Several Orange County residents asked for more trains and more reliable services on the Metro-North Port Jervis line at a public forum in Cornwall on Feb. 17.
The forum was convened by Congressman Patrick Ryan (D-N.Y.) in the face of the nation’s first congestion toll set in Manhattan, which, if it takes effect as planned in spring, will charge an average passenger car commuter $15 per day for driving south of 60th Street.
Enacted by a 2019 state law, the toll aims to ease congestion in one of the busiest parts of the country while raising money for long-term public transit projects in the city.
MTA chief of staff Laura Wiles was present at the forum to listen to the public comments.
James McCarthy, a longtime Orange County resident and a lieutenant at the New York City Fire Department, noted his erratic schedule as a fireman and how the current train services failed to accommodate that.
“If I don’t get the 6:50 p.m. train, there is not a train for another hour, and then there is a two-hour span,” he said, noting that he must transfer to another train in New Jersey to get into Manhattan, which makes the commute even more difficult.
“If I am going to be forced to do public transportation, that adds the amount of time for me to commute back and forth—that is less time for my family and less time in my community.”
Daniel Ortega, a representative of a regional operating engineers union covering New Jersey and five counties in New York, suggested that the MTA improve its cooperation with New Jersey Transit, which manages the Port Jervis line through a contract, and start rethinking infrastructure projects such as the Bergen Loop.
The Bergen Loop is a major part of a massive infrastructure proposal to bring to several New Jersey lines, as well as the Port Jervis line, the desired one-seat ride into New York City.
Mr. Ryan said at the forum that the MTA should consider exemptions for public service workers commuting to the city as well as infrastructure improvements on the Port Jervis line, including one-seat service in Orange County and more train services in Dutchess County.
“It is an important issue for our community for the Hudson Valley, and I think it is something that unites us as a community,” Mr. Ryan said, noting a bipartisan official presence at the forum.
Village of Cornwall-on-Huson Mayor James Gagliano, Town of Cornwall Supervisor Josh Wojehowski, Monroe Councilwoman Dorey Houle, New York Assemblyman Christopher Eachus, and Mike Anagnostakis, senior adviser to state Sen. James Skoufis, joined the forum in opposition to the toll.
MTA Responds
MTA spokesperson Aaron Donovan said in a statement to The Epoch Times that there were sufficient train services on the Port Jervis line, given six or seven trains separated by a span of less than 30 minutes during morning or afternoon rush hours, a service level similar to several regions on the east side of the Hudson River.He said that the MTA remained committed to continued infrastructure improvements on all lines.
“The legislature passed the congestion pricing law four years ago to reduce gridlock, improve public health, and support mass transit,” Mr. Donovan said. “Since then, there have been thousands of pages of analysis and dozens of public meetings.
“We welcome Representative Ryan to the conversation.”
Passenger cars are to be charged $15 for entering the central business district between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekdays or between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on weekends; most vehicles enjoy night discounts.
The toll jumps to between $24 and $36 for trucks and buses; motorcycles are charged $7.50.
The TMRB had received several thousand requests for credits, discounts, and exemptions and applied the rule of “many over the few” in its considerations, according to the final report by the agency.
Crossing credits are granted for vehicles entering through four tunnels, certain discounts are available for qualified low-income drivers, and exemptions are granted for government vehicles for purposes such as pothole repairs, garbage pick-ups, and snow plowing.
As for the congestion toll revenue, projected to be $1 billion every year, 80 percent of the remaining proceeds after the deduction of administrative expenses are planned to be put toward New York City public transit, with the rest equally split between Long Island and Metro-North railroads.
How to Submit a Public Comment
The MTA scheduled four public hearings on three days—Feb. 29, March 1, and March 4—at 2 Broadway in New York City and will be livestreamed on the agency’s YouTube channel.The MTA is expected to vote on a final rate schedule after public hearings.
Besides attending public hearings, the public can also express their opinions on congestion toll rates until March 11 through an online form, email, mail, phone, or fax.
Online: contact.MTA.info/s/forms/CBDTP
Mail: CBD Tolling Program, 2 Broadway, 23rd Floor, New York, NY 10004
Phone: 646-252-7440
Fax: send to (212) 504-3148 marked “Attention to CBDTP Team.”
