Congestion plan could die in council committee

The newly recommended congestion pricing proposal could die in a city council committee before it even goes for a vote before the entire council, The Queens Courier has learned.
The alternative congestion pricing plan passed overwhelmingly by the state’s Traffic Mitigation Congestion Commission will start in the council’s seven-member committee in charge of state and federal legislation.
Brooklyn City Councilmember Lewis Fidler, who has been one of the biggest opponents of the congestion pricing proposal and sits on the council committee, said he would have to seriously consider whether to vote against the proposal.
“To kill it in committee and deprive my colleagues an opportunity to vote, I’m not sure I want to do it,” Fidler said.
Meanwhile, Fidler is not the only person on the committee who is wary of the state’s congestion pricing recommendation.
“My opinion about it is not going to change; at this point I’m against it,” said Queens Councilmember Joseph Addabbo, saying that he believed people in his district opposed the plan by more than 20 to 1. “Long before we talk about putting up tolls and charging people, there is much more we can do with looking at alternatives before we consider this tax.”
However, if the proposal comes out of the state and federal legislation committee, the entire council would vote on whether to pass a home rule message that would send the proposal to the state legislature in Albany.
Early reports have indicated that more opposition to the proposal may occur in the state legislature than in the city council, but Fidler said the proposal would not cruise through the council.
“I think this is going to have very rough roads in the city council, and we may really assert some authority,” Fidler said.
In Queens, many city councilmembers have already voiced opposition to how the plan is constituted.
“I’m not in favor of the plan that was optioned [because] it still puts an unfair burden on Queens’ residents,” said Councilmember Leroy Comrie. “It is still truly a Manhattan-centric plan, and it doesn’t provide enough mass transit options.”
Yet, Queens Councilmember John Liu, who chairs the council’s transportation committee, believes that the commission’s recommendations provide a solid starting point for the council to begin debate. Liu believes a number of technical issues still need to be worked out, but he did not know how much the plan would be amended.
“I think there will be a lot of discussion,” Liu said. “It may not be changed dramatically before being put to a vote, [and then] it’s a yes or no vote.”
The city council and state legislature would likely have to approve a congestion pricing proposal by March 31 in order to qualify for federal funds used to partially implement a congestion pricing proposal.