Tuesday night’s New York Voices will look at some recommendations put forward by a special commission to help the MTA confront its financial crisis. One of those proposals is to create tolls on the East and Harlem River bridges. These tolls could help the MTA avoid major service cuts and fare increases, and would help pay for a new regional bus service. Are they a good idea? Tell us what you think.
“Budget Blues, Holiday Hopes”, airing 12/16/2008 at 8pm, will also include the following segments:
This year, the holiday season for New York has been shadowed by the nation’s massive economic downturn and budget woes. NY Voices will take a look at how all aspects of the city are being impacted.
Susan Arbetter of public television station WMHT gives us the latest report from Albany on Governor Paterson’s budget speech.
Host Rafael Pi Roman will interview Rep. Charlie Rangel, Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and senior member of the New York congressional delegation, about NY state’s economic woes, and how the Obama stimulus plan could help the city and state. From Albany, WMHT’s Susan Arbetter will give an update and reaction on Governor Patterson’s Budget speech which will take place that morning.
A special Blueprint America feature report from Rick Karr about the MTA’s financial crisis and what it could mean for the system’s major capital projects, like the Second Avenue Subway line.
Society reporter Amanda Gordon gets to the true meaning of the holiday spirit by spending a night out on the town with two local charities: The Brooklyn Kindergarten Society, which runs day care centers for low income families and The Alvin Ailey Dance Company, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Will charitable giving help keep the city afloat in tough times?
Barneys’ creative director Simon Doonan helps New Yorkers celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Peace sign with a behind-the-scenes look at the store’s holiday “hippie” window dressing.
The MTA has spent foolishly over the years and now they are sounding just like the Auto companies. The poor motorist in NYC has been shouldering their inefficiency for the last 20 years. Give us a ‘brake’.
Taxes should be raised on all incomes over $200,000 per year. Also, a penney stock transfer tax should be imposed immediatly. If MTA and infrastructure need more money, raise the gasoline tax. Don’t pollute by slowing traffick to a halt with more tolls. In fact, eliminate all tolls.
People who want to drive to the city will drive anyway. Now, if you are looking to balance the budget, wouldn’t a small tax increase do it and without spending on tolls booths etc. and causing a total traffic caos in those areas?
The fares should be raised to cover the budget shortfall. The money should come from the people who use mass transit.
Clean up NYC government first. You go to government offices behind doors and you will see a lot of people sitting around watching the clock and collecting salary. Additionally, the incompetantcy of the hired help is apparent.
Tolls don’t really solve the problem. And raising the fares is not enough either, since fares don’t really cover MTA costs. How about stopping work (yet again) on the 2nd Ave. subway to nowhere, and moving the money into a more useful place in the budget?
Tools discriminate against those who live in the boroughs while those in Manhattan don’t have to pay thier share. Before we create gridlock and polution let’s find out where all the fare money goes now. I have heard there are 11 million riders a day, if this is true how can they be short.
I suggest that you Invite mr, Rangel to address his disengenuos
Rangel? New York can no longer trust his judgement to make sound and ethical decisions on their behalf,period.No new taxes,tolls or fees,the people have paid enough! Let us mandate a 20 % cut in congressional salaries and elimination of all perks first.
Perhaps a toll would encourage people to use public transportation and help to lessen pollution.
NYC has to deal with their issues locally just like everyone else in NY- The state should not add any further MTA surcharges or taxes on the rest of NY to support NYC, and a plus for adding tolls on the east river bridges is may ease the traffic in Manhattan.
Tolls on the Harlem and East River bridges was my solution to the Mayor’s hare-brained congestion pricing dilemma. Anything that discourages bringing motor vehicles into Manhattan! You can always make weekends and 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. exempt.
A blanket increase of tolls on all bridges makes no sense. A congestion-pricing variable toll to and from Manhattan would make sense, because it would encourage use of mass transit routes to and from Manhattan except where four or more people car-pooled each way.
For small contractors like myself. having to drag power tools from one borough to another on a train, would be physically impossible… if I couldn’t use my hatchback on those occasions it would probably force me out of business and result in the loss my meager income.
I think that the toll on the Harlem and East River bridges would be very unfair for those who have a low income. The people who work in the city and whose income is $200,000 and greater should pay through their taxes.
