Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Congestion Pricing

Assembly Member Dick Gottfried Supports “the Concept” of Congestion Pricing

Assembly Member Richard Gottfried. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Thomas Altfather Good

Assembly Member Richard Gottfried believes in congestion pricing, in theory. The question now, as it was ten years ago, is how hard he'll work to enact a policy that would benefit his constituents enormously.

With Governor Cuomo expected to propose a congestion pricing plan based on the recommendations of his Fix NYC panel, Streetsblog is contacting representatives in the State Senate and Assembly to get their take.

Gottfried, a 47-year incumbent, represents Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, and parts of Midtown and the Upper West Side -- some of the most traffic-choked neighborhoods in the city. About 80 percent of households don't own a car, and among those who do car commute, the median income is $102,981, according to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign.

In a statement, Gottfried called congestion pricing "an important step to a healthier and more livable city" that "can help speed traffic flow, reduce air and noise pollution, and provide a reliable funding stream for New York’s public transportation."

He also qualified that support:

I support the concept, while many details still need to be worked out. These include ensuring that the revenue it generates is dedicated to increased funding for mass transit in New York City, resolving various special situations, and avoiding 'congestion parking.'

It's similar to Gottfried's position a decade ago, when he went on the record supporting congestion pricing but was mostly invisible while suburban representatives like Westchester's Richard Brodsky were battering the plan in the press on a daily basis.

Exactly which special situations Gottfried wants to resolve isn't clear. But he represents an area with excellent transit access, where owning a car is a luxury few people spring for.

As for "congestion parking" -- the idea that people will drive up the edge of the toll cordon and park -- it's mostly a red herring. The overwhelming majority of car commuters to the Manhattan CBD have a viable transit route between home and work, and for people who stop driving into the zone, those transit options will make more sense than driving part of the trip, searching for parking, and then waiting to catch a train.

If park-and-ride behavior is still a concern, the city developed a whole residential parking permit plan in 2008 to address the same worries, and it can be dusted off today.

Meanwhile, residents of Gottfried's district go about their lives on streets with some of the New York region's worst traffic, walking along avenues still designed like highways to accommodate all those cars and trucks.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Thursday’s Headlines: Tisch Comes Clean Edition

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch finally commented on her department's crackdown on cyclists. Plus more news.

May 15, 2025

Tisch Rap: NYPD Criminal E-bike Summonses Surge 4,000 Percent

The NYPD wrote twice as many criminal court summonses to e-bike riders in two weeks than it wrote all of last year — an astronomical increase that is a remnant of a repudiated racially biased police practice.

May 15, 2025

Quiet Desperation: NYPD’s Tisch Didn’t Tell DOT About Her Crackdown on Cycling

The NYPD commissioner did not inform her counterpart at the Department of Transportation that police would begin issuing criminal summonses to cyclists.

May 15, 2025

Not the Same Ol’ MTA: Cost of Upgrading Subway Signals is Cut in Half

A new design-build strategy, plus removing old signals fully, is credited for cutting costs in half. Take that, Sean Duffy.

May 15, 2025

Lander, Labor Activists Slam Cuomo After ‘Goliath’ DoorDash Gives $1M

The donation from the the app company is seen as a way of influencing a possible future mayor to side with the tech giant.

May 14, 2025
See all posts