As congestion pricing moves forward for New York City, Staten Island’s Borough President Vito Fossella said in July he will fight the Metropolitan Transportation Agency’s (MTA’s) plan to charge drivers as much as $23 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street. Fossella’s announcement came on the heels of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s plan to sue the Federal Highway Administration (FHA).
Fossella said he supports Murphy’s lawsuit but will be filing its own: “We don’t even have a subway system. So here we are, a car-dependent community that has been left out of every major decision the MTA laid out over the last 50-plus years. And now we are forced to pay an additional toll… [like] tourists in [our] own city.”
“The problem is New Jersey’s not at that table,” Murphy said. “With all due respect to the MTA, a lot of our commuters are going to be the ones they’re looking to solve their financial crisis, which is unacceptable.”
The installation of congestion pricing scanners began in Manhattan in July, the same month the Traffic Mobility Review Board met for the first time on the proposed toll. After the feds gave the plan the green light, MTA officials said congestion pricing could go into effect as early as April 2024.
Source: NBC New York
