Boca Raton's sunny mayor is throwing some shade over New York.
Mayor Scott Singer's message to locals upset about a new $9 congestion charge when pulling into Midtown Manhattan is to skip the fee and the city altogether and instead drive to the beach. Many people are moving to coastal South Florida cities.
“New York City commuters are paying new taxes just for the privilege of driving on congested roads,” Singer told X. link to Submit an article about the despised new toll plazas supported by Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“How many more reasons do you need to move your business to @CityBocaRaton, where taxes are low and the business climate is as bright as the weather!?” the mayor said.
Boca already has a large population of New York immigrants, with a population of 100,000 compared to the Big Apple's nearly 9 million.
Sunny Beach community leaders weren't the only ones using the nation's first congestion toll to tout their home towns and states as an alternative.
One proposal from New Hampshire Congressman Joe Sweeney has an impact on chilly New England
“Are you a New Yorker angry about congestion pricing?” Sweeney said, bringing up the supposed benefits of relocating the Granite State.
“100% New Hampshire income tax, capital gains tax, interest and dividend tax, sales tax, and congestion fee free.”
But Republicans also had additional demands regarding transplants to blue states.
“Leave your voting habits at the New York tollbooth,” he urged.
“People who move to New Hampshire from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and other high-tax states in search of freedom and prosperity vote primarily Republican.”
“We stand to benefit from being a beacon of freedom for the Northeast.”
Opponents of congestion pricing, meanwhile, have slammed new pressures on drivers, with some operators passing the burden on to customers in pay zones as “surcharges.”
Queens Borough Councilman Bob Holden said the $9 toll is another policy by liberal politicians to displace residents.
“Government's job is to make life easier for residents and businesses, not to displace residents and businesses,” Holden said.
Follow The Post's coverage of Manhattan's new congestion tolls
“Tyrant and [Gov. Kathy] If the lunatics in Hochul and Albany are pushing policies like congestion fraud taxes and crushing businesses with high taxes, it's no wonder cities like Boca Raton are offering better terms. . ”
Hochul and the MTA say the new tolls imposed on motorists entering Manhattan south of 60th Street will slow traffic, strengthen mass transit service, and use the revenue to ease unstable transit. It claims to be able to cover capital projects. The charges went into effect Sunday.
New York state's population has declined over the past five years, and the coronavirus pandemic has left residents hemorrhaging.
But thanks to a record influx of immigrants, the number increased by 130,000 last year.
Still, the long-term trend line doesn't bode well for New York.
New York state's population could decline by more than 2 million people by 2050, a decline of more than 13%, according to a Cornell University study released last fall.
If this trend continues, New York could lose two more seats and lose influence in Congress following the 2020 Census count.
The Cornell University report predicts that the population will decline significantly due to falling birth rates and population aging and death.
