MTA chief says $15 congestion pricing is coming to NYC no matter what

Metro

By Desheania Andrews and Kate Sheehy

MTA chief Janno Lieber stated Friday that prefer it or not, congestion pricing is going on — as about 100 New York Metropolis firefighters and scores of different foes showed up at a public hearing in Manhattan to protest it.

Whereas the listening to was the transit company’s second in two days to supposedly hearken to the general public over the proposed back-breaking new $15 Midtown toll, Lieber instructed reporters throughout a break that any attempts to halt the plan are DOA at this level.

“That is ceaselessly represented like I went on a consuming binge and got here up with this concept in funding the MTA,’’ the company’s chairman and CEO griped of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s hotly controversial plan targeting drivers traveling south of sixtieth Road in Manhattan.

“It’s time for all of you within the press to make it clear: That is state regulation, and we’re simply making an attempt to implement it in an efficient means,’’ he stated.

“This isn’t about whether or not we’re doing congestion pricing or not. It’s about [whether] the proposed toll construction makes sense and how much to adjust it.”

Lieber famous that supporters of the plan had been turning out for the public-comment periods, too — and that the dialogue will assist tweak its nice print.

However the truth that congestion pricing is going on it doesn’t matter what was information to some members from either side of the problem.

“They should make it clear what’s going on right here — I positive didn’t realize it was a achieved deal,’’ stated a taxi driver who solely gave his first title, Carlos, and attended the listening to.

“I’m right here to say I don’t need this in any respect … just because it’s unsuitable and inconvenient to the working class,’’ he stated.

Leslie Stevens, who was on the listening to to advocate for congestion pricing with the nonprofit 350 NYC, stated, “It’s good to know it’s happening.

“Most of us don’t know that,” she stated.

Roselyn Gomez, a instructor at a personal elementary faculty, added, “Let me let you know one thing about Lieber — [he] solely holds these hearings as a result of he has to.

“I’m glad he’s lastly admitting that the choice has been made,” she added, “however then it ought to be made clear to the audio system what the listening to is about. Why waste our time and yours?”

Opponents argue that the crippling new toll will nail an already struggling working class, significantly these within the outer boroughs and higher metro space the place mass transit is missing, forcing them to drive into the town for all the things from work to life-saving most cancers remedies.

They word that the MTA loses hundreds of thousands of {dollars} a 12 months to such points as fare evaders and waste, cash that may very well be obtainable for enhancements if the company simply did a greater job.

However advocates declare the brand new toll, which could be rolled out as soon as mid-June, will present simple cash for much-needed enhancements whereas additionally slicing down on visitors, thus easing air pollution and even emergency-response instances and visitors accidents.

John Gerald, who does building and makes use of his private car to drive to work from Astoria, Queens, to hold his instruments, instructed The Put up outdoors the MTA constructing Friday, “I hate that the working class doesn’t have a say.

“Who does this profit? … The one those who endure from that is the those who already can’t afford their payments. And that’s me,” he stated.

“I don’t understand how for much longer I can reside in New York.’’

A babysitter who solely gave her first title, Risa, stated, “I used to take the practice to work on a regular basis, however with the random assaults which can be taking place within the subway, my husband was not snug with me taking the practice.

“I could be pressured to take the trains once more. And I do know that’s what the town desires, for individuals to take the trains. However at what price? Our security?” stated the Forest Hill, Queens resident.

Dozens of members of the town’s Uniformed Firefighter Affiliation gathered outdoors the constructing to protest the toll, too, saying it could create excessive bodily hardships for them — and a probably lethal state of affairs for Large Apple subway riders.

“So what we’re right here to clarify is that New York Metropolis firefighters, frequently, will begin out in a single firehouse for the day and be instructed to go to a different firehouse — they’ve received to pack up their gear bag and go from contained in the zone or forwards and backwards,’’ stated union President Andrew Ansbro.

“It’s an extended standing follow that the FDNY permits us to make use of our vehicles to do that. So by taking away the power of us to make use of our vehicles or forcing us to pay a price, you’re gonna have the members of this division take that bag with roughly 60 to 70 kilos of substances, private toiletries, in case they need to decon after fireplace — take that pipe from the firehouse all the way down to the native practice or bus cease,’’ he stated.

“Does anybody right here thinks it is smart to place a firefighter by a forty five minutes to an hour and a half CrossFit session earlier than you anticipate them to come back and save your life?’’

The union official added, “That bag is contaminated with a complete host of byproducts of fireplace — arsenic, formaldehyde, PCBs, all kinds of kinds.

“So do you suppose it makes any sense for New York Metropolis firefighters to be pressured to take the bus or the subway?”