The news broke so late on Friday that you might have missed it, but Streetsblog was first out of the gate with the exciting announcement that the federal government had basically approved congestion pricing, paving the way for one last 30-day public comment period before implementation can begin.
It's now looking like the tolls will go live before summer 2024.
The Daily News, amNY, The Post, Politco and Crain's followed (so did the Times ... with a doozy of a correction at the bottom). The Daily News added a pro-congestion pricing editorial.
The news means it's all over but the shouting ... from New Jersey lawmakers who claim that congestion pricing is an unfair tax on Garden State residents. That's preposterous, given the tax that Garden State residents have been burdening New Yorkers with for nearly 100 years. Doug Gordon had the perfect bon mots:
And Assembly Member Robert Carroll of Brooklyn prepped the "no exemptions" argument:
Time to get Congestion Pricing done with no exemptions. The only way to reduce congestion, pollution and make our streets safer is for everyone to pay every time they enter the congestion zone. @StreetsblogNYC @RidersAlliance @MTA @StreetsPAC https://t.co/UQAGCzBDf4
— Assemblymember Robert Carroll (@Bobby4Brooklyn) May 5, 2023
In other news:
- The anger over the non-arrest of the ex-Marine who killed unarmed Jordan Neely on a subway last week boiled over into protests ... on the subway tracks themselves (NYDN, NY Post, amNY, Gothamist). Meanwhile, the Daily News fanned those "city is divided" flames with a story that suggested the chokehold-using former soldier is a hero. And Bernie Goetz proved once again that he's a jerk, mocking Neely for no reason other than the Post likely egged him on.
- Errol Louis had a good piece on the larger issues raised by the Neely killing in NY Mag, while the Times did what the Times does. Hell Gate's overview piece was solid.
- Never let it be said that the Adams administration didn't do the least it could do on helping homeless people with mental illness — the Department of Health last week said it would award $200,000 to three social-service providers working with that population. (NY Post)
- Car carnage on a dangerous stretch of roadway near the Belt Parkway (NYDN), but only amNY bothered to run the plate on the car to find that the driver had gotten 11 camera-issued speeding tickets and four red-light tickets since late 2017. Why are Streetsblog, amNY and Hell Gate the only outlets that consistently make use of the important crime-solving tool of How's My Driving?
- The Post used its beloved denigration — "woke — to describe Council Transportation Committee Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers for proposing legislation that would require subway cops to carry leaflets detailing how to apply for Fair Fares. What's so bad about that?
- Sunset Park vendors are regrouping after the Parks Department completely overreacted back on Easter. (The City)
- A cop was injured by a hit-and-run driver uptown. (NYDN)
- Finally, we spotted this story on Reddit and reached out to the NYPD, but didn't get any info. Maybe today?
A car flipped onto the Hudson River Greenway today.by u/knoland in NYCbike
