NEW YORK—A coalition of state and city government officials and community leaders, including New York State Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat and New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, held a news conference in Washington Heights on Sunday to announce their unified opposition to proposed tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges.
A commission chaired by Richard Ravitch, which is considering ways to address a $1.2-billion operating budget deficit facing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) proposed the tolls. Implementation of $5 tolls would result in approximately $800 million in annual revenue, whereas $2 tolls would generate $450 million in yearly revenue. According to the MTA, subway and bus fare hikes and service cuts may be unavoidable without a significant increase in funding
In response to the coalition’s concerns that tolls along the East and Harlem River bridges would unfairly increase financial burdens for lower-income residents, Comptroller Thompson has proposed an alternative plan which would add a weight-based registration fee on private and commercial vehicles and generate over $1 billion in annual revenue for the MTA.
According to his proposal, an additional registration fee of $100 would be imposed for vehicles weighing 2,300 pounds or under, such as a Toyota Yaris. For vehicles weighing over 2300 pounds, an extra $.09 would be added for every pound over 2300. Accordingly, a Lincoln Navigator with a curb weight of 5963 pounds would incur a registration increase of $430.
Thompson’s plan takes into account that residents who own cars, on average, have higher incomes. The proposal is expected to have less impact on New Yorkers with lower incomes. Proponents of Thompson’s plan hope that it will promote energy independence and alleviate parking shortages around the city’s neighborhoods.
“Harlem and East River tolls would burden many hard-working people who live in boroughs other than Manhattan and would drastically hurt small businesses, many of which already are struggling in this economy,” said Thompson.
“Further, the bridge tolls include massive start-up and administrative costs and would drain an estimated $400 million from the $1 billion collected to construct and administer a toll collection system,” he noted.
“Placing tolls on the Harlem and East River bridges will impose a heavy burden on a relatively small portion of the population who already has fewer choices,” stated Assembly Member Espaillat.
“How can the MTA propose tolling the East River bridges while at the same time cutting outer-borough transportation services? This is counter-intuitive in my opinion, especially in light of the City’s effort to encourage more people to ride trains and buses,” he continued.
“The last thing we need to do right now is impose a thousand-dollar-a-year tax on working New Yorkers driving into Manhattan, especially when the MTA is offering no new mass transit options so these commuters could actually use the system they’re being taxed to fund,” added Rory I. Lancman, a member of the coalition.
A commission chaired by Richard Ravitch, which is considering ways to address a $1.2-billion operating budget deficit facing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) proposed the tolls. Implementation of $5 tolls would result in approximately $800 million in annual revenue, whereas $2 tolls would generate $450 million in yearly revenue. According to the MTA, subway and bus fare hikes and service cuts may be unavoidable without a significant increase in funding
In response to the coalition’s concerns that tolls along the East and Harlem River bridges would unfairly increase financial burdens for lower-income residents, Comptroller Thompson has proposed an alternative plan which would add a weight-based registration fee on private and commercial vehicles and generate over $1 billion in annual revenue for the MTA.
According to his proposal, an additional registration fee of $100 would be imposed for vehicles weighing 2,300 pounds or under, such as a Toyota Yaris. For vehicles weighing over 2300 pounds, an extra $.09 would be added for every pound over 2300. Accordingly, a Lincoln Navigator with a curb weight of 5963 pounds would incur a registration increase of $430.
Thompson’s plan takes into account that residents who own cars, on average, have higher incomes. The proposal is expected to have less impact on New Yorkers with lower incomes. Proponents of Thompson’s plan hope that it will promote energy independence and alleviate parking shortages around the city’s neighborhoods.
“Harlem and East River tolls would burden many hard-working people who live in boroughs other than Manhattan and would drastically hurt small businesses, many of which already are struggling in this economy,” said Thompson.
“Further, the bridge tolls include massive start-up and administrative costs and would drain an estimated $400 million from the $1 billion collected to construct and administer a toll collection system,” he noted.
“Placing tolls on the Harlem and East River bridges will impose a heavy burden on a relatively small portion of the population who already has fewer choices,” stated Assembly Member Espaillat.
“How can the MTA propose tolling the East River bridges while at the same time cutting outer-borough transportation services? This is counter-intuitive in my opinion, especially in light of the City’s effort to encourage more people to ride trains and buses,” he continued.
“The last thing we need to do right now is impose a thousand-dollar-a-year tax on working New Yorkers driving into Manhattan, especially when the MTA is offering no new mass transit options so these commuters could actually use the system they’re being taxed to fund,” added Rory I. Lancman, a member of the coalition.
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