Streetsblog New York City

Liz Benjamin at The Daily Politics has been posting to-the-minute developments surrounding this morning's fare freeze announcement from Governor Spitzer.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky says the move was a good first step, but that he wants other fare increases -- including tolls -- delayed as well.

“We welcome the governor’s intervention, but there’s been no change in the Pataki policies that starved the MTA in the first place, so we’re not quitting,” Brodsky said. “I’m not sure why they’re saving the case fare and making unlimited users pay more…I think a lot of this is unclear in terms of its impact on riders.”

Benjamin also notes the sudden nature of today's presser, and how it may hinder -- initially, at least -- a solution agreeable to all parties.

Still, in a subsequent post, TDP finds Spitzer the recipient of more praise than he has enjoyed since the heady days following his inauguration (remember the "man crush"?).

Says Shelly Silver:

“Governor Spitzer and I, along with my Assembly Majority colleagues from the metropolitan area, agree that the $2 fare should be saved. The Governor this morning also acknowledged something that I have been saying all along – that there is a need for additional state resources for the MTA. I will continue to fight for those additional resources, so that there is no added burden on straphangers.”

Now let's hear it for mom and apple pie!

Governor Eliot Spitzer has "directed" the MTA to keep the base fare for subway and bus rides at $2. City Room reports, however, that Spitzer held out the possibility for increases in unlimited ride card rates at a press conference held this morning.

Mr. Spitzer said it was possible to keep the base fare at $2 through 2009 — and avoid an increase to $2.25, as the authority proposed for early next year — because the authority had suddenly identified an additional $220 million in unforeseen revenue. The $220 million includes, Mr. Spitzer said, $60 million from increased ridership, $60 million from higher-than-anticipated real estate tax revenues, $60 million in savings and $40 million in lower-than-expected debt service costs.

“We have come to the conclusion that the entirety of that $220 million should be used to mitigate any need for a fare increase,” Mr. Spitzer said in a morning news conference at his Midtown office. But he quickly made it clear that he was referring only to the base fare.

In reality, only a small fraction of riders pay the full $2 fare. Most commuters buy the 7-day or 30-day unlimited-ride MetroCards, and many tourists use the one-day FunPass. The chief executive of the authority, Elliot G. Sander, said that its financial staff needed to do a new set of calculations to determine how the cost of unlimited-rides cards — along with commuter rail fares and bridge and tunnel tolls — would change under the plan.

But Mr. Spitzer said he expected that any increases on those fares and tolls would be “significantly reduced” from what the authority had originally envisioned.

So, as City Room commenters have pointed out, while one-shot fares -- largely paid by out-of-towners -- should remain the same for the time being, regular transit customers could still see an increase, albeit a "significantly reduced" one.

And again, it appears that neither Spitzer nor MTA chief Lee Sander took the opportunity to cite congestion pricing as a boon to the city's transit system.

A new Quinnipiac Poll shows that New York City voters would support congestion pricing by a 53-41 margin if it "prevents a hike in mass transit fares."

The new poll also shows that a majority of voters still oppose the idea of congestion pricing by a margin of 61 to 33. Support for Mayor Bloomberg's plan seems to be falling off in Manhattan, in particular. City Room notes: "Manhattan voters, who supported congestion pricing by a margin of 54 percent to 36 percent in Quinnipiac’s last such poll, in August, are just about evenly split, with 46 percent supporting it and 47 percent opposed."

The other boroughs break down like this:

• 65 - 29 percent in Queens;
• 63 - 31 percent in Brooklyn;
• 70 - 24 percent in The Bronx;
• 63 - 34 percent in Staten Island.

While the news is sure to be spun by opponents as a definitive upsurge in opposition, last August's Q-Poll came in at 57 to 36 -- essentially the same as today's when you factor in the 3 percent margin of error. And, as always, it is worth noting that prior to the implementation of Stockholm and London's congestion pricing systems, polls showed opposition as high as 80 percent. After the implementation of both of those cities' congestion pricing systems, public sentiment turned around almost immediately as people enjoyed the benefits of reduced traffic.

