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Democratic lawmakers risk defeat in November’s election now that Gov. Kathy Hochul has backed down from implementing congestion pricing, said Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
“This compromising is why we continue to lose,” Reynoso said Wednesday morning at a Crain’s Power Breakfast with all five borough presidents on stage. The event took place a few hours before Hochul said she would suspend congestion pricing indefinitely because of the high cost of living. “I think, politically, it’s a big mistake,” Reynoso said.
Capitulating on issues such as congestion pricing at this late hour could discourage progressives from voting across the city, Reynoso said, and cost Brooklyn Rep. Hakeem Jeffries a shot as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Reynoso reminded the audience at the New York Athletic Club that the governor’s plan to replace congestion pricing’s anticipated $1 billion in annual revenue with new taxes on business wouldn’t be popular, either.
“Then you guys will join me in my fight” to deliver congestion pricing, he told the audience, “so that you don’t get taxed.”
All of the borough presidents support congestion pricing except for Staten Island’s Vito Fossella; his office has sued to block the program. Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said after hearing complaints from residents and drivers that she wasn’t surprised that Hochul would back down.
“Privately I was wondering if that was going to happen,” she said. “Maybe if there is a delay we can use that time to figure out a balance so that New Yorkers don’t feel the brunt of a financial burden but rather see the positives that congestion pricing can bring.”
Manhattan’s Mark Levine said he worried a six-month delay would morph into six years and then go on indefinite pause. “We do need to get it done,” he said. Donovan Richards of Queens added, “I am a supporter of congestion pricing,” while Fossella said going back to the drawing board is “the right thing to do.”
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Aaron Elstein , 2024-06-05 19:24:25
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