Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Andrew Hevesi

Assemblyman Hevesi Slams Pricing as Transit “Money Grab”

At a Queens Community Board 5 meeting earlier this month, Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi made what may be the first hevesi.jpgattack against congestion pricing based on one of its primary selling points.

The Times Ledger reports:

At the meeting, state Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) slammed Mayor Michael Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan, which would charge $8 to passenger vehicles and $21 to trucks entering Manhattan below 60th Street.

"This is a money grab to pay for mass transit," he said. "This is not about the environment."

Hear that, Queens subway and bus commuters? Your assemblyman opposes a program that would fund transit because it would fund transit.

In January Hevesi and his colleague Rory Lancman showed up at a Congestion Mitigation Commission hearing just long enough to knock pricing and demand improvements to public transportation, to quote one attendee, "without explaining where the money would come from or why as state legislators they haven't allocated more money to the MTA themselves."

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Giving Tuesday: Donate and Get Your ‘Official’ Streetsblog Parking Placard Here!

This year, your donation comes with the ultimate city perk: a completely official-looking, yet completely fake, Streetsblog parking placard! Donate today!

December 2, 2025

Report: DOT is Undercounting The E-Bike Boom

A new study from an MIT grad student shows that e-bikes are the most popular vehicle for those using New York City's bike lanes.

December 2, 2025

Acid Test: Will Doing Ayahuasca Finally Get Drug Agents to Stop Parking in the Bike Lane?

Watch as I consume a psychedelic drug known for revelatory visions (and, trigger warning, inducing vomiting) in hopes of getting federal drug agents out of the 10th Avenue bike lane.

December 2, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Ask the Question: Oonee Pod or Oonee Robbed?

A city-based bike parking firm didn't get the contract. Plus other news.

December 2, 2025

Adams Administration Picks Vendor for Bike Lockers After Years-Long Wait

Mayor Adams claims last-minute credit, but the work starts for Mayor-elect Mamdani.

December 1, 2025

Agenda 2026: Will Zohran Mamdani’s Left-Progressive Backers Mobilize for Faster Buses?

The new mayor must mobilize the coalition that got him elected if he wants to avoid his recent predecessors' failure to speed up buses.

December 1, 2025
See all posts