An unusually broad coalition of powerful figures who often disagree have joined forces to urge Gov. Kathy Hawkle to repeal Midtown’s controversial $15 congestion charge.
Key players detailed key moments that fueled the growing opposition, while New Jersey Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer said The Washington Post’s misguided campaign against the plan played a crucial role in keeping the issue “front and center.”
One turning point came when an influential left-leaning teachers union teamed up with Staten Island’s Republican borough president, Vito Fossella, to file a federal lawsuit seeking a reduction in the congestion charge.
Labor unions representing all city government employees, including paramedics and other emergency personnel who drive to their Manhattan jobs, also rallied in opposition.
“I got a call. [United Federation of Teachers President] Mike Mulgrew asked me, “Are you serious about pursuing this case?” Fossella recalled. “I said, ‘Yes,’ because sometimes you have to work with people you don’t necessarily agree with in the public interest.”
“I applaud Mulgrew and the UFT for standing up. The $15 toll should have come out of the pockets of teachers, firefighters and paramedics.”
To keep the issue in the spotlight, Gottheimer, a Democrat considered the leading candidate to become New Jersey’s next governor, held a bipartisan press conference with Republican New York Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Michael Lawler, who represent northern New Jersey communities adjacent to the George Washington Bridge.
Brigitte Stelzer
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (Democrat) has filed his own lawsuit against congestion pricing, pitting Murphy against two governors of the same party on both sides of the Hudson River.
“People are ecstatic. We won,” Gottheimer said.
“Public pressure worked. It was a broad coalition from left to right. All of those factors made a difference,” the New Jersey congressman said, adding that “the New York Post did a great job of bringing this issue to the forefront.”
Susan Watts/Office of Governor Kathy Hockle
Christopher Sadowski
Rep. Lawler, who represents Rockland County and other areas north of the city, said the massive opposition forced Hoeckle to make a decision five months before an election that will determine which party controls the House.
“Public opinion was growing against congestion pricing. The public was starting to see what was going on,” Lawler said, adding that The Post’s coverage of the issue was “invaluable.”
“Hawkle was hesitant,” the spokesperson said, because the MTA had already spent about $500 million preparing for the new tolls.
Opposition also stepped up with other citizen activists and small business owners who formed a group called New Yorkers Against the Congestion Charge, including Queens Civic Council member Corey Bearak, Chinatown business advocate Susan Lee, and former Lower East Side city council member and retired judge Katherine Freed.
“We had the right objective. We need a vibrant economy. The damage caused by congestion will increase the cost of goods and services for everyone,” Bearak said.
He also said traffic congestion and air pollution should have been diverted from Manhattan to other parts of the city to avoid the Midtown tolls.
AP
“The congestion charge was not an environmental issue, it was a revenue issue,” Bearak said.
Governor Hokel and the Legislature last week failed to offer alternatives for funding the MTA’s capital plan, which was expected to benefit from $1 billion a year from congestion pricing.
Bearak said the state, city and federal governments should make public transportation a higher priority, allocate additional money in the MTA’s budget for capital planning and help the agencies that oversee the New York City Transit Authority, the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North implement better cost control.