Still, advocates would be wise not to pretend that these poll numbers are good news. Rather, we ought to be asking why it is that support is dwindling for a transportation policy that would benefit 95 percent of New York City workers who commute into the Central Business District. Aside from the fact that car culture is absurdly powerful and imposing a new fee on New Yorkers is always going to be a tough sell, I've got some ideas:

• The MTA's refusal to link congestion pricing to fare hikes has been devastating. Poll after poll shows New York City voters would support congestion pricing if it were used to prevent bus and subway fare hikes. The MTA, however, insists on keeping the fare and toll hike discussion on a completely separate track from Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan. Congestion pricing could provide the MTA with a steady source of revenue and bonding for decades. It's the most important transportation policy reform since the formation of the MTA itself in 1968. The MTA needs to snap out of its bureaucratic inertia, look beyond its short-term bottom-line and make the connection.
  
• City Hall's political operation is nowhere to be found. New York City has $300+ million in immediate bus improvements hanging by a thread. If congestion pricing is rejected, that federal money is gone. You'd think that the powerful Transit Workers Union and a few hundred thousand outer borough bus riders would be interested and could be organized to rally support for the Mayor's plan. But that's a lot of work and no one is doing it. To the contrary, Mayor Bloomberg has been antagonizing the transit workers lately. These guys could be congestion pricing's best political foot soldiers but they're standing on the sidelines.
  
• Institutional dysfunction in Albany makes good policy-making virtually impossible. So, where has Governor Spitzer been on this issue anyway? Oh, right, when not squandering his own political capital he's been trapped in the StoneZone, busy defending himself from Senate Leader Joe Bruno's political goon squad and freak show. Meanwhile, the cowardice among state legislators representing districts with low rates of car ownership, crushing traffic congestion and heavy transit dependence is simply staggering. Why is it that not a single state legislator from Lower Manhattan or Downtown Brooklyn has been willing to stand up and say that Mayor Bloomberg's pilot project is, at the very least, worth a try? How has the New York City Assembly delegation ceded transportation reform leadership to Richard Brodsky, an Assemblyman from the car-dependent suburbs? Read former State Senator Seymour Lachman's book, "Three Men in a Room" for some answers to these questions. Albany needs to be blown up and rebuilt. When is the next Constitutional Convention again?
  

Though reporters weren't invited, Streetsblog managed to get a stringer into this morning's On-and-Off-the-Record transportation policy talk with Congressman Anthony Weiner at Commerce Bank in Midtown.

During the hour-long Q&A hosted by Edward Isaac-Dovere of City Hall News, Weiner hit on familiar themes:

• Something needs to be done about traffic but the mayor's plan is too costly.
• Though low and middle income New Yorkers overwhelmingly travel into Manhattan via transit, Weiner pounded away at the idea that congestion pricing is unfair to the city's middle class and would hit city residents harder than suburban commuters.
• Rather than imposing a fee to drive into Manhattan's Central Business District, he would opt for improved transit and ferry service, higher truck tolls and better enforcement of blocking-the-box regulations.
• He says that he would pay for these improvements with a federal gas tax increase.
  

While Weiner believes, "The Mayor got the solution wrong," he praised Bloomberg for being "innovative" and appeared to back off a bit from total opposition to pricing.

"There is a version of congestion pricing that will work," Weiner said. "My plan has 'congestion pricing' by increasing tolls and increasing parking fees." Unfortunately, this is probably not a version of congestion pricing for which the federal government will grant $354.5 million in start-up funds.

About 75 people showed up to the breakfast event including Queens Civic Congress president Corey Bearak, Northern Manhattan Council member Robert Jackson, the Durst Organization's Jordan Barowitz and an assortment of advocacy people from Transportation Alternatives, Tri-State Transportation Campaign and the newly-formed SWIM Coalition.

The event started with "on-the-record" questions from Isaac-Dovere and "off-the-record" questions from audience members. Here, in reporter's notebook format, are a bunch of Weiner's responses to both sets of questions:

• When asked about his theory that the Bloomberg Administration has purposely ordered the NYPD not to enforce traffic regulations to aid the passage of its congestion pricing plan, he ducked the question.

Following weeks of relative silence on the issue, state legislators have written a letter to the MTA asking it to postpone a planned fare hike in order to give Albany time to work up a funding increase.

Lawmakers and transit advocates made the announcement today at City Hall.

City Room reports:

If the authority holds off until next April, it would give Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature “a chance to provide additional funds needed in order to avoid a fare increase,” the lawmakers and advocates wrote in their letter.

