1 month ago
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Gov. Hochul took a autobus thrust down 14th Street connected Friday morning to amusement however good congestion pricing is working.
“Traffic is down, concern is up!” the governor’s assembled assemblage bleated astatine her command.
Talk astir cherry-picking. The 14th Street Busway has been virtually off-limits to cars for years now, truthful buses are ever escaped to traverse Manhattan with astir nary traffic. Ideal for a property junket demonstrating that the caller taxation connected cars has eased the mode for buses. Not to notation that Friday mornings aren’t precisely highest driving time.
Hochul dared the “naysayers” successful Washington to interfere with a strategy that shows that “government tin enactment for the people.”
But if she imagines that New York is simply a exemplary of ratio for the country, the authorities is successful superior trouble. It’s 1 happening to beryllium ineffective, it’s different to contradict it.
Stars successful her eyes
So far, congestion pricing appears to beryllium “working,” successful that less drivers are consenting to wage the toll. But that’s not a surprise, due to the fact that taxing thing produces little of it.
And arsenic her lone impervious that “business is up,” the politician touted higher summons income connected Broadway. Maybe the information that the outpouring theatre play is bringing superstars similar George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Jake Gyllenhaal and Kieran Culkin to the boards has thing to bash with crowded theaters? Nah, indispensable beryllium the caller congestion fees.
The politician besides bizarrely boasted that subway transgression is little present than it was successful 2001, erstwhile Rudy Giuliani was mayor. Funny to bring that up erstwhile the MTA is coming disconnected a twelvemonth that saw much murders successful the subway than ever before. Twelve radical were killed successful the strategy successful 2024, compared to a expansive full of 2 successful 2001.
Hochul introduced Quemuel Arroyo, the MTA’s accessibility officer, who claimed preposterously that helium has “never” felt unsafe riding the subway.
Arroyo besides enthused astir however “safe” it is to beryllium successful Times Square, little than a week since a nutrient cart vendor sprayed a pedestrian with lighter fluid and acceptable him connected fire, leaving him with horrific burns.
To perceive to the advocates of congestion pricing, the cardinal dollars it was expected to bring successful each twelvemonth would alteration our decrepit embarrassment of a strategy into a 22nd period transit fantasyland.
Agency ‘rounding error’
New stations, full caller lines, functioning elevators, much trains — each this and much would autumn from eden the infinitesimal the congestion pricing cameras were turned on.
That cardinal dollar estimation has present been halved, but it was ever a conscious, extravagant prevarication that the wealth would marque overmuch difference. The MTA operating fund is astir $20 cardinal annually, and its capital program of $68 cardinal is tens of billions of dollars successful the hole.
Congestion pricing gross is virtually a rounding mistake successful the MTA’s fund circus.
Meanwhile, MTA honcho Janno Lieber says New York City needs to footwear successful billions more, connected apical of a fare hike, conscionable to support the trains moving astatine all. But Gotham residents already wage done the chemoreceptor to enactment the MTA, which drinks wealth similar a thirsty elephant.
Gov. Hochul, for her part, thinks NYC employers ought to wage adjacent much done an summation successful the “mobility” payroll tax.
The MTA has nary grip connected its costs, and its labour absorption is simply a notorious joke. Hochul should enactment her MTA connected a strict fare — oregon cough up immoderate funds from her quarter-trillion-dollars authorities fund — earlier she comes backmost to Gotham to gouge overtaxed metropolis residents again.
Seth Barron’s publication “Weaponized” is owed retired this twelvemonth from Humanix.
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