I am all for mass transit, a lot more mass transit, but tolls on the remaining free crossings is absurd. Frankly, our government has let us down. No meaningful subway lines have been constructed since 1940 (and lines have been removed since then). Most persons given a choice would rather have access to the subway but wide swaths of the 4 boros have no other option but to drive. It is never too late. Most of our underground lines were built in the 1st 20 years of the 20th century. With modern technology, shouldn’t we be able to duplicate that feat? Only when people have other optiosn to driving would it be fair to charge to cross the East River.
Stop complaining.”It is what it is”. The NYC transit system is one of the best in the world.You “usually pay for quality”
The people of this city are over taxed. It will be more of a hardship for most New Yorkers. Why doesn’t the government start with the way they conduct business, which caused this mess for all of us. Why should the people be burdened anymore?
before taxes are raised lets get steinbrenner to pay the taxes he owes on the old renovation on yankee stadium. let the mayor and his friends pay an income tax increase of 10%.freeze all city union employee salaries, and cut all city administrative salaries as well as all. have an in dependent investigator audit the mta, pa, and city books. freeze all pensions on prior mayors and there staffs, and then sit back and listen to the howling coming from these people
Get rid of Charles R. take his seat in the Senate away and make him pay back the money he has been wasting. Tax payer money is NOT HIS to make his like more enjoyable, HE AND REPRESENTATIVES LIKE HIM ARE THE PROBLEM AND WE CONTINUE THE PROBLEM BY LETTING THEM DO IT WITH NO RETRIBUTION.
Tolls on the bridges would encourage people to use mass transit and reduce pollution in Manhattan.
[...] Channel 13 is promoting tonight’s episode of "New York Voices" with an online poll asking, "Should there be tolls on the East River Bridges?" I don’t know. Should motorists get a free ride into Manhattan while subway riders face massive fare increases? What do you think? [...]
The overwhelming majority of people of low income in NYC can’t afford cars let alone drive (and park) them into Manhattan on their commute. They are _exactly_ the one who will suffer most with increased MTA fares and reduced service (which most likely will affect outer burroughs more) and hence benefit from Ravitch (or prior congestion) plans. Besides increasing public transit funding, bridge tolls will also reduce congestion as reduces all the unnecessary additional traffic of toll-shopping. Not to speak about the reduced pollution …
It’s curious that the poll is in favor, but the comments largely are not.
I guess it makes sense that drivers who face losing their free ride would squeal the loudest.
I, for one, will never understand why people feel entitled to drive for free, when most of us pay $3-$4 a day to ride the subway.
Not only do tolls help pay for mass transit, they’d remove some drivers from the road, which would make life better for the remaining people who do drive. It’s a win/win. It’s too bad our Brooklyn elected representatives in the State Assembly are too cowardly to support this.
It’s time for drivers to start paying their fair share, rather than the overburdened straphangers having to suffer an increased fare. Tolling the East River bridges would provide tremendous benefits for all New Yorkers - increased money for mass transit, decreased traffic, and decreased pollution. Keeping the bridges free only benefits a tiny minority of New Yorkers (and drivers from other states) who free-load off of everyone else.
#22 is right on. Drivers are complaining the loudest because they are losing their free ride. The plan is most beneficial to low-income commuters, while providing many benefits to the whole city. Drivers should pay for the luxury of driving to work, polluting city air, and congesting the streets. This is particularly true since there are a plethora of mass transit options to get into the city, from all parts of NYC.
Currently subway riders (even Manhattanites) pay $3-4 per day to get to Manhattan, while drivers who benefit from the reduced congestion of the subway, pay nothing.
Let me dispel the two most common myths about tolls on the East River:
1) Tolling will cause congestion on toll plazas- there will be no toll plazas, only high-speed E-Z Pass sensors and cameras. There will be fewer cars, so traffic will be reduced.
2) Transit riders (especially those who live in Manhattan) should pay for their transportation themselves- transit riders pay taxes, just like everyone else, so they already pay for roads and for the subsidy part of transit). Drivers, meanwhile, pay almost nothing for transit. Why should transit riders get ripped off? Motorists should pay their fair share for the roads they use and the harm they cause to transit riders (environmental damage/pollution, road accidents, lost time due to slower buses, etc).
Motorists are clearly not paying enough to use the roads (otherwise, by law of supply and demand, there would be no congestion). So they should pay tolls on the bridges to balance this out. It’s that simple.
I have the same poll on my site LocalApple.com
and the answer is NO there should not be tolls!