“Fare increases are a last resort,” said Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, a Westchester Democrat. “After 12 years of neglect under the Pataki administration, we want to work with the M.T.A., the city and state governments to change the failed policies of the past.”

The letter said: “There are many strong reasons for increasing government aid to the M.T.A. There has been no permanent new state operating aid to M.T.A. New York City Transit in at least a dozen years.”

The letter was signed by New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. and 22 Assembly members: Adam Bradley, James F. Brennan, Richard L. Brodsky, Kevin A. Cahill, William Colton, Ruben Diaz Jr., Richard N. Gottfried, Michael N. Gianaris, Carl E. Heastie, Hakeem S. Jeffries, Janele Hyre-Spencer, Micah Z. Kellner, David G. McDonough, Joan L. Millman, Mike Spano, Catherine T. Nolan, Daniel J. O’Donnell, N. Nick Perry, Linda B. Rosenthal, Robert K. Sweeney, Harvey Weisenberg and Keith L. T. Wright.

Whether legislators can stop focusing on one another long enough to advance a substantive public policy initiative (with or without the use of medication) remains to be seen.

Class-cutting school kids in Bushwick and the South Bronx, fear not. The clipboard-wielding women standing outside your school aren't looking to bust you, they're trying to help you breathe. As reported in last week's New Yorker Talk of the Town:

The women belong to a nonprofit group called the Asthma Free School Zone, which, for the past year, has been holding covert stakeouts of schools around the city to aid a campaign against vehicle idling. New York City prohibits idling for spurts of longer than three minutes (the fine is from three hundred and fifty to two thousand dollars), though the law is rarely enforced. In 2004, after receiving a tip from the A.F.S.Z., Eliot Spitzer, who was the attorney general at the time, sued several school-bus companies for breaking the rule, and last month, as governor, Spitzer signed a ban on all bus idling in school zones. "In Switzerland you have to turn your engine off if you're more than four cars behind the stoplight," Rebecca Kalin, the group's founder, said the other day. "Idling is rude there. It's like burping-you just don't do it."

Kalin had arrived at P.S. 274 a little before two o'clock, with three colleagues: Lori Bukiewicz, a public-health worker; Jen Richmond-Bryant, an assistant professor at Hunter College (courses: Ventilation, Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality); and Bin-Yun Zheng, the group's assistant. When no one was looking, they wheeled out a small gray cabinet with a plastic tube sticking out of the top. The cabinet emitted a low buzzing noise, and it contained a car battery, two Sidepaks-used to gauge air quality by counting small particles called PM2.5-and an instrument called an Aethelometer, which measures black carbon.

…In an hour and a half, there had been twelve idlers: seven cars, one truck, and four school buses. The PM2.5 reading was on the high side.

Next month, A.F.S.Z. will launch a public awareness campaign in New York and Kalin, Bukiewicz, and Richmond-Bryant will give presentations on their recent air sampling activities at the American Public Health Conference in Washington, DC.

No word yet on whether Bronx State Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. will demand that A.S.F.Z. cease and desist until an Environmental Impact Statement can be conducted to determine whether school bus exhaust is, in fact, harmful to children. 

Photo: Southern Alliance for Clean Energy School Bus Air Quality Monitoring Project

From NYC.gov. Bios of the members after the jump.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg today joined Governor Eliot Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to announce appointments to the New York City Traffic Mitigation Congestion Commission established by the Governor and Legislature as part of the congestion pricing legislation.

Mayor Bloomberg appointed three people to the commission: Gene Russianoff from the New York Public Interest Research Group and the Straphangers Campaign, New York City Department of Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan and civil rights attorney and Executive Director of UPROSE Elizabeth Yeampierre.

“Today we are continuing to move forward and work with our partners in State government and in the Council to relieve congestion in New York City,” said Mayor Bloomberg.  “Together, we’ll reduce traffic, improve New Yorkers’ health and strengthen the City’s economy.”

Governor Spitzer’s appointments include former First Deputy Mayor Marc Shaw, Port Authority Executive Director Anthony Shorris, and Metropolitan Transportation Commission Executive Director and CEO Elliot “Lee” Sander.  Mr. Shaw will be nominated to be the head of the commission. 

