i don't think 8 bucks (or whatever the latest "MSRP" is) will put much of a dent in most drivers' habits. i say bankrupt the f*****s or drive them underground (god willing the MTA will evolve!!!). i actually think placing massive tolls on ALL bridges and entry points into the city (not just manhattan) would do the trick better.

I can only conclude that people are irrational. Which means we should not waste time tweaking the system. Only intense pain and irresistable incentives will change behaviour.

Assemblyman Glick -- what can you suggest that would alter these girls' choices?

The people who choose to drive to Manhattan when there are plenty of subways, who chose to live in the car-dependent suburbs instead of near transit, who choose to drive to their doctors in Manhattan, made all of these choices without thinking about how it would impact the people whose neighborhoods they drive through every day. Why should we care how the plan impacts them?

And please don't give me the parking-in-the-border-zones bullshit or the Bronx-asthmatics bullshit. We've been through that so many times before; read the archives. Lies! All fucking lies!

I recently spoke with an urban planner who was a big advocate of the plan. My impression after our conversation was that this was put together by people infatuated with the idea, but who could care less how it impacted people and if their "rationale" for its implementation were ever forfilled. As for Mayor Bloomberg, he simply wants the money it would generate.

To wit, the politician's name, pork projects, total dollar amount and percentage of total Assembly dole:
Name Number Amount Pct. of Total $
SILVER 391 $30,396,200.00 7.40%
GOTTFRIED 142 $7,897,600.00 1.90%
BRUNO 223 $6,417,500.00 1.60%
AUBRY, DESTITO,
LENTOL WEINSTEIN 42 $6,241,000.00 1.50%
JOHNSON 194 $6,027,080.00 1.50%
GLICK 128 $5,970,000.00 1.40%

Of the hundreds of Assemblymembers, Glick gets the sixth largest largesse of Pork from Silver, 1.4%. She never reveals where it goes incidentally.

One source has revealed that some has gone to the discredited Federation to Preserve the Waterfront (they opposed the current Hudson River Park for years, because it would bring in 'outsiders' to the Village. Damn those cyclist peddling through her neighborhood?)
Federation members in turn showed proper obeisance to their benefactor by collecting signatures for petitions putting her name on the ballot. One hand washes the other.

The scenario:
Silver wants to remain Speaker. He needs the support of the many out-of-city legislators who oppose Congestion Pricing to remain speaker.

Silver gives Glick a disgustingly disproportionate amount of Pork to ensure she supports his positions.
She uses this Pork to keep herself in office. To cross Silver on congestion pricing would endanger the bucks to her and her reign.

She then dutifully follows whatever Silver says, and although Canal Street (which crosses both their districts) has the WORST PPM in the city(pollution particles), she will sell out her constituents' health to stay in office.

She obfuscates, weaves, shifts blame to the Mayor, jive talks, introduces partisan politics, etc. In a classic debating tool, she asks us questions to answer, instead of giving hard facts for her stand.

She should be ashamed of herself, if only she knew the meaning of shame.

CP, and by insinuation (unsupported) the MTA, has been the entire focus of the debate on PlaNYC. The plan has other enormous weaknesses, flaws and red-herrings. Chiefly it avoids the word "freight" as if it were a curse. The well-documented unscrupulous Jersey trucking industry, in effect subsidized by the Mayor's proposal, skates by with no scrutiny at all while the MTA, operating the systems with the highest fare box recovery ratios in the nation and moving more people than all other US public transit systems combined is demonized by the good green bloggers. Go figure.

Want an exemption for people who "have" to drive into the city for medical appointments, or even just for your top campaign contributors? Mistrustful of the "SMART" Authority (when has an Authority ever been smart, after all)? Well then write your own damn proposal!

I suppose it's possible that the Speaker will not allow any assembly members to write legislation. Baaa!

1) Cause much cleaner air conditions in NYC.

2) Get the City back its $46-million/year (to improve mass transit and keep fares low).

3) Improve quality of life - already existing laws would finally be enforced and thousands of government sector cars would stay home instead of coming into Manhattan.

4) Cost NYC next to nothing.

Of course, I am not saying that all placard/permit users break the law, but it is a documented fact that parking violations occur many thousands of times everyday in NYC by government salaried employees and it costs the City dearly in terms of added congestion, added air pollution, diminished quality of life and business, and lots and lots of money.

Do the above four points sound like everything that congestion pricing promised? I do feel that the information in the top paragraph needs to be made public and the traffic commission's first priority to investigate as an alternative. Elimination of illegal placard abuse would cost the City nothing!

Thanks for your consideration of the facts.
No congestion pricing/commuter tax, just lose illegal placard parking.

Downtown Resident who loves NYC

doc barnett - while many of those who may park in the bronx would drive through anyway, don't forget the truck traffic could well increase if truckers wish to avoid the congestion price and head north then east or west via the XBronx/Bruckner/etc depending on starting point. in addition, driving around in search for parking spaces could actually add to the amount of time car engines are spewing out their exhaust in the bronx, yes, a permit system could be helpful, but have the politicians thought of that?

i support congestion pricing - i just think a lot needs ot be worked out which is why it is good that all possible issues are raised and discussed. for those of you who are so certain that all of the repeated questions have been answered and soundly so, then there is no need for you to worry about the CP being passed, is there?

I only hope that issues like these will get more people to realize what the state legislature is.

Destination charges will discourage people from getting in their cars at the source, not change destinations.

The in town charge should applying, even for street parking. In practical terms, short moves probably won't trigger a fee, unless you live near a perimeter or major intersection. But that shouldn't matter.

When I head about charges to leave town, I was a little piqued; it made me think, hmph, maybe I should get rid of my car. Which it is intended to do.

That one's easy.

That's a great point: It seems as though the suburban and outer borough Assembly districts are very well represented by their electeds, many of whom are vehemently opposed to congestion pricing. It's nice that Glick is looking out for regional interests but what about the purely selfish interests of her Lower Manhattan constituents who'd like to have less traffic congestion and better transit? Who is looking out for them if not her?

And what about the broader, regional -- even global -- benefits of congestion pricing?

As for exempting medical or even worthy business-driven (art? education? community service?) trips, should we be favoring one industry or activity over another? The system should be transparent and simple above all, lest we end up with a new form of placard abuse. Let people take advantage of our tax complexity to deduct the expenses if appropriate.
Glick constituent and multi-modal traveller

YES, YES, YES, YES!!!

Doc Barnett, Glick may not "represent" those neighborhoods, etc. However, she is still correct to bring up that issue (among others), and it is EXTREMELY responsible and considerate of her as she is one of the stronger and more respected council members compared to the ones from those neighborhoods.

Kudos are due to CM Glick for taking this thoughtful stand. While it would be great to have congestion pricing, it would be even better or best to have a plan that actually solved some of the problems that many supporters purport to be concerned with.