A poll yesterday showed that an overwhelming number of New Yorkers familiar with the benefits of Mayor Bloomberg's congestion-pricing plan support it.
The survey, conducted for a pro-plan group by Penn, Schoen & Berland, found 41 percent of residents of the city and the suburbs backed the plan when first asked, compared to just 13 percent opposed. Forty-six percent said they didn't know enough to form an opinion.
When those polled were told of potential plan benefits, such as ending gridlock and reducing pollution-related health problems, support for the proposal jumped to 81 percent, according to the Campaign for New York's Future, which funded the survey.
Meanwhile, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) told WROW-AM in Albany that the Legislature probably wouldn't approve Bloomberg's proposal before the Legislature's scheduled summer recess next week.
"I think it is unlikely we can take action," said Silver, who has repeatedly questioned the effectiveness of the plan.
Campaign for New York's Future spokesman Michael O'Loughlin said the poll showed that the more New Yorkers learn of Bloomberg's plan, "the more they like it."
However, in a separate statement, the polling firm noted that after being told that the plan would impose an $8 "congestion fee" on cars entering Manhattan below 86th Street during working hours, New Yorkers split 46 percent in favor and 46 percent opposed.
Bloomberg told WROW that he would urge Gov. Spitzer to call a special legislative session if the Legislature doesn't act on its own to approve his plan.
He repeated his contention that some $500 million in special federal transportation funds would be lost if the plan isn't approved.
