Legislator Wants New Jersey Rep on Pricing Panel

The leader of the New Jersey Senate called on New York yesterday to find a seat on its 17-member congestion pricing commission for a representative from New Jersey.

Senate President Richard J. Codey said 250,000 New Jersey commuters a day would be affected if New York approves congestion pricing.

"This is a collective failure on the part of New York's leadership to recognize New Jersey's important role in this decision-making process," he said. "The stakes involved in this process are far too important to be governed by purely parochial political considerations."

Codey yesterday called on New York officials to reconsider the appointments.

"If you're thinking about the regional impact of this, New Jersey should have some say," said Jeffrey Zuppan, senior fellow for transportation at the Regional Plan Association, an independent group. "But the reality is officials in New York are probably not going to think about changing this intricately constructed compromise."