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AMBI: (CHATTER OF CB7 MEETING UNDER NARR)
NARR:
Congestion pricing was a hot topic at the last meeting of Community Board Seven, in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood. Resident George Bissell is a little skeptical.
AX:
I just envision a transportation boondoggle and none of those magical busses we see on television, Sesame St. That magical bus, we're not going to get it. (0:12)
NARR:
Residents of neighbourhoods outside the proposed congestion zone are concerned that people from the outer boroughs might try to avoid the congestion charge by driving to near boroughs, parking their cars on the street, and taking the subway into Manhattan.
Responding to these concerns, the Mayor's office on Wednesday announced an optional parking permit program, designed to discourage park-and-ride behavior from outer boroughs.
It's not just city residents who need speedy convincing, however -- the Mayor faces a tough challenge if he hopes to get Congestion Pricing through the City Council by the end of March.
Brooklyn councilman Lew Fidler is opposed to the plan.
AX:
it is an access fee. It's not a fee for a service, it's a fee to decide, if you can afford it you can come, if you can't you may not, and I think that's horrific. (0:11)
NARR:
Fidler says the Mayor's office is pushing hard on the plan, and leaning on councilmembers to get onboard.
AX:
They're offering things both on this issue and off this issue that are important to members, and it's going to be a very difficult fight. I think if the vote were held today, it would go down. If it were held on the merits of this proposal alone, it would go down. (0:15)
NARR:
Last weekend, the New York Times asked City Council members how they would vote on Congestion Pricing, if the vote were held today. They found 12 in favor, 19 uncommitted, and 20 opposed.
Councilman David Yassky, also of Brooklyn, supports the plan. He says he likes the projected improvements to mass transit, and the reduction in car traffic on Manhattan.
AX:
If we're going to remain the capital of the world, it can't take two hours to drive from midtown to downtown. (0:07)
NARR:
Yassky is optimistic about the plan's passing the City Council -- he thinks a lot of the undecided and "no" votes will change their minds.
AX:
For a lot of those people who said no, what they meant by no was "no, until I'm convinced on the mass transit part." And I think they they will be convinced on the mass transit part, and many of those No's will become yes's. (0:12)
NARR:
Back at Community Board 7, some residents said the $8 car charge could hurt low-income people who drive into lower Manhattan. Dani Simons works for the Department of Transportation. She says the charge, which will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on workdays, is very specifically targeted at those who can afford it.
AX:
Demographically we know that drivers in NYC make far more than transit takers in NYC. The congestion charge is expected to impact people with higher incomes than those who take transit. (0:12)
NARR:
Gene Russianoff is a longtime transit advocate; he sat on the Mayor's Traffic Commission, which approved the proposed plan. He says that census data shows that only one in twenty New Yorkers regularly commutes downtown.
AX:
I know there are a lot of people of good will who do not like the idea of a congestion charge to come into Manhattan, but when you talk to people and ask them, "do you ever drive in between 6 a.m an 6 p.m on a weekday?" and the vast majority of people answer no.
NARR:
Governor Spitzer was a strong backer of Congestion Pricing, and even with his support, the plan was far from a sure thing - his resignation makes it even less certain. David Yassky.
AX:
I don't doubt that Albany will settle into a new routine and they'll be able to pass bills and consider proposals in the ordinary course, but it may not be in the next two weeks. (0:??
NARR:
As of today, there's been no vote scheduled in City Council on the plan.