Blas eases into traffic-tax lane
Mayor de Blasio made a U-turn with his position on congestion pricing — voicing support Friday for the plan to impose fees on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
“This plan certainly shows improvement over previous plans we’ve seen over the years, and that’s a good thing,” said de Blasio, who has dismissed prior congestion-pricing proposals as a “regressive tax” on outer-borough and low-income residents.
“It does not achieve, in my view, some of the things we need the most, which is a guaranteed, reliable form of funding for the MTA,” he told WNYC.
The proposal released Friday by Gov. Cuomo’s FixNYC panel, calls for an $11.52 fee, once per day, for cars driving into Manhattan south of 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Trucks would have to pay $25.34 once a day for driving into the zone, while taxis and for-hire vehicles would be charged between $2 and $5 each time they enter and for every trip they take within the zone.
The proposal also offers the option of charging vehicles 24 hours a day at varying rates. For instance, vehicles driving into the zone between 9 a.m. and 11 p.m. on weekdays would pay $8.50, and those entering between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. would pay $5.50.
During peak hours between 6 and 9 a.m., drivers would be charged $11.50, the panel proposed.
Revenue from the scheme would be put in a “lock box” for the MTA, with funds going toward New York City’s beleaguered subway system, the panel said.
In a carefully worded statement, Cuomo thanked the panel but didn’t outright endorse its proposal.
“It is my priority that we keep costs down for hardworking New Yorkers, and encourage use of mass transit,” he said. “We must also find a way to reduce the costs for outer-borough bridges in any plan ultimately passed.”
State legislators would have to approve any congestion pricing plan.
A spokesperson for state Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan (R-LI) said the Republican conference is “always wary of imposing additional cost burdens on hardworking taxpayers and doing anything that makes it less affordable to live and work in New York.”