Governor Spitzer said, “Putting the congestion pricing commission in place is an important step towards creating a healthier, cleaner environment for our children and generations to come.   The Commission has a vital task to ensure the ability of New York City’s continued growth, and do so in an environmentally responsible manner.  My nominees all have extensive transportation and public policy experience that will ensure that the congestion pricing plan is well thought out in terms of the impact on the transportation system, the economy, and the environment of the City of New York.  My thanks go to the Mayor and his staff for their hard work on this crucial issue.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver appointed Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, Jr., Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, and Assemblywoman Vivian E. Cook. 

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said, “The traffic congestion mitigation legislation signed into law by the Governor last month outlines a process for a thoughtful and in-depth discussion of the most effective means to address traffic congestion and related health and environmental issues. I am pleased with the nomination of Marc Shaw to head this effort. His demonstrated experience and ability to build consensus on difficult issues will be a great asset to this Commission.”

Senator Bruno appointed New York City Central Labor Council President Gary LaBarbera, SUNY Chairman Thomas F. Egan and Nassau County Council Chamber of Commerce President Richard Bivone to commission.

“We are pleased to join Mayor Bloomberg and others in announcing the Senate Majority’s appointments to the New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission.  By naming the members of this important commission, we have taken another step forward in our efforts to make New York a national leader in reducing traffic congestion, modernizing mass transit and improving the quality of the air we breathe,” Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno said.

Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith appointed Counsel and Project Director of Arverne By the Sea, Gerard Romski, to the Commission.

“Mr. Romski will be a strong asset for members of the Senate Democratic Conference in working to address New York City's long-term transportation needs,” Senator Smith said. “His appreciation of public transit's role in that process as well as his open mind about the structure of any traffic congestion mitigation plan will serve our Conference well.”

Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco appointed Environmental Defense New York Regional Director Andy Darrell to the Commission.

“Andy Darrell’s track record on environmental and health-related issues is second to none,” said Assembly Republican Leader Jim Tedisco. “His input and ideas will be invaluable as we look for answers to New York City’s traffic congestion problems. I am honored to appoint him to this crucial commission.”

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has appointed Drum Major Institute Executive Director Andrea Batista Schlesinger, Greater Allen Cathedral CFO Edwin Reed and Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn Wylde to the Commission.

“New York City anticipates adding nearly one million new residents over the next two decades, and we must have a forward-looking plan in place to handle such substantial growth,” said Speaker Christine C. Quinn. “We are confident that the Commission will carefully consider the different proposals and find a responsible and impartial solution to reduce traffic congestion in our City. The Council’s appointees are extremely familiar with moving and shaping public policy in our diverse communities.  They bring a broad range of experience that will enable the Commission to come up with a plan to make New York a cleaner, greener, more livable city.”

Read more...

A couple of weeks ago Mayor Bloomberg, Governor Spitzer, Senate Leader Bruno and Assembly Speaker Silver agreed to a process that would lead to the formation of a 17-member commission that would evaluate and decide on New York City's congestion pricing proposal.

The deal laid out a very specific timeline by which the process would move forward. One of the first big milestones on that timeline was today's date, August 1. That is date on which the Mayor shall "submit the traffic mitigation plan." Here is how it was laid out in the deal summary:

NYC is authorized to present and implement a detailed congestion pricing plan to address traffic congestion within a zone of severe traffic congestion in Manhattan. Such plan shall include (a) the geographic area to be covered; (b) the proposed dollar amount of any congestion pricing fee; (c) the technology to be used to implement such pricing plan; and (d) the number and scope of exemptions granted from such fee requirements. The Mayor shall submit the traffic mitigation plan by August 1, 2007.

Is the Mayor supposed to submit his plan to the 17-member commission? If so, where is the commission? Or does he just have to submit it to the State Legislature and City Council for now? Is the City still on track to meet the August 1 milestone? I've got some phone calls in to various sources. If you know what's going on, drop a line to tips@streetsblog.org or the comments section.

Below is a summary of the congestion pricing deal struck this afternoon by Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, Assembly Speaker Silver and Senate Leader Bruno.

