Congestion Pricing Vote Unlikely by Session’s End

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The New York Sun

ALBANY — Assembly members said yesterday that the body has ruled out voting on Mayor Bloomberg’s “congestion pricing” plan before the legislative session ends on Thursday.

“It’s not happening,” a senior Democratic Assemblyman, who asked not to be identified, said.

Opposition in the Assembly to the mayor’s proposal to charge motorists a fee for driving into much of Manhattan means that the earliest the plan could get approval from the state is in mid-July, when lawmakers are expected to return to Albany for an extra session. Mr. Bloomberg has warned that the city would risk losing $500 million in expected federal funding to help pay for congestion pricing if the Legislature doesn’t approve the plan by the end of July.

While Senate Republicans, who are counting on additional political contributions from Mr. Bloomberg, have expressed support for congestion pricing, Assembly Democrats say they are skeptical about the program’s fairness and how it would be implemented.

At an Assembly conference meeting held Monday night, the sentiment was overwhelmingly opposed to congestion pricing, lawmakers said. People who spoke at the meeting said they were concerned that the toll would hurt mostly middle-class residents, would cause heavier congestion outside the charge zone, and that many people who would face a charge lack mass transit alternatives.

Under the mayor’s congestion pricing plan, a major component of his long-term environmental agenda, drivers of cars would be charged $8 for driving into or out of Manhattan south of 86th Street — with the exception of FDR Drive, the West Side Highway, and West Street — on weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. People driving within the zone would be charged $4.


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