A night in the city about to reach new heights

What’s best for Manhattan might not be so for the Bronx.

At least that’s what Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz thinks when it comes to the MTA’s congestion pricing plan due to start in late 2023, four years behind schedule.

“I can’t say that I was a big supporter of congestion pricing by any stretch,” Dinowitz said.

During 2019 congestion pricing was a part of the state budget deal that year. But when it came down to his vote, Dinowitz was in favor of congestion pricing.

Now, he is not so happy with how the MTA is implementing it.

Called the “Central Business District Tolling Program” it aims to improve air quality, decrease traffic, increase transit ridership and improve bus services.

However, this plan comes with a price — from $9 to $23 a vehicle during high peak hours, which will be 6 a.m.-8 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m.-10 p.m. on weekends in some scenarios.

“My main concern is implementing it in the best possible way,” he said. “I don’t want something that may benefit parts of Manhattan to happen at the expense of the Bronx.”

One major point to congestion pricing is to discouraging drivers coming into Manhattan below 60th Street near Central Park.

According to the environmental assessment, pollution will actually decrease in midtown and lower Manhattan by 11 percent and nearly 9 percent in upper Manhattan.

The MTA predicts overall traffic will decrease by 20 percent and truck traffic by 81 percent.

But what does that mean for the rest of the outer boroughs? Especially the Bronx.

The concern begins with thoroughfares like the Cross Bronx Expressway, and the two Long Island bridges — Bronx-Whitestone and Throggs Neck. According to an MTA assessment, vehicle traffic will increase immensely on these roadways.

Yet, in a Manhattan tolling scenario, the Major Deegan Expressway would have fewer vehicles travelling on it, according to the MTA program environmental assessment.

The West Side highway and the FDR drive will remain free.

Dinowitz says he avoids driving into Manhattan in general.  But some people have no choice.

That could mean drivers from greater Riverdale might pay around $60 for a round trip by car, according to MTA data.

The MTA is taking this opportunity to raise ridership. The agency predicts an increase from 1 to 2 percent.

“Identifying new, dedicated revenues to fund mass transit is imperative as we seek to address our fiscal cliff,” said MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber.

Since the start of the pandemic, the MTA, the largest transportation system in the world, forecasted a financial crisis in the years to come. They called it a fiscal cliff, mainly due to the decrease in ridership. The MTA lost about 40 percent of commuters from pre-pandemic levels.

By 2025, federal pandemic funding is expected to be exhausted.

“The reforecast of ridership projections has created a new higher and earlier fiscal cliff for the MTA,” said MTA chief financial officer Kevin Wilens.

This put a hole of $9 million in their budget. Within two years, the mass transit system predicts a deficit of $2.5 billion.

By 2026 they expect an increase of ridership projected at 80 percent of pre-pandemic levels. With congestion pricing, the MTA expects revenue to increase by $1 billion in one year.

“This is a means of raising money from people who drive into the central business district (in order) to fund upgrades to the public transit system,” said Danny Pearlstein, spokesperson for Riders Alliance.

“It was spearheaded in 2019 by folks who are fed up with slow and unreliable subways, inaccessible stations and stalled buses,” he said.

There is no surprise that transit riders would oppose this plan. In fact, congestion pricing aims to reduce roadway traffic, which could affect bus operations.

There are not that many trains near greater Riverdale, so a reliable bus service is important. The BxM1 and BxM2 routes through Riverdale into Manhattan past 60th Street are typical trips for northwest Bronx residents.

To see an improvement of quality in any form of transportation is what they are excited about.

Once the MTA hits that $1 billion revenue mark they can enhance the mass transit system. They plan to improve the Long Island Railroad, subways and buses.

“Millions of transit riders stand to benefit from congestion pricing in more reliable subways, accessible stations and faster buses. It’s been a very long time coming. We can’t wait to get started,” Pearlstein said.

The MTA also allows exemptions — meaning, not everyone will pay this hefty bill.

“I think when you start exempting then you open up a can of worms — you know will seniors be exempted, going to the doctor? How about police? by the time you finished, everybody’s going to be exempt,” Dinowitz said. “I think generally speaking, there should not be any exemptions.”

Actually, one proposal being floated would exempt drivers from New Jersey as well as taxi drivers.

Interestingly enough even with the fiscal cliff, the MTA will lose more than $200 million if taxis don’t pay congestion pricing. Instead, they would pay $2.50 per trip, based on one scenario.

If taxis were charged the congestion pricing for each trip, the demand for the yellow cab would decline.

Not only would that result in fewer taxis, but the city would lose part of the allure of the city that never sleeps.

New Jersey residents are fighting to be on the exempt list as they already pay to enter Manhattan. U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey should be exempt, “or else.”

Dinowitz begs to differ.

“If I wanted to drive into Manhattan from where I am now, (his office in Riverdale) I would simply drive down Broadway  over the bridge — which (includes) no toll to go,” Dinowitz said. “If I want to drive to past 60h Street, I would have to pay $23.”

“But a person from Jersey who goes over the bridge and then drives there they would pay (nothing),” he continued.

“That’s just plain wrong. That’s not fair. That’s one of the inequities that bothers me.”