Nine Bklyn Councilmembers Vote Against Congest Fee
Yesterday the City Council voted in favor of congestion pricing “by an unusually slim margin,” according to the Times. Nay votes from many Brooklyn and Queens Councilmembers contributed to that 30-20 outcome, per a pdf sent out by the Queens Civic Congress (reprinted on the jump). Seven Brooklyn councilmembers—Simcha Felder, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James,…
Yesterday the City Council voted in favor of congestion pricing “by an unusually slim margin,” according to the Times. Nay votes from many Brooklyn and Queens Councilmembers contributed to that 30-20 outcome, per a pdf sent out by the Queens Civic Congress (reprinted on the jump). Seven Brooklyn councilmembers—Simcha Felder, Sara M. Gonzalez, Letitia James, Domenic M. Recchia, Kendall Stewart, Albert Vann, and David Yassky—voted for the plan. On the other hand nine Brooklyn councilmembers voted against congestion pricing: Diana Reyna, Charles Barron, Bill de Blasio, Erik Martin Dilan, Mathieu Eugene, Lewis A. Fidler, Vincent J. Gentile, Darlene Mealy, and Michael C. Nelson. The Brooklyn no-ways were second only to the number from Queens; our Long Island neighbor had 10 councilmembers voting against the proposal, which now heads to Albany for approval.
City Council Approves Fee to Drive Below 60th [NY Times]
Congestion Pricing Passes Council, Brooklyn Vote 9-7 Against [Gowanus Lounge]
Photo by wka.
Who voted for the Congestion Tax (30)
Y – Eric N. Gioia, 26, Queens, Democrat
Y – John C. Liu, 20, Queens, Democrat
Y – Hiram Monserrate, 21, Queens, Democrat
Y – James Sanders, Jr., 31, Queens, Democrat
Y – Thomas White, Jr. 28, Queens, Democrat
Y – Maria del Carmen Arroyo, 17, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Maria Baez, 14, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Gale A. Brewer, 6, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Inez E. Dickens, 9, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Simcha Felder, 44, Brooklyn, Democrat
Y – Daniel R. Garodnick, 4, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Alan J. Gerson, 1, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Sara M. Gonzalez, 38, Brooklyn, Democrat
Y – Robert Jackson, 7, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Letitia James, 35, Brooklyn, Working Families
Y – G. Oliver Koppell, 11, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Jessica S. Lappin, 5 Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Melissa Mark-Viverito, 8, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Miguel Martinez, 10, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Michael E. McMahon, 49 Staten Island, Democrat
Y – Rosie Mendez, 2, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Annabel Palma, 18, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Christine C. Quinn, 3, Manhattan, Democrat
Y – Domenic M. Recchia, Jr., 47, Brooklyn, Democrat
Y – Joel Rivera, 15, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Larry B. Seabrook, 12, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Kendall Stewart, 45, Brooklyn, Democrat
Y – James Vacca, 13, Bronx, Democrat
Y – Albert Vann, 36, Brooklyn, Democrat
Y – David Yassky 33, Brooklyn, Democrat
ABSENT
Helen D. Foster, 16, Bronx, Democrat
Who voted AGAINST the Congestion Tax
N – Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr., 32, Queens, Democrat
N – Tony Avella, 19, Queens, Democrat
N – Leroy G. Comrie, Jr., 27, Queens, Democrat
N – Dennis P. Gallagher, 30, Queens, Republican
N – James F. Gennaro, 24, Queens, Democrat
N – Melinda R. Katz, 29, Queens, Democrat
N – Diana Reyna, 34, Brooklyn/Queens, Democrat
N – Helen Sears, 25, Queens, Democrat
N – Peter F. Vallone Jr., 22, Queens, Democrat
N – David I. Weprin, 23, Queens, Democrat
N – Charles Barron, 42, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Bill de Blasio, 39, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Erik Martin Dilan, 37, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Mathieu Eugene, 40, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Lewis A. Fidler, 46, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Vincent J. Gentile, 43, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Vincent Ignizio, 51, Staten Island, Republican
N – Darlene Mealy, 41, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – Michael C. Nelson, 48, Brooklyn, Democrat
N – James S. Oddo, 50, Staten Island, Republican
mr renter who thinks you pay lls enough to get a parking permit: like i said, save your money and buy a house then you get a parking permit. otherwise, take the bus. in addition, you ll pays taxes on your rent!
I am 5:39.
I do not drive.
I take a bus and two trains for an over an hour commute, which would be about 20mins in a car.
Still, I don’t even want a car, and I am against congestion pricing.
Because I see further than 5:49
5:49 and 4:34 just aren’t very smart people.
Spoken like a true congesting driver 5:39.
It puts a smile on my face to think about all of you self absorbed single occupancy drivers grumbling and nearly irate each time you cross into Manhattan or get the $160 bill from the MTA every month.
Get on the subway or train like the rest of us, this is NYC not Arkansas.
As for the lexus driving bodega owner. If he raises prices to offset his commuting costs, he will be driven out of buisness by the more responsible bodega owners that take mass transit, or perhaps those that live AND work in NYC.
If you want the luxury of driving in a congested city – You will just have to pay more for it now. I know that rubs alot of people the wrong way, but life will go on. And due to you selfishly driving in every day, at least I will see some mass transit improvements and some people will choose to stay off the road. Its win, win, win, except for those people that are too stubborn to set foot on a train.
@4:34…
It IS a tax on the working class. Here’s how:
Hypothetically, I am a successful bodega owner who drives my Lexus from Westchester to Manhattan daily.
Now with congestion pricing, I have to pay $160s a month to do this?
Do I stop driving my Lexus into Manhattan? Oh, hell no! I just started looking more elite!
Do I eat that 160$? Oh, hell no! Remember, I am a _successful_ businessman. I earn that 160bucks by raising the price of eggs, milk, and beer.
Thus this is a tax on the working man.
If it were about congestion, we’d be reducing car lanes. We would be exempting motorcycles and scooters like London does.
If this were about encouraging bicycle use, we’d be building seperate bike lanes.
If this were about fixing our public transportation problems, we’d be launching an investigation into where the 5 billion surplus that the MTA had went.
But this is a revenue generator.
Bloomberg could have supported a tax (which was proposed) on people who make more than a million bucks a year, but he didn’t.
He chose this, a tax on the working man.
Not absurd. Some people can see just a few steps ahead of you.
I can’t begin to tell you how sick and tired I am of people claiming that congestion pricing is “a tax on the working class.” How many people do you know who make 30, 40, 50, 60,000 and actually drive into Manhattan for work? Who are these mythical middle and lower income people who can afford a car, insurance, NYC rent, AND $30-50 a day to park in Manhattan below 60th street? WHO ARE THEY? I’d love to meet the person who earns 40 grand a year, lives in Brooklyn and drives into Manhattan at 8 in the morning.
absurd.
To those complaining that truck service will be hurt by congestion pricing:
Time is also a huge cost. If a truck driver can drive around Manhattanin 20% less time, that’s huge. A five hour route (assuming the truck is making multiple stops here) becomes a four hour route. You don’t think this will cover the cost of the congestion fee?
Yes, drivers do make more than subway riders. I can’t remember the numbers, but I think it’s about a third more. It would be even greater, but a lot of city employees drive because their parking placards gives them free parking. The bottom line: poor people aren’t driving to work in Manhattan.
This is a great, wonderful, fabulous, revolutionary piece of legislation. Thank you Tish James for doing the right thing.
To hell with congestion pricing.
1:57, I’m pretty certain that as a renter I pay dear LL’s RE taxes and am equally entitled to park in the neighborhood where I live.