Queens Ledger
Just before the City Council made their final decision to recommend Mayor Bloomberg's congestion pricing plan to the state legislature, residents of South Queens gave the plan a giant "thumbs down" at a town hall meeting on March 25 at JHS 210 in Ozone Park.
Councilman Joseph Addabbo, who sponsored the meeting, said he is against the plan because he believes it will not benefit his constituents. Addabbo, who was one of the 20 council members who voted against congestion pricing, added that New York City's transportation system must get better before the discussion about congestion pricing continues.
The councilman and his staff handed out red, yellow, and green index cards to the audience. Addabbo asked them to indicate if they were against the plan (red), unsure (yellow), or in favor of congestion pricing (green). Two votes were taken, before and after the plan presentation by Rohit Aggarwala, director of the Mayor's Office of Long-term Planning.
In the first vote residents expressed their disapproval by a margin of 48-2. The second poll showed that no resident had been persuaded to change his or her mind.
In his 45-minute PowerPoint presentation, Aggarwala extolled the benefits the congestion pricing plan would bring to city residents: cleaner air, funding for major transit improvements, less traffic that will lead to quicker bus commute times, less cut-through traffic and noise pollution in neighborhoods citywide, quicker commutes and lower fuel costs for those who continue to drive.
Democratic District Leader Lew Simon, a resident of Rockaway, told Aggarwala, "I listened to all your great plans, but I see nothing to improve our district, which includes Rockaway, Broad Channel, Howard Beach, and Ozone Park. All I see is that your money is going to go to Manhattan."
Simon advocated reactivating the Old Rockaway Beach Line, which he said is a complete win for every part of his district. He said that if activated the train would take 32 minutes from Penn station to Rockaway and to Ozone Park in 18 minutes.
Regarding the congestion pricing plan, Simon told Aggarwala, "Are you going to give us all these promises or no promises, take our money from us and give us nothing? I'm vehemently against the Mayor's proposal. It's a waste of our time. It's utterly ridiculous."
David Quintana of Ozone Park called congestion pricing a "regressive tax". He said, "It's really about Manhattan where people walk to work, making life better for Manhattanites."
A Howard Beach resident discussing the plan with a friend was overheard by a reporter to remark, "Taxation without representation."
Frank Gulluscio, a resident of Howard Beach and a Democratic District Leader, said congestion pricing is not an option for south Queens residents, adding, "It's no way of raising more money.
Betty Braton, a Howard Beach resident and chairwoman of Community Board 10, said that while the board has not taken a position in regard to the mayor's congestion pricing plan, that it is the board's position that there must be significant transportation improvements in place in southern Queens prior to the establishment of any congestion pricing plan.
"Community Board 10 believes that the current discussion regarding the mayor's proposal must include ways to improve public transportation and traffic flow in the 'outer' boroughs rather than be focused only on the concerns in Manhattan," said Braton.
5 years ago
