Brooklyn | Bill de Blasio | 3.70% |
| 21 | Queens | Hiram Monserrate | 3.60% |
| 10 | Manhattan | Miguel Martinez | 3.50% |
| 38 | Brooklyn | Sara M. Gonzalez | 3.40% |
| 1 | Manhattan | Alan J. Gerson | 3.40% |
| 8 | Manhattan | Melissa Mark Viverito | 3.30% |
| 9 | Manhattan | Inez E. Dickens | 3.30% |
| 35 | Brooklyn | Letitia James | 3.20% |
| 2 | Manhattan | Rosie Mendez | 3.10% |
| 15 | Bronx | Joel Rivera | 2.80% |
| 33 | Brooklyn | David Yassky | 2.60% |
| 34 | Brooklyn | Diana Reyna | 2.50% |
| 41 | Brooklyn | Darlene Mealy | 2.50% |
| 40 | Brooklyn | Yvette D. Clarke | 2.40% |
| 6 | Manhattan | Gale A. Brewer | 2.40% |
| 14 | Bronx | Maria Baez | 2.40% |
| 36 | Brooklyn | Albert Vann | 2.40% |
| 17 | Bronx | Maria del Carmen Arroyo | 2.30% |
| 37 | Brooklyn | Erik Martin Dilan | 2.20% |
| 3 | Manhattan | Christine C. Quinn | 2.00% |
Download a more detailed spreadsheet
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