New York State lawmakers have until Monday to pass legislation to allow New York City to impose an $8.00 per car congestion charge or risk losing a $540 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation, Mayor Michael Bloomberg warned yesterday. “Time truly is of the essence in this matter,” Bloomberg told reporters at a press conference here after meeting with U.S. DOT officials. “If the Assembly, the Senate, and the governor, all together act by that time [July 16], the city stands to receive a generous, once-in-a-generation infusion of federal dollars for transportation.” But the plan appears to be in jeopardy because Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and other assemblymen have not supported the proposal. The New York legislative session ended late last month without lawmakers taking action on the congestion plan. However, the assembly may come back into session next week to tackle unfinished business. Officials in Silver’s office could not be reached for comment. “It will take three to tango, as they say, to secure [legislative] approval and two of the partners are already on the floor,” Bloomberg said, adding that the state Senate and Gov. Eliot Spitzer support the proposal. “The Assembly, if it doesn’t go along with this … would be immediately denying the city a golden opportunity to receive up to half a billion dollars in no-strings attached transportation dollars.” The mayor argued that his congestion-pricing plan is needed to provide a revenue stream to back debt to improve and expand the city’s mass transit system, which would reduce traffic congestion and decrease air pollution. Also speaking in support of the plan at the press conference were New York City Department of Transportation commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco. Their comments came after Assemblyman Richard L. Brodsky, D-Westchester, released a report earlier this week that was critical of Bloomberg’s plan. Among the criticism in report, Brodsky said that the revenues raised by the mayor’s proposal would unfairly target low and moderate income commuters. New York is one of nine cities competing for a total of $1.1 billion in transportation grants under the U.S. DOT’s urban partnership program, which is designed to reduce congestion. The agency plans to provide funding for up to five of the nine cities in contention. New York is seeking $536.9 million, of which about $200 million would be used to implement the congestion program and the rest would go towards new buses and new routes.
