Malliotakis Submits Written Testimony to MTA Opposing Congestion Pricing Program

(STATEN ISLAND/BROOKLYN, NY) - Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis today submitted the following written testimony to the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) opposing the city's plan to implement a Central Business District Tolling Program in New York City, otherwise known as Congestion Pricing: 

As a resident of the New York metropolitan area, I am deeply concerned about the economic, environmental, and safety impacts of the proposed CBDTP on our greater region. The cordon pricing zone will generate revenues for the MTA’s capital program, all at the expense of other, less privileged communities in our vast region of over 22 million inhabitants.

Many commuters – in places such as Staten Island – lack an alternative mode of transport to personal automobile for their regular commute to the Manhattan CBD. This could be due to the time of day they are required to commute, the number of intraday trips, or a transit-inaccessible point of origin. These individuals will be unduly harmed and disadvantaged.

The EA prepared by the MTA and FHWA demonstrates that communities – such as the Bronx and Staten Island – will experience higher levels of traffic congestion along with the increased air pollution that comes with it. Higher congestion levels will also erode pedestrian safety and drive traffic fatalities up in our communities. These heightened daytime traffic levels in our region but away from the CBD will necessarily expose two of society’s most vulnerable groups to more pollution and more traffic danger: children and senior citizens. As the CBDTP transfers Manhattan’s vehicular congestion out to communities such as the Bronx and Staten Island, our most vulnerable citizens will be at greater risk.

The level of study conducted under the EA process to date is sufficient only to reinforce the concerns of millions of residents in the New York metropolitan area. We will be disadvantaged, and the errors of past transportation planners will be exacerbated by the MTA’s hasty push to conclude NEPA and implement their program. Further study, analysis, and mitigation proposals are clearly necessary before the CBDTP can proceed. The public comment period on this EA – conducted during one of the most challenging times of year for community engagement – must be extended to 90 days in order to garner sufficient input from our regions’ inhabitants. Not doing so suggests an intentional suppression of public input on the part of the MTA and FHWA, in direct violation of the spirit of NEPA. Our voices – including those of environmental justice communities in the Bronx and on Staten Island – must be heard, and that takes time.

In addition to extending the current public comment period, I urge FHWA to continue its assessment of this precedent-setting cordon pricing zone by conducting a full and thorough EIS. Projects of far less consequence and less apparent environmental impact – such as the FRA’s recent EIS for the “Western Rail Yard” project in Manhattan – have been afforded a full and complete EIS analysis, while this program of tremendous consequence for an entire region has been pushed through at maximum speed, per the MTA leadership’s repeated statements. We cannot have it both ways: this review will either be treated with respect and conducted thoroughly, with community input, or it will be done fast to jam through an outcome that benefits the businesses and residents of lower and midtown Manhattan with little regard for the rest of our region.

Please implement NEPA properly for this project; please choose community engagement and thorough analysis to ensure that the CBDTP is done right. The consequences of a rushed EA and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) are just too high.

To download a copy of Malliotakis' testimony, click HERE. 

Submit a written comment HERE.