Congest toll’s an EMS emergency

Union erupts at daily commute fee

The city’s lifesavers — paramedics and EMTs — are in panic mode over a controversial plan that will force them to pay a $15 congestion toll just to drive to their jobs in Manhattan.

An emergency worker union president warns that the congestion pricing plan, set to take effect as soon as May, will make hiring EMS workers in the city more difficult and ultimately increase response times in some of the Big Apple’s busiest neighborhoods.

More than 400 ambulance workers are assigned to three FDNY Emergency Service stations south of 60th Street in the congestion pricing district, said Oren Barzilay, president of the Local 2507 union representing paramedics, emergency medical technicians and fire inspectors.

Because of low pay and high housing costs in and around New York City, many EMS employees commute from their homes throughout lower-cost exurbs of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Long Island and the northern New York suburbs — instead of taking less convenient mass transit, he said.

Hard-hit sector already

The unions representing EMS workers are among the few that haven’t secured a new labor contract with Mayor Adams’ administration, with EMTs and paramedics already some of the lowestpaid members of the city’s uniformed forces.

Currently, salaries for EMTs range from $39,386 to $59,534 after five years, while the salaries for medics start at $53,891 and max out at $75,872 after five years.

Now they would have to pay about $4,000 extra per year to drive to their jobs in the new Manhattan toll district, Barzilay said.

“It’s an insult — a slap in the face,” he fumed.

“I have members who live 100 miles away in places where housing and cost of living is cheaper. They can’t afford to live in the city,” Barzilay continued.

“Our EMS workers are the city’s lifesavers. They put their hands on people to save their lives. We bring the emergency room to New Yorkers’ homes. We bring people back from the dead every day,” he said, adding that city taxpayers will end up suffering most.

“A $15 toll is going to cause a hiring problem of EMS workers for the city. I don’t think response times are going to be good in these neighborhoods in the congestion pricing zone,” Barzilay said.

“People are having to pay to go to work. They’re supposed to get paid to go to work.”

Three FDNY EMS ambulance stations are located in the congestion zone: at Bellevue Hospital, on the Lower East Side and in Chelsea. They are among the busiest stations in the city, covering the Times Square business district and the downtown Financial District.

Adams has said there should be some congestion-fare exemptions for people with medical appointments and city vehicles.

The toll program introduced by a state-commissioned task force last month recommended that the MTA charge drivers $15 once per day if they drive into Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours.

Transit officials said they’ve held the line on granting exemptions because waiving the fee for one group will trigger a lobbying blitz from others wanting a break.

A $15 toll is going to cause a hiring problem of EMS workers for the city. — Oren Barzilay, president of the Local 2507 union