Boys, get a (chat) room.
Streetsblog columnist and congestion pricing supporter Charles Komanoff and transit workers union boss (and toll supporter-turned-opponent) John Samuelsen waged a war of words on Twitter late last night over Komanoff's recent column decrying Samuelsen's "head-scratching" abandonment of the central business district toll plan.
It all started when the notoriously anti-congestion pricing account of Liza Smith replied to our tweet about Komanoff's story with poll numbers that accurately showed that congestion pricing is not popular with voters. Now, get some popcorn and watch the show:
Round 1: Samuelsen pounced, claiming outer-borough residents were betrayed by the MTA's failure to massively increase service in advance of congestion pricing, but Komanoff was ready:
Your way of holding @MTA accountable is punishing (i) workers across NYS who will lose jobs rebuilding transit infra (ii) subway riders who won't get better service & (iii) bus riders who will stay stuck in car traffic. PS, it was Cuomo not Janno who siphoned the outer-boro $$.
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 3, 2024
In round two, Samuelsen started his attack on the MTA for not adding more service in advance of congestion pricing, but Komanoff put the onus on the unions:
Where were the *union* campaigns to educate workers re CP's benefits to them & all NYC? Why didn't *you* help Hochul endure the "valley of political death" before CP's benefits could win over doubters? Yes, I recognize TWU's power which is why I tried repeatedly to meet w/ you.
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 3, 2024
In round three, Samuelsen continued to claim that he withdrew his support from congestion pricing because he felt betrayed that the MTA did not massively increase service as, he claimed, it promised. Again, Komanoff was ready with a retort:
Yep, "could" & "should." The plan wasn't perfect. I too can drum up 1001 ways it could & should have been better and fairer. But imperfect CP is infinitely preferable to no CP, as @JumaaneWilliams reminded us on June 5. Do you really not see that? pic.twitter.com/F6ojYTNnvv
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 3, 2024
In round four, Samuelsen continued to peddle what Komanoff considers inferior goods:
Actually, no. The plan was $15b to improve transit *infra* like CBTC/signals to *enable* better service, which was always going to take time. Surely you knew that. Blaming RE developers is stale dogma that won't wash your epic political failure. You helped sink CP. Own it.
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 4, 2024
Round five: No, Samuelsen isn't owning it. In fact, he's still going strong in this heavyweight battle. But so is Komanoff:
There were 2 stages. Cuomo not Janno quashed Stage 1, service imprvmnts from the FHV surchrgs. Stage 2, $15b in capital imprvmnts, wd be bonded by $1b/yr from tolls and could only happen after CP started & even then would take years. You know this. Hochul's fail followed yours.
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 4, 2024
And that's when the bell sounded (at least for now). Our judges' cards have Komanoff the winner in a unanimous decision with no knockdowns, but plenty of aggressive counter-punching. Samuelsen is still standing and, we imagine, ready to fight another day.
Rematch anyone?
UPDATE: These two couldn't keep their gloves off each other! After initial publication of these threads, Samuelsen came storming across the ring for another blow, which, Komanoff, again, counter-punched:
JFC, John, you write as if Hochul is the only person suffering from her atrociously bad decision. Millions are being harmed through no fault of theirs. Your miscalculation was smaller than hers, but you helped lead her to the cliff she jumped from.
— Charles Komanoff (@Komanoff) October 5, 2024
