Get out the way, Phil Murphy.
A minefield of lawsuits, lawyers courts and judges is between today and Jan. 5, when congestion pricing is supposed to start. But one of those landmines, the aforementioned New Jersey goverrnor, knows better and should get out of the way, according to an op-ed published on Saturday in the Newark Star-Ledger.
The piece from three New Jersey-based transit and environmental advocates called on Murphy to "take the win" and accept the many millions of dollars that New York has offered to settle the Garden State's lawsuit against the toll.
"If the governor doesn’t want to be remembered for a huge fare hike and rampant cancellations and delays, he must take the opportunity presented to him now and win more funds for New Jersey," said the op-ed — which won a tweet-of-approval from Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop, who's running in next year's crowded Democratic primary to be Murphy's successor.
Fulop likened Murphy's current posturing to former Gov. Chris Christie's famed decision to kill the proposed "Access to the Region's Core" tunnel under the Hudson River, which set the region's transit network back decades.
"Any reasonable person would know we will end here with a regional solution," Fulop tweeted. "Those who fought against congestion pricing bc polling said it was bad were fighting on behalf of the wealthiest ppl that could afford to drive their personal vehicles to work + pay $2000 per month to park in midtown."
"Don't screw this up, governor."
In other congestion pricing news:
- Lots of reporters are following the legal fight over congestion pricing. (FOX 5, PIX11, ABC7NY, CBS New York, NY1, Daily News, NJ Spotlight News)
- Read the latest anti-congestion pricing screeds from Daily News columnist Leonard Greene, who ignored millions of transit riders to dub the toll a "lump of coal for commuters," and the restaurant industry — which will almost certainly benefit from less traffic.
- And hear from anti-toll Putnam County Executive Kevin Byrne, who founded the "Taxpayer Action Network," but seems not to understand that those same taxpayers will wind up footing the MTA's bills if congestion pricing doesn't launch next month. (LoHud.com)
- Gov. Hochul stumbled through a defense of her congestion pricing theatrics in an interview with WABC-TV: "I worked hard to cut it [the $15 toll] within the confines of a law that I must follow." (Eyewitness News ABC7NY via YouTube)
In non-congestion pricing news:
- New NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch's highly publicized overhaul of the police department continued over the weekend after The Post reported graphic and disturbing allegations of rape and sexual harassment against Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey, who resigned on Friday before the story ran. Maddrey is an old pal of Mayor Adams's whom Hizzoner "promoted and protected." (NY Times, The City)
- Tisch also canned NYPD Chief of Internal Affairs Miguel Iglesias in response to the allegations and appointed her top cop at the Sanitation Department, Edward Thompson. (Gothamist)
- Related: Gothamist dug into the various bribery allegations against Mayor Adams and his City Hall, and what they say about how his team has governed.
- The Post teamed up with Bob Holden and one anonymous City Hall source to claim DOT Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez and Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi have gone "rogue" by opposing Holden's Intro 606 to require e-bike license plates. But Hizzoner has merely said he supports "the concept" of being able to identify the owners of "motorized vehicles" on city streets. And the high number of e-bike victims The Post keeps citing is primarily e-bike riders killed by drivers. And in more evidence of ineptness, the story ran with a photo of a moped, which the city already regulates and are not covered by Holden's bill anyway.
- Count on the Times to swoop in and "both sides" a story about the city finally doing something to get trash off its streets: "The apocalypse" for "those who feel stronger about landlords saving money... or drivers finding a place to park," in the Old Grey Lady's words. Unsurprisingly, the Times failed to draw a line between the chief complaint about the program (the lack of storage space for new waste bins) and the city's perennial reluctance to take space away from cars. Read Streetsblog's latest coverage here.
- A Huntington "Star Trek" fan is stuck in bureaucratic hell because of people using Star Trek-themed fake license plates to skirt traffic enforcement cameras (she had the real thing). (NY Times)
- Gothamist reminded city car drivers to be glad they don't live in Paris.
- The MTA is testing out dousing automated air freshener at two subway stations, to mixed reviews. (NY Post)
- Here's how the MTA and Port Authority have geared up for a busy week of holiday travel. (Gothamist)
- A driver was arrested after an LIRR train struck his car on the tracks in Central Islip, which The Post bizarrely described as an "accident."
- Slate's Henry Grabar credited Streetsfilms' own Clarence Eckerson for making Bogota "a world model of urban planning" in his deep dive into that city's massive open streets days.
- A hit-and-run driver struck a 74-year-old and dragged his body, killing him, on Long Island. (NY Post)
- Data from privately own vehicles is "critical" to making streets safer — and naturally raises privacy concerns. (NY Times)
- The City transit scribe Jose Martinez dug into the saga of one Bronx elevator project and why it's so damn hard to make the subway station accessible.
- A sleeping woman was set on fire and killed at 7:30 a.m. at Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station on Sunday in what NYPD labeled a "depraved" homicide. (Gothamist, NY Times)
- And, finally, we have to thank all our benefactors who contributed over the weekend to our annual donation drive, which continues for a few more days if you want to get "in" with us. Thanks, Kevin! Thanks, Wanfang! Thanks, Kinh! Thanks, Jesse! Thanks, Eliza! Thanks, Dietmar! Thanks, Ken! Thanks, Duc! Thanks, Chris (and thanks for the note)! Thanks, George! Thanks, Ephraim! Thanks, Eric! Thanks, Grant (times two!)! Want to join these kind people? Click below.