The 17 member congestion pricing commission is made up as follows:

3 appointees -- Mayor
3 appointees -- Governor
3 appointees -- City Council
3 appointees -- State Senate majority leader
3 appointees -- State Assembly speaker
1 appointees -- Senate minority leader
1 appointees -- Assembly minority leader

SUMMARYOF CONGESTION PRICING LEGISLATION

· NYC is authorized to present and implement a detailed congestion pricing plan to address traffic congestion within a zone of severe traffic congestion in Manhattan. Such plan shall include (a) the geographic area to be covered; (b) the proposed dollar amount of any congestion pricing fee; (c) the technology to be used to implement such pricing plan; and (d) the number and scope of exemptions granted from such fee requirements. The Mayor shall submit the traffic mitigation plan by August 1, 2007.

· NYC may not impose or collect any fee for traveling into or within designated zone unless the implementation plan has been approved by the State Legislature by March 31, 2008 and signed into law by the Governor, pursuant to a request from the Mayor that the State Legislature consider such plan where such request has been approved by the City Council.

· A NYC Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission shall undertake a review and study of the issues related to the implementation of the plan submitted by NYC. It may also review and study other plans to reduce traffic congestion and other related health and safety issues. The Commission shall have 17 members comprised of appointees by State and City officials.

· The Commission shall conduct hearings, take testimony and review information and proposals regarding traffic congestion. It shall issue to the Governor, State Legislature, the Mayor and City Council recommendations with respect to the details of implementing the plan submitted by the Mayor and other such proposals. These recommendations shall constitute "the implementation plan". The implementation plan must provide at least the same level of traffic mitigation, as measured by the 6.3% reduction in average vehicle miles traveled, as proposed in the traffic mitigation plan submitted to US DOT on June 22, 2007.

· The Commission shall approve by a majority vote its implementation plan and submit such plan to the Governor, State Legislature, the Mayor and City Council by January 31, 2008. The State Legislature shall consider such implementation plan by March 31, 2008.

· By October 1, 2007, the MTA shall submit comments on the Mayor's plan as well as (a) a description of the additional capital needs required for implementation; (b) proposed utilization of any potential revenue derived from such plan for such capital needs; and (c) the impact of such revenue upon the authority's capital and operating budgets.

· By March 31, 2008 (an 18-month acceleration), the MTA shall submit a capital program for the period covering July 1, 2008 through December 31, 2013.

· This legislation will expire on June 30, 2012. It shall also expire if US DOT does not commit at least $250 million in funding prior to October 1, 2007, except that the expiration and repeal shall not occur if the US DOT commits at least $200 million prior to October 1, 2007 and NYC commits prior to December 31, 2007 an amount equal to the difference between $250 million and the amount committed by US DOT.

According to NY1, Governor Spitzer just announced "that the state has given the city the green light to proceed with the plan, but he stressed that no agreement has been reached on tolls." NY1 reports, "The agreement creates a commission of representatives from the mayor's office and the governor's office, City Council members, and State Senate and Assembly members to review plans for implementation."

We don't have an Albany or City Hall bureau (yet), so your best sources for up-to-the-minute coverage are:

• The Daily Politics
• City Room
• The Politicker

Here is a press release from City Hall:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 18, 2007
No. 247
www.nyc.gov

STATEMENT FROM MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG ON CITY BEING AUTHORIZED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CONGESTION PRICING:

"This agreement to move forward with congestion pricing marks a critical milestone in our efforts to make PlaNYC a reality, and to provide a better quality of life for us and for future generations of New Yorkers. By moving forward in our effort to clean our air and fight congestion, we will help our economy, improve public health and make critical improvements to our public transportation system.

"This agreement makes clear that delay was unacceptable and the need to protect our environment and fight congestion simply could not wait. We will begin immediately to prepare for the installation of needed equipment to make our traffic plan a reality.

"This agreement also creates a commission made up of representatives of our Administration, our partners in the City Council, Senate, and Assembly and from the Governor's office to review our plans for implementation. I am certain that through our work with the commission, our traffic plan will be implemented expeditiously.

"This agreement is a victory for the broad coalition of environmental and environmental justice groups, transit and public health advocates, organized labor and civic leaders who worked tirelessly for years to make real and important progress for our environment and our mass transit system. I also want to congratulate the leaders of both houses of the Legislature and the Governor for their support for this key element of PlaNYC and their commitment to moving it forward. We will continue to work together to access the federal funds that are available. Certainly there will be discussion of the details of various components of our plan, but together we have made a commitment to a greener, healthier and more livable New York."