Richard Brodsky is using this letter to rally opposition to congestion pricing.
To get a sense of the issues that congestion pricing advocates will have to address in the State Assembly, download this letter that Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky circulated to his fellow Democrats yesterday.
In it, Brodsky repeats the debunked claim that congestion pricing is a "regressive tax" on middle class New York City residents, he suggest improprieties in "the Mayor's tactics," and even manages to bring in Alfonse D'Amato, the ultimate New York State Democratic bogeyman.
Brodsky's letter also includes a prominent two-page attachment from Karen Pearl, the president of God's Love We Deliver, a non-profit organization that delivers cooked meals to about 3,000 seriously ill people throughout the metropolitan region. With a fleet of 16 vans and a headquarters in SoHo, Pearl estimates that the congestion charge could cost her organization between $30,000 and $80,000 a year.
Pearl asks Brodsky merely to argue for "appropriate adjustments and/or exemptions" for organizations like hers. But if you saw the Assemblyman's debate with Kathy Wylde on NY1 last night, then you know that Brodsky is trying to turn God's Love into something like the Willie Horton of the congestion pricing campaign, the symbol of all that is wrong with Mayor Bloomberg's proposal. The choice, as Brodsky presents it, is clear: It's Creepy Republican lobbyist Al D'Amato and his big business interests vs. God's Love We Deliver and the AIDS patients they feed. Whose side are you on?
The tactic might even be working. I chatted with a Deborah Glick staffer last night and God's Love We Deliver was one of the first points he hit in explaining why his boss, who represents one of the districts that stands to gain the most from pricing, is still "uncomfortable" with the plan.
