By Manny Grossman

Improve mass transit first, three Riverdale community leaders told the commission charged with examining Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to charge drivers for the daytime use of Manhattan's streets.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, City Councilman Oliver Koppell and Ari Hoffnung, president of the Riverdale Jewish Community Council, all told the 17-member New York City Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission that the mayor had his priorities wrong.

Rep. Eliot Engel added his voice in a statement that said the scheme was likely to add to the air pollution and traffic woes it is supposed to cure.

Most of the other speakers at the sparsely-attended hearing at Hostos Community College also expressed concern or opposition toward the plan, which calls for drivers to be charged $8 to travel south of 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The commission is to make a recommendation to the City Council and state lawmakers by January.

"Go back to the drawing board," Mr. Dinowitz said. Without the incentive of a faster and more comfortable trip on public transportation, he argued, the plan will not encourage people to leave their cars at home. No plans are in the works to improve mass transit in the West Bronx, and only one improvement is listed by the MTA for the entire Bronx.

Mr. Dinowitz repeated his criticism of the plan to deduct the cost of bridge tolls from the congestion fee, saying it was "discriminatory and unacceptable." Most Bronx residents do not pay a toll when they drive into Manhattan, while commuters from New Jersey and Long Island do.

Mr. Dinowitz also worried aloud that suburban commuters would turn Riverdale and Kingsbridge into a "commuter parking lot." And he was concerned that exemptions are not being made for doctor visits or parents bringing their children to school.

Mr. Koppell and Mr. Hoffnung offered proposals to improve mass transit locally. The councilman suggested increasing capacity on the subways and reinstating skipstop service on the No. 1 train.