My Thoughts on Congestion Pricing

Well, now that it's over, I thought I would share some of my thoughts on "what happened", since I do have quite a bit of political and organizing experience in this city:

* Congestion Pricing, as a concept, would have been good for New York City. We have too many cars and too much traffic. It is having a negative effect on our economy, our health and even our infrastructure. Would the Mayor's proposal have solved the problem? Well, as most supporters said, it was worth a try.

* The plan failed partially because it opened, once again, the divide between Manhattan and its Outer Boroughs. Sure, some people in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and The Bronx supported Congestion Pricing. However, many that I spoke to were dead set against it because it sounded a lot like a tax on outer borough commuters that would primarily benefit wealthy Manhattanites and big business. Few Brooklynites I talked to (outside of Park Slope) trusted that the plan would bring better transit services to neighborhoods like Bay Ridge. Is that fair? Maybe not (although I don't trust the MTA, either), but that was the perception I picked up on the streets and the State Assembly certainly reacted to what they were hearing.

* The economy is slow and people are worried about the high cost of living in the city. Whether right or wrong, the city's middle class was worried that the Commuter Tax would be an enormous burden on their finances. Given the state of things, right now, perhaps the timing for the proposal was just wrong. Is it really eco-friendly if people decide to leave the city for the suburbs because of the high cost of living?

* The strategy that the Mayor and his supporters used (promising to punish those who did not go along with Congestion Pricing while lavishing pork on those who did) has proven to be a failure in Albany over and over again. The State Assembly and Senate do not react well to threats. A better strategy would have brought the middle class into the fold, addressing their concerns and greasing the way for Assembly Democrats to support the plan.

* From what I understand, the Congestion Pricing plan was to be approved without an Environmental Impact Statement. Many pro-environment Democrats in the Assembly were concerned about the precedent this would have set for future proposals and projects. Good point!

Anyway, while the Mayor's proposal is dead, there are still a lot of things that the city needs to do to improve our environment and quality of life . Time to get back to work, Mayor Bloomberg!