A congestion-pricing variable toll to and from Manhattan might work and weekend exemptions between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. is an interesting idea. However I don’t trust the MTA to properly manage the additional revenue. A very foreseeable outcome is tolls at the east and Harlem river crossings and a future MTA asking for more money to cover new shortfalls because of their propensity for mismanagement
Tolling of the East and Harlem River bridges will highly be oppossed by both residents and politicians in the outer boroughs. I am sure that they will make sure it never happens. I think that the role of the MTA executives should be restructured first before getting the idea to give the hard working the royal screw job.
Well, Tal, the hard-working are going to get a screw job. And it’s going to be in the form of a very big subway fare increase.
J. Mork, there are ways of helping with the MTA budget gaps without placing new tolls or raising fares. My answer is to the reform and restructure the MTA management. It won’t even cost anything to do that. I wouldn’t be surprised if the cause of the deficit was from the MTA executives spending the money for themselves rather than putting it back into the systems to help improove with efficiency. The reason why I am against tolls in general is because I look at it as a double charge. Why should I pay to use a road or crossing that I am already paying for with my taxes? This is the same reason I oppossed congestion pricing and spoke out against it. As a registered motorist living the state of New York, I feel that I am paying for a lot of things right now and the scheduled maintanance along with the amount I have to pay for gas is just the tip of the iceberg. For the record, I am actually against the fare increase, and I will not repeat what I already said in the begining in ways to do it without giving the royal screw job. However, a raise by just 50 cents is nothing because when tolls increase, they don’t go in dollars or quarters, they are actually doubled, tripled, or even quadrupled, which I find is even more of a royal screw job. If the tolling of the East and Harlem River bridges does work in getting people to switch to using mass transit, then the MTA won’t succeed in making a revenue just like how it would have failed Michael Bloomberg on congestion pricing. In reality, this will be a failed experiment.
Re: “The reason why I am against tolls in general is because I look at it as a double charge. Why should I pay to use a road or crossing that I am already paying for with my taxes?” By the same token, why should I pay to ride the subway? I am already paying taxes for that. The truth is taxes pay a portion of all infrastructure. The other benefit to tolling the bridges, besides raising money for infrastructure, is that it would clean up traffic in downtown Brooklyn and encourage people to shop locally - good for the boroughs!
Tal, the MTA budget shortfall is $1.2 billion dollars. So all we need to do is fire those 1,200 MTA executives who are each making a million dollars a year, and we’re all set, right?
But seriously, I agree with what Jonathan wrote.
And like I said below, the people who are currently getting the free ride are going to scream the loudest.
Unfortunately for the huge numbers of people who commute by subway, all of their elected officials commute by car, and don’t want to pay a toll either. Let’s hope they step up to the plate anyway and keep New York City’s transit service going.
You Streetsbloggers tend to be missing the point. I never said fire the MTA executives, I said restructure their role. They should be audited especially when it comes to collecting taxpayer money. They probably pocketed most of the revenues from the fares for themselves as they did with last year’s surplus, which could explain how they got sportscars with EZ Pass on them. They will probably pocket most of what is collected from the new tolls as they are right now from all the others. Also, I am not for privatizing transit, especially when hearing about how much of a failed experiment it was in New Zealand with the buses. I am all for making transit more efficient and expanding the lines along with building new ones like the Second Avenue Subway, but not when it comes to the expense of others who are already paying for a lot of things right now. The reason it’s seen as a regressive movement is because most of those that don’t live in Manhattan make lower incomes compared to those that do. The main priority is to make a revenue that is mostly going to go to themselves like they are doing right now, which I find to be a boondoggle. What about those who don’t have EZ Pass? They will most likely be fined for using them. For the record, congestion pricing opponents like Anthony Wiener, Richard Brodsky, and Hakeem Jefferies were actually for improovements in transit, but you Streetsbloggers made personal attacks at them anyway just because they didn’t support it despite that. The way I hear you guys sound, it’s almost as if you are not for any comprimeses. Even Al Gore, is not trying to get rid of the car culture, and he is against global warming, so he is just working to make them give less emissions by finding alternative, renewable fuel sources rather than trying to eliminate them altogether. As for making cities car free, that will never happen and is very unrealistic, so I suggest working with them rather than against them. I doubt that you are even a populist, becaue if you were, then you would support having either affordable housing or at least keep rent stabilization near major areas of the city, which is something that I support in a big way, but many of you probably opposse that because you want only glitzy blocks there, especially when living anywhere in the boroughs that is by good transportation cannot by afforded by people on my income. Just go back to your luxury upper Midtown penthouses, and tell your friend Mark Gorton that you failed.
Your strawmen are burning, sir.
I suggest you stop reading messages in the mirror especially when they are always shown backwards.