Albany, NY – Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says his chamber has decided against a vote on Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan and is rejecting the proposal to charge a fee to reduce traffic in Manhattan. Join our WhatsApp group
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the mta has to be audited does anybody know how much waste it is to run 8 car empty trains at night the should run 2 car trains this costs millions for nothing and the pollution it is to generate that much electricity
To Anon. 6:38 am,
You’re Welcome!thank g-d.
typical democrats. have a problem? tax it or charge it.
To Anon. 6:38 am,
You’re Welcome!
I think it obsered that this was voted down. I am a Demacrat and Middle class. I also like my envirnment. Pollution is the key here. Also if the MTA is gonna claim they have no money that this would increase their money and improve the system. Besides with gas prices the way they are who would want to drive in the city. Unless you are going out of state. Take Mass transit its cheaper and you don’t have to look for parking. The only people who should be driving in the city are Cabbies and Delivery people. If you live in the city take mass transit. Besides if you can afford to live in the city then you can afford to pay to improve you way of life. The Mayor finally had a great Idea and the State shot it down. You people who are happy right now are all insane. Mayor Mike is a very smart man you should all be so thankful we finally have a Mayor who can handle the system. I hope he runs for Gov some day. Thank you and nice try Mr. Mayor.
One more thing.
It is time for Nancy Pelosi to step in and call for giving the transit money to the city without the Bloomberg taxation strings attached.
Oy Gevald, have you thought about running for Traffic Commissioner?
Your ideas make a lot of sense. Then again, you’re not a politician.
Move over, Gridlock Sam!
If the Mayor really cared about the issues, he would start by setting an example and ceasing his use of an SUV to get to the express subway. Next he would ban yellow cabs from below 60th Street. They are the predominant problem there. He would close streets in the heart of the city to all vehicles during all hours but 11 P.M. to 5 A.M. when businesses could get their deliveries arranged. He would work with Governor Corzine to improve mass transit from New Jersey instead of establishing himself as public enemy number one in that state. He would work to create NJ to NYC ferry service like that from Staten Island to get New Jersey drivers not to drive to NYC. He would show good faith to New Yorkers by starting mass transit improvements before gouging the middle class.
No one really believed the extra money would be used toward mass transit but rather that it would have been diverted due to some trumped up fiscal problem yet to be discovered.
If this was such a wonderful proposal why didn’t Bloomberg propose putting it to the people in a ballot. He did not dare, anymore than he would have dared put his idiotic stadium before any electorate.
Shelly Silver is a hero to ordinary citizens of the metropolitan area.
Baruch Dayan Ha’Emes
By the way, Sheldon Silver DID say that he was for congestion pricing, but that he was part of a small minority. The reason he did not allow the vote to take place was because he did not believe that there we enough other votes for it.
I thank you too Mr Silver. I saw thru this plan as the money grubbing racket it is. And I could see that it would cause hundreds and hundreds of more cars being parked in the outer boros leaving even less spaces for us that live, shop and travel throughout the rest of the city.
to all the councils that voted for michael: you look stupid now and thanks mr. silver – all the great organizations can go on the same like before.
the best news i got today thanks mr. silver
This should be an open memo to all readers and residents of NYC.
Mayor Bloomberg and the City Council voted yesterday to go ahead with congestion pricing that will cost each driver 8 dollars to go into the BOX in Manhattan 30 votes yes, 20 votes no.
out of the 20 NO votes 9 out of 15 City Council people from Brooklyn voted NO, it was shocking to see that David Yassky, D-Bklyn Williamsburg-Greenpoint, Simcha Felder, D-Boro Park voted YES, these are also running for the Comptroller office in 2009.
it is high time that since these 2 council members don’t care what we “the people” who they represent and voted for, have these great organizations that will be in jeopardy and it will cost these volunteer organizations over 1 million dollars if not more. we depend more on these organizations then on the elected officials.
Chesed, and organization that takes family members and just volunteers to feed the ill to and from all hospitals 24/7, had over 12,000 trips to Manhattan in 2007. they also provide senior citizens with rides to doctor visits and therapy.
Chavierim, 24/7 an organization that volunteers its help to people with all kinds of problems with their cars from flat tires to lockouts, over 2,100 calls to Manhattan .
Hatzolah Volunteer, 24/7 members who drive people to doctors and hospitals with their own cars that are not considered an emergency, over 3,500 call into Manhattan .
Linas H’tzadek, 24/7 an organization that takes volunteers to hospitals to relief family members from being there the entire day so they can go home to take care of other family issues and children, at night they stay in the hospital as well. 1,900 trips to Manhattan .
