Congestion Pricing

Queens residents crash Friday's anti-pricing rally

On Saturday night, the congestion pricing bill in the State Senate was amended to include exemptions for low-income drivers and cars with handicapped plates. As expected, the changes also stipulated a way to make New Jersey drivers pay "their fair share." In the amended bill, the Port Authority is required to contribute $1 billion to the MTA capital plan, or else drivers who use the Authority's Hudson River crossings will get a smaller pricing fee offset.

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In this five-minute speech, delivered at the Stonewall Democratic Club in Manhattan and captured by The Politicker, Council Member Lew Fidler draws on the 2005 mayoral campaign of Freddy Ferrer to rehash the old saw that congestion pricing would create a city of "haves" and "have-nots."

This morning, the Mayor's office praised the introduction of a congestion pricing bill in the State Assembly. At the end of the statement, Bloomberg drops a hint that the bill on the table is in for some fine-tuning:

Adding an $8 congestion fee to already steep parking rates will speed trips for vehicles that really need to get to the hospital.

The anti-pricing side is pulling out all the stops, robo-calling New Yorkers and urging them to call City Council members. For good reason: With a congestion pricing vote expected in the council on Monday, today is the last day for constituents to speak up. Don't let pricing foes get the last word. If your council member is opposed to pricing or on the fence -- or even if you're not sure -- tell them where you stand.

A Streetsblog reader on the Upper West Side of Manhattan tells us that he just received an anti-congestion pricing robo-call on his home phone. No word on whose voice was being used, who is funding it, or what districts are being called. This much we know: 

Last month Barack Obama released details of a vaguely encouraging transportation platform, pledging investment in rail and "livable communities." Today the Democratic presidential candidate endorsed congestion pricing.