Though this may seem like a recent phenomenon in NYC, namely taxing people twice to use their own streets, it is hardly the case. After some research, it appears that the Federal government and New York City had been, internally, grappling with the issue of whether or not to pursue any sort of implementation plan for a congestion tax system.
Most evident of this fact is the existence of New York City Council Intro 78 from 1990 and Intro 51 from 1992, proposed amendments to the charter that would effectively ban any kind of congestion tax for good.Former City Council Member Walter McCaffrey, most recently of the Keep NYC Congestion Tax Free Committee, was one of the sponsors. I’d be curious to know why it never got the traction it needed to pass, though it goes to show you how, if enough people paid attention 20 years ago, we would never be at this point now.
Here’s the text of the Intro, and I would strongly consider it prudent for a few City Council Members to consider reintroducing such an amendment and actually passing it:
Int. No. 51
By Council Members Berman, McCaffrey and Eisland; also Council Members DeMarco and Robinson.
A LOCAL LAW
To amend the charter and administrative code of the City of New York, in relation to prohibiting the imposition of a fee, known as “congestion pricing,” for the purposes of entering the central business district of Manhattan by motor vehicle.
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section one. Subdivision a of section 2903 of chapter seventy-one of the charter of the city of New York is hereby amended by the addition of a new paragraph (18), to follow paragraph (17), to read as follows:
(18) notwithstanding the foregoing, the commissioner shall be prohibited from promulgating a regulation imposing a fee, tax, toll or charge of any kind, whether or not such regulations is classified as a “congestion pricing” program, for the purposes of discouraging motor vehicle access to the central business district of the county of New York.
§2. This local law shall take effect immediately.