Scramble On for Traffic Dollars
Scramble On for Traffic Dollars
Lobbyist Who Killed Olympics Is Now on Bloomberg Side
BY ANNIE KARNI - Special to the Sun
May 2, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/53591
As the Bloomberg administration scrambles to build political support for its proposed road tax, New York City is facing stiff competition from some of America's biggest cities for hundreds of millions of federal dollars that would fund portions of the congestion-pricing scheme.
More than 25 cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Las Vegas, and even Lincoln, Neb., have entered the race for a piece of the $1.2 billion in discretionary funds that the federal Department of Transportation will invest in communities that want to relieve traffic congestion with "value pricing" programs. A spokesman said the department would likely choose three or fewer cities for funding.
The federal guidelines say applicants must demonstrate that there is "already sufficient political support for implementation."
Also, "near-term" implementation of the road-pricing initiative has to be likely, most preferably by January 2009.
As of Monday's deadline, however, New York City was the only city planning to apply that had not completed its application. The city had submitted only a "conditional application" and a request for a two-month extension. During that time, Mr. Bloomberg said he would drum up political support from Governor Spitzer and the state Legislature, as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — both state-run transportation agencies.
Such support so far has been hard to come by. But as Mr. Bloomberg fights to shape the city's future for decades to come, he is taking steps to avoid the pitfalls that ultimately spoiled his first bold initiative to build a football stadium for the Jets on Manhattan's West Side. Without political and civic allies to back the Jets deal, the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics ended as a fruitless endeavor about two years ago.
This time around, however, the Bloomberg administration is working closely with more than 70 environmental groups and civic and business organizations to lobby for the plan in Albany. One group that has been coordinating closely with the mayor's office on congestion pricing, Environmental Defense, has hired one of the state's most powerful lobbyists, Patricia Lynch, the Assembly speaker's former press secretary and director of communications, to generate political good will for congestion pricing at the state level. The Legislature so far has balked at the program, and Mr. Spitzer has yet to declare a firm stance.
Ms. Lynch previously lobbied Speaker Sheldon Silver on behalf of Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, against the West Side stadium plan. It was Mr. Silver's lack of support on the Public Authorities Control Board that abruptly ended City Hall's Olympic dreams.
Mr. Bloomberg has been counting on using federal funds to implement the congestion pricing scheme he unveiled last month as a piece of his sweeping plan to make New York City environmentally friendly and sustainable by 2030. In his proposal, cars would be charged $8 and trucks would be charged $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Those fees would be offset by any tolls paid to enter the city. The infrastructure needed to implement his plan would cost at least a quarter of a billion dollars, a city official said.
Some of the federal funds would be used pay for an extensive network of cameras that would photograph license plates so that drivers could be sent a bill in the mail. Drivers entering Manhattan during the peak hours also would be encouraged to pay using E-ZPass technology.
A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said it is too early to tell how New York City's application would be affected by its "conditional" status. The transportation department has not yet set a date for announcing which cities would divvy up the federal funds.
Meanwhile, the city and the organizations supporting the plan are stepping up their efforts to lobby lawmakers in Albany to support congestion pricing.
The director of the mayor's office of operations, Jeffrey Kay, recently made a trip to Albany to meet with Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who has for years been vocal in his opposition to charging drivers to use the streets of New York. Mr. Brodsky, a Democrat of Westchester, maintains that access to the public streets should not be available only to drivers who could afford to pay.
"They want cameras all over the city," Mr. Brodsky said in an interview following his meeting with Mr. Kay. "It has real privacy implications." Mr. Brodsky said the meeting did not sway him in his opposition to congestion pricing, but added: "If the mayor wants a serious conversation, I'd be glad to participate."
There are other political hurdles in addition to the state Legislature. The executive director and CEO of the MTA, Elliot Sander, has not endorsed Mr. Bloomberg's traffic tax plan. An agency spokesman said last night that the MTA was still analyzing the proposal to understand how it would affect mass transit in the city. The Port Authority has stated vaguely that it would work the city and both states to meet their collective traffic challenges.
This is the first year the federal government has earmarked money to fight congestion through road-pricing schemes. The transportation department spokesman said the department now plans to make an undetermined amount of money for congestion pricing available every year.
The communities that have applied for federal funds are: Denver, Los Angeles, Louisville, Phoenix and Tuscon jointly, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, southwestern Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Clearwater, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Florida's State Department of Transportation, Atlanta and Georgia's toll road authority jointly, Minneapolis and St. Paul jointly, Lincoln, Las Vegas, another area of Nevada, Austin, Texas, Dallas, Houston, Northern Virginia, Fairfax County, King County and Seattle jointly, and Washington State.
