Congestion Pricing

Liz Benjamin has the latest scoop on congestion pricing legislation in Albany: The third version of a bill dealing with congestion mitigation in the city was introduced yesterday in both houses of the state Legislature. The Assembly and Senate are scheduled to return to Albany Thursday to take up this new bill – and nothing … Continued

Here, at last, is a draft copy of the New York State Senate congestion pricing "compromise" bill. The bill does not yet have a number and was never brought to a vote. It has been circulating since July 19.

For a sense of the challenge that lays ahead for congestion pricing supporters, take a look at the mailer that Brooklyn Democratic State Senator Velmanette Montgomery sent to all of her constituents last week. Montgomery has a smart, engaged staff when it comes to transportation policy and she has often been helpful when it comes to Livable Streets issues.

Contrary to some of the more pessimistic analyses that appeared after last week's congestion pricing deal (like ours, theirs and this one too), Crain's Erik Engquist writes that "details of the deal make approval of Manhattan driving fees a near certainty next year." The article is for subscribers only on the Crain's web site:

Nobody knows whether the convoluted and difficult congestion pricing "deal" reached by political leaders yesterday will actually result in anything. The deal is complex even by Albany standards. A few things, however, are clear:

Yesterday, New York State's Four Men in a Room agreed to a process that may or may not result in congestion pricing for New York City. Even by Albany standards, Bloomberg, Spitzer, Silver and Bruno's deal is incredibly complex. The deal, which is supposed to be formalized by a vote in the state legislature shortly, lays out very specific deadlines that must be achieved before New York City is granted the power to collect congestion charges. The first step in even beginning to understand the implications of yesterday's deal is to understand the timeline that it set forth.

Below is a summary of the congestion pricing deal struck this afternoon by Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Leader Bruno.

Press release from Campaign for New York's Future: 

According to NY1, Governor Spitzer just announced "that the state has given the city the green light to proceed with the plan, but he stressed that no agreement has been reached on tolls." NY1 reports, "The agreement creates a commission of representatives from the mayor's office and the governor's office, City Council members, and State Senate and Assembly members to review plans for implementation."