Can we get the cameras to take pictures of whoever keeps putting up those $15 / $ 19 per hour moving signs?

(see http://hoboken411.com/archives/2921 for more about these)

Can we please stop talking about "government workers" abusing placards? The problem is cops, corrections officers, judges, and court workers. The vast majority of vehicles with official plates and placards a) obey the rules, and b)receive (and pay) tickets when they park illegally. It's really not fair to tar them with this brush. Cops don't write cops (or judges, or court officers, or corrections officers), but they sure as hell do write everybody else.

Even a hard headed mayor with 70% approval ratings has shied away from this.

This is yet another reason why the automated enforcement offered by a congestion pricing zone is essential.

(Incidentally, it's not apparent why a $1billion commuter/non-resident tax would win the approval of Senate Republicans from LI and the Mid-Hudson. It seems even more of a non-starter than congestion pricing.)

http://www.streetsblog.org/2006/06/16/the-46-million-parking-perk/

The answer to your question is 19,200.

That is how many fewer vehicle would enter Manhattan daily if government sector employees commuted by auto at the same rate as their private sector counterparts, according to Bruce Schaller's analysis.

Cleaning up the government employee parking permit problem is important but not a show-stopper for congestion pricing. In fact, an automated, camera-based congestion charging system would be a great tool for solving the problem. As you've probably noticed, the cops don't like giving themselves parking tickets. Cameras and software will be happy to do it.

Thank you for your comments. I have made a correction regarding your affiliation. I was not aware of the change in the program prior to the event, and took it for granted that you were filling in for the Queens COC rep.

As far as "commuter tax" vs. "non-resident tax," thank you for making the distinction. My notes, however, indicate that you said "commuter tax."

Brad quotes you as saying that 'neighborhoods with asthma-stricken populations are located "nowhere near" the congestion pricing zone.' We've heard similar arguments from Jeff Dinowitz and Ruben Diaz, among others.

This argument fails to take into account that a neighborhood doesn't have to be near a pricing zone, it just has to be on the way to a pricing zone. The "asthma alleys" of Western Queens and the South Bronx are most definitely on the way to Midtown Manhattan. A big factor in the bad air here is all the cars passing through.

There are people driving from, say, Bellerose to Manhattan, right past my apartment in Woodside, and polluting my air. If congestion pricing encourages some of those people to take the LIRR instead, why wouldn't you expect my air to be cleaner?

Second, in my presentation I spoke of a non-resident tax -- using that phrase to distinguish it from the commuter tax that Governor Pataki and the legislature abolished almost a decade ago. Unlike that measure, this proposal of the Queens Civic Congress would raise net, $1 billion for NYC and additional monies would be used for the benefit of the suburban counties. Essentially, NYC would keep the money from the out of state workers and the suburban counties would keep what their residents generate. This is a more efficient revenue measure since its involves virtually 100% of revenues raised going towards projects (or operations). The congestion tax, at best, involves $2 of every $5 collected going to the cost of the program; that makes no sense.
And in terms of the population estimates, it is important to share the context; that remark followed my point - during the opportunity to make a point of information in the context of the debate format that the planners who developed the 1961 City Zoning Resolution envisioned a New York City of 14 million people. In fact the population declined to almost 1/2 that number.
Finally, the question posed did not speak to the merits of the congestion scheme, so its proponents have nothing to spin.
-Corey Bearak