May 2, 2007 Edition > Section: New York > Printer-Friendly Version
Link to Article Source
Lobbyist Who Killed Olympics Is Now on Bloomberg Side
BY ANNIE KARNI - Special to the Sun
May 2, 2007
URL: http://www.nysun.com/article/53591
As the Bloomberg administration scrambles to build political support for its proposed road tax, New York City is facing stiff competition from some of America's biggest cities for hundreds of millions of federal dollars that would fund portions of the congestion-pricing scheme.
More than 25 cities across the country, including Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Dallas, Las Vegas, and even Lincoln, Neb., have entered the race for a piece of the $1.2 billion in discretionary funds that the federal Department of Transportation will invest in communities that want to relieve traffic congestion with "value pricing" programs. A spokesman said the department would likely choose three or fewer cities for funding.
The federal guidelines say applicants must demonstrate that there is "already sufficient political support for implementation."
Also, "near-term" implementation of the road-pricing initiative has to be likely, most preferably by January 2009.
As of Monday's deadline, however, New York City was the only city planning to apply that had not completed its application. The city had submitted only a "conditional application" and a request for a two-month extension. During that time, Mr. Bloomberg said he would drum up political support from Governor Spitzer and the state Legislature, as well as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey — both state-run transportation agencies.
Such support so far has been hard to come by. But as Mr. Bloomberg fights to shape the city's future for decades to come, he is taking steps to avoid the pitfalls that ultimately spoiled his first bold initiative to build a football stadium for the Jets on Manhattan's West Side. Without political and civic allies to back the Jets deal, the city's bid for the 2012 Olympics ended as a fruitless endeavor about two years ago.
This time around, however, the Bloomberg administration is working closely with more than 70 environmental groups and civic and business organizations to lobby for the plan in Albany. One group that has been coordinating closely with the mayor's office on congestion pricing, Environmental Defense, has hired one of the state's most powerful lobbyists, Patricia Lynch, the Assembly speaker's former press secretary and director of communications, to generate political good will for congestion pricing at the state level. The Legislature so far has balked at the program, and Mr. Spitzer has yet to declare a firm stance.
Ms. Lynch previously lobbied Speaker Sheldon Silver on behalf of Cablevision, which owns Madison Square Garden, against the West Side stadium plan. It was Mr. Silver's lack of support on the Public Authorities Control Board that abruptly ended City Hall's Olympic dreams.
Mr. Bloomberg has been counting on using federal funds to implement the congestion pricing scheme he unveiled last month as a piece of his sweeping plan to make New York City environmentally friendly and sustainable by 2030. In his proposal, cars would be charged $8 and trucks would be charged $21 to enter Manhattan south of 86th Street weekdays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Those fees would be offset by any tolls paid to enter the city. The infrastructure needed to implement his plan would cost at least a quarter of a billion dollars, a city official said.
Some of the federal funds would be used pay for an extensive network of cameras that would photograph license plates so that drivers could be sent a bill in the mail. Drivers entering Manhattan during the peak hours also would be encouraged to pay using E-ZPass technology.
A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said it is too early to tell how New York City's application would be affected by its "conditional" status. The transportation department has not yet set a date for announcing which cities would divvy up the federal funds.
Meanwhile, the city and the organizations supporting the plan are stepping up their efforts to lobby lawmakers in Albany to support congestion pricing.
The director of the mayor's office of operations, Jeffrey Kay, recently made a trip to Albany to meet with Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, who has for years been vocal in his opposition to charging drivers to use the streets of New York. Mr. Brodsky, a Democrat of Westchester, maintains that access to the public streets should not be available only to drivers who could afford to pay.
"They want cameras all over the city," Mr. Brodsky said in an interview following his meeting with Mr. Kay. "It has real privacy implications." Mr. Brodsky said the meeting did not sway him in his opposition to congestion pricing, but added: "If the mayor wants a serious conversation, I'd be glad to participate."
There are other political hurdles in addition to the state Legislature. The executive director and CEO of the MTA, Elliot Sander, has not endorsed Mr. Bloomberg's traffic tax plan. An agency spokesman said last night that the MTA was still analyzing the proposal to understand how it would affect mass transit in the city. The Port Authority has stated vaguely that it would work the city and both states to meet their collective traffic challenges.
This is the first year the federal government has earmarked money to fight congestion through road-pricing schemes. The transportation department spokesman said the department now plans to make an undetermined amount of money for congestion pricing available every year.
The communities that have applied for federal funds are: Denver, Los Angeles, Louisville, Phoenix and Tuscon jointly, San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, southwestern Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Clearwater, Fla., Jacksonville, Fla., Orlando, Fla., Florida's State Department of Transportation, Atlanta and Georgia's toll road authority jointly, Minneapolis and St. Paul jointly, Lincoln, Las Vegas, another area of Nevada, Austin, Texas, Dallas, Houston, Northern Virginia, Fairfax County, King County and Seattle jointly, and Washington State.
May 2, 2007 Edition > Section: New York > Printer-Friendly Version
Link to Article Source
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