Mekimi, 24/7-that send volunteers to all hospitals with music and to cheer up the ill especially the cancer patients at Memorial and others. 2.050 trips in 2007
Yassky and Felder have totally ignored this tremendous volunteer organizations and its constituents, and both are running for the City Comptroller’s seat that will be vacated in 2009 by Billy Thompson, we now URGE and REQUEST that you should not support any of this 2, don’t fund raise for them, don’t bring them in front of your board, don’t honor them.
its high time that there should be an uprising against these elected officials who have sold their communities down the drain. send them packing to where they came from. from Real Estate tax increase to congestion pricing, from gas prices to parking summonses, from sanitation summonses to tax increase,
we the poor, middle and low income, the needy, the less fortunate.
please don’t take this lightly, are these 2 will take your entire wallet soon.
Thanks, and please stick to the issue at hand.
1, There is no way to add more trains. The track time is all booked up. T^here were promises of more buses bu tnot trains.
2, America is about freedom to drive to any city with your car. This was an attempt to make Manhattan the playyground of the rich. I note with interest that plans to;
1, Limit residents to very local regions they live in-plan was dropped.
2, plan to allow free access to FDR and West Side highways-plan was dropped.
Lets see if the same zeal is used to enforce double parking by idling limos.
I suggest a tunnel going from Brooklyn/Queens to NJ, that will eliminate a nice chunk of traffic.
Now will you Vote for me?
My own CONGESTION CONTROL suggestions are as follows….
1) NO commercial DELIVERY vehicles in ALL of Manhattan from 7:00am until 10:00pm. In other cities this has been successful. They deliver at night. Many already do in NYC. (hey, this is “the City that never sleeps”, right?) NO EXCEPTIONS.
2) NO out-of-state plated vehicles anywhere in Manhattan except to be parked in special “Congestion Priced” parking lots for triple the going rates (at Tunnels exit)and then use Mass Transit or walk!
This is OUR city, not theirs!!!
3)The FDR and West Side Hwy sould each flow in one direction only (One North and the other South). Both these routes have same starting and ending points. One side of each of these highways should be “express” and the side closest to the local streets be “local”. Express should have only two or three entryways for Midtown, Downtown etc. Manhattan streets should correspond with direction of that sides highway (half the streets going North, the other half going South etc.)
This will ease the flow of all vehicles. Of course no commercial vehicles allowed on either of these routes. yes, this will eliminate the use of truck using the Lincoln Tunnel which further eases up the flow of traffic.
3:04,
what democrats?
this proposal was made by bloomberg, only recently an independant after years of being a republican. (after years of being a dem a long tiome ago)
Michael Said:
Its a disgrace. How much polloution is ascended on NYC daily is beyond me. Where are your environmental feelings toward planet earth? Why are we so gleefull that our environment is being abused by all you selfish predators ?
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Are people so naive?! Do you really think it would have accomplished anything, besides making money?! The “enviremantel stuff” won’t change because there won’t be a reduction in traffic anyway!
They should make it $20 to get into Manhattan; then when I have to go; I can just breeze in!
Getting people to take trains or buses is a good idea. But here in the Bronx, the #2 , #4 , #5 , and #6 subways are all over capacity, the #1 subway is about at capacity, and the metro north trains are about at capacity. Only the B/D line has any capacity to spare, and even it is very crowded most of the day. Congestion pricing would make sense if there were actually a serious plan to expand subway or commuter train service, but there isn’t. A few extra express bus lines just doesn’t cut it.
I hope it’s Killed not only Suspended.
Mr silver, Kudos to you! the fact that they have the nerve to charge more to get into the city is just prepostores. The tolls just keep going up and soon we will just not go into the city at all. If you look on the streets of the city all who is buying are foreigners because of the dollar all of us but a few living here cant afford a thing so just keep charging soon no english speaking person will be able to get into the city never mind buy anything there.
GREAT NEWS FOR BROOKLYN What most people didn’t realize that under the plan there would be resident parking permits for the neighborhoods in the “outer boroughs” closest to Manhattan. The communters who now park in those neighborhoods would have had to park further out in areas such as Flatbush,Kensington and Boro Park, where parking is already tight.
I agree. There is absolutely no extra room on the trains. The money from the congestion pricing was never guaranteed to go for the MTA, there was no study done, and it is doubtfull it will stop the majority of NYers who drive abyways. It will just kill small business. Instead, a tax rebate should be offered to encourage people that use mass transit, and use these extra funds to create new transit alternatives.
