Nassau MTA Board member wants new tolls put on hold
MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said Wednesday that final approval of a new congestion pricing plan in Manhattan could come by the end of this year, and that the tolls could be in place by late 2023 or early 2024. Credit: Charles Eckert
Nassau County’s representative on the MTA Board on Wednesday urged the agency to put on hold plans to charge new tolls for driving in Manhattan, saying the plan could cause financial pain to drivers and to the transit agency.
David Mack’s remarks came as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority took a major step in its long-debated congestion pricing plan, empaneling a five-member board that will come up with recommended guidelines for the new tolls. With progress made in a federal environmental review process, MTA chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said final approval could come by the end of this year, and that the tolls could be in place by late 2023 or early 2024.
Although the newly empaneled “Traffic Mobility Review Board” will come up with recommended toll amounts for driving in the "Central Business District" — defined as below 60th Street in Manhattan — the MTA previously has said it could range from $9 to $35. The MTA hopes to generate $1 billion annually, and use the money to back bonds that would pay for infrastructure investments.
But with inflation and interest rates rising, the plan should be “put on hold,” Mack said. He added that the MTA instead should focus on cutting costs.
“We will be doing an injustice to go further on congestion pricing to every county, every outer borough in New York,” said Mack, who voted against forming the review board, which includes fellow Long Island real estate mogul Scott Rechler. “I know a lot of these individuals personally. This has nothing to do with them. This has to do with dollars and cents.”
Lieber defended the MTA’s decision to move forward with the tolls, which he said would “affect a relatively limited number of people who are disproportionately better off.”
“Long Islanders who use mass transit, which is the overwhelming majority, will benefit because we’re using the money to invest in mass transit,” said Lieber, adding that reducing congestion in Manhattan also would help the environment, and make it easier for emergency and delivery vehicles to get around.
Mack’s rare remarks at an MTA Board meeting came amid a public feud with Lieber. Mack, who first joined the board in 1993, was reappointed last month, despite the objections of some state-elected officials who questioned his contributions to the MTA.
Lieber on Wednesday declined to discuss details of his squabble with Mack, other than to say “the question of the behavior of any board member is a serious one.”
“He’s confirmed by the Senate, and he’s on our board, and we’re going to work with him as professionally as we can,” Lieber said.
As MTA officials warn of massive budget deficits once they exhaust nearly $15 billion in federal COVID-19 aid, Mack on Wednesday also urged the agency to reconsider some of the projects in its $55.4 billion Capital Program.
Instead, the MTA Board on Wednesday voted to add another $108 million to the program, and to expedite several projects, including accessibility upgrades at some LIRR stations.
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
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