FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 7, 2008
CONTACT: JASON KOPPEL (718) 743-8610
DEATH OF CONGESTION PRICING PLAN A VICTORY FOR NEW YORKERS,
SEN. KRUGER SAYS
The death of congestion pricing in New York City marks a victory
for New Yorkers both philosophically and economically, Sen. Carl Kruger
(D-Brooklyn) said today.
An opponent of the plan from the outset, Sen. Kruger praised the
Assembly for “realizing that the devil was in the details” and putting
the idea of congestion pricing in New York City “where it belongs — in
its grave.”
Sen. Kruger, the Chair of the Social Services, Children and Families
Committee, said the plan to charge cars $8 to travel in Manhattan below
60th Street “penalized outer-borough residents, especially senior
citizens, families with young children and those with limited access to
buses and subways.”
“This is neither a senior-friendly, family-friendly nor
business-friendly proposal,” said Sen. Kruger.
He also called the controversial plan “a disaster waiting to happen”
because of its reliance on the MTA’s fragile infrastructure.
“The city is persisting with its usual modus operandi of planning in
a vacuum – this time with the dangerous assumption that congestion
pricing will encourage people to abandon cars in favor of subways and
buses,” he said.
“With the mass transit system ill-equipped to handle thousands of
extra riders, the result will be like packing 10 pounds of chopped meat
into a five-pound bag,” Sen. Kruger said.
Ultimately, however, what signaled the death knell for congestion
pricing was that the idea was “philosophically repugnant” to many New
Yorkers, Sen. Kruger said.
“Charging an entry fee to go into Manhattan is both unwelcoming
and undemocratic,” said Sen. Kruger.
“It is anti-New York,” he said.