Is it really so great that this was killed? Think about it – the measure would have caused lots of people to travel via mass transit instead of taking cars to the city unnecessarily. Which would have been absolutely fantastic!
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Idiot. There is no room on the trains and buses in Brooklyn as it is. How long would it take for the money to come in and be used to upgrade the existing system? It would not happen overnight.
In addition, if traffic in the city doesn’t improve with the congestion plan, would they reverse the plan? Of course not. The ywould just raise it more every year.
i live in manhattan and i am celebrating.the drivers coming from new jersey were not going to be taxed, why should those who live in new york state?
total mishugas. you want to tax someone, tax those from out of state. if we paid a tax to shop in jersey maybe more ny’ers would stay in ny and shop.
think about that
anon 3:09
everybody but Simcha is invited
isn’t that what happened by the story of kamsa and bar kamsa by the second bais hamikdash with the romans. look what happened there
simcha did the rigth thing , think about
vast majority of New Yorkers who do not commute by car, and for the region as well. It is clear that Albany suffers from a profound lack of vision, courage and intelligence. Is this what we should be celebrating?
shell silver is the only one not corupt in albany
if they would have pass this the next thing would be the air tax evrey time you breath in air you have to p ay congestion air tolll…
maybee someone should give to charity some off the money they saved since the bill didnt go thru…
Congratulations Speaker Silver. Once again you shown that wisdom and foresight prevail over short-sighted greed.
(Hey Bloomy – alternative solution to traffic congestion – West Side Stadium!)
This is a bad day for the vast majority of New Yorkers who do not commute by car, and for the region as well. It is clear that Albany suffers from a profound lack of vision, courage and intelligence. Is this what we should be celebrating?
Simcha did the right thing.
By voting yes, his relationship and the services that he receives from the Mayor and the Council Speaker for our community will remain intact, and the plan was still shot down. Anyone with any knowledge of the process knows this. All other councilmen that voted against will now be aleinated. Simcha needs the mayor and the speaker to benefit our community he doesnt need the stae democrats or the speaker of the assembly. Trust me, if the Shelly was in favour of the plan many state Democrats would have voted yes.. Don’t fool yourselves. Now he will remain in goodstanding and can continue to help our community.Great work Simcha!
I think who ever goes there should give $8 to tzdaka every time could you belive how much money that would be
Is it really so great that this was killed? Think about it – the measure would have caused lots of people to travel via mass transit instead of taking cars to the city unnecessarily. Which would have been absolutely fantastic! I mean, have any of you ever tried to drive cross town during the day in Manhattan? It could take a half hour to go 5 blocks!
This way, those that *need* to have cars in the city could save loads of time and those that don’t *need* to drive could take the train. Nebach, the people used to the luxury of sitting in their cars in comfort would have to take the train. Big deal!
And the $$ was supposed to go for mass transit improvements. You know, newer, better, and more trains, buses, etc. So it could have been a win win.
Would some have suffered? Of course – but legislation can never make everyone happy and this had the potential to help many more than it would have harmed.
So think twice before celebrating and praising anyone in this case.
Its a disgrace. How much polloution is ascended on NYC daily is beyond me. Where are your environmental feelings toward planet earth? Why are we so gleefull that our environment is being abused by all you selfish predators ?
Oy geloibt de hailiger bashefer!!
This is a great day for all the people who go into the city.
B”H we have Sheldon Silver.
Simcha you are the best!
You voted for it so the Mayor will have to honor all the promises he promised you and your vote didn’t even hurt the community it only helpt cause everyone knew that it won’t pass in Albany.
Simcha again great job in serving the community. Keep it up Simcha!!!
This is a great day for all the people who go into the city.
B”H we have Sheldon Silver.
great, where is the kidush?, will you also serve cold cuts and chulent? I’m game.
I am throwing a Kiddush in shul this Shabbos that this new tax was killed. Anybody who works in Manhattan is welcome to join! Everybody but Simcha is invited.
Hoydu Lshem ki Tov!!!!!
Thank you Shelly! We knew we can count on you!!
I have said straight thru the only one we can count on is Shelly. Not Simcha, nor Yassky.
How sad Simcha had to get this dirt on his record and it didn’t even go thru. I hope he is more carefull in the future.
On the other hand, he can count on Bloombergs future help without actually hurting the communitys…
That is wonderful news. Ahearty Yasher Koach to the Speaker Sheldon Silver for standing up yet again to the inane ideas of the Mayor. At least someone has a backbone.
thank g-d.
typical democrats. have a problem? tax it or charge it.