Rockland Lawmakers Petition State For NYC Commuter Congestion Discount

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — Rockland County lawmakers unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul and the State Legislature to delay new congestion tolls for lower Manhattan until passage of a state law mandating discounts for drivers entering the city after crossing the Tappan Zee or George Washington bridges.

The Central Business District Tolling Program, also referred to as congestion pricing, would affect vehicles entering all parts of Manhattan at or below 60th Street (excluding the FDR Drive, the West Side Highway, and the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel connection to West Street). It is considered a way to ease traffic and reduce air pollution in NYC’s congested business core and as a way to raise $1 billion annually for upgrades to the city’s transit system.

It could launch as soon as June – the license plate and EZPass readers are already installed – and while some commuters will get a discount, there are zero cuts for Rockland drivers, who use the Tappan Zee or George Washington bridges.

Rockland officials have been fighting for years to defeat or at least modify the congestion pricing plan.

They have said about 4,000 Rockland commuters travel daily into the congestion zone, though they have not said how many are carpooling, etc.

“At the very least, we deserve to be treated fairly and this New York City MTA plan does the complete opposite,” Rockland County Legislator Minority Leader Lon M. Hofstein said. “No discounts will be made available to Rockland commuters. Instead, these commuters are looking at a $15 per day toll – a brand new tax – just because they work in downtown Manhattan.”

He noted the situation is even worse for businesses relying on trucks, with the proposed toll for trucks to be $24 or $36 depending on their size.

Under the plan, drivers entering Manhattan’s central business district through the Lincoln or Holland tunnels will get a $5 credit for the tunnel tolls they pay, which will then be applied to the congestion pricing toll. Those entering through the Queens-Midtown or Hugh L. Carey (Brooklyn -Battery) tunnels will get a $2.50 credit. Truck credits range from $6 to $20.

Drivers who cross the more northern bridges across the Hudson River on their way into the congestion zone will get zero discounts.

Daily commuters aren’t the only ones who would be affected, Hofstein noted. The new tolls would be in effect at all hours except between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. weekdays and 9 p.m. and 9 a.m. weekends, so if you’re headed to Broadway, Madison Square Garden or anyplace else below 60th Street, you’ll be hit with the congestion toll, he said.

Hofstein said it reminds him of the “metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax,” a 2009 payroll tax put in place on employers and the self-employed not only in NYC, but Long Island and Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Duchess and Westchester counties.

Despite the additional funding it has been providing for the past 15 years, Rockland still has no one-seat train ride into Manhattan, nor have there been significant MTA system improvements, he argued.

Rockland leaders calculate a $40 million value gap between how much is paid into the MTA via taxes and other revenue versus the services provided.

Congestion is beside the point, Hofstein said. “Rockland and other commuters outside New York City are again being forced to supplement transportation costs for commuters who live in New York City.

He alleged the toll will cause hardships for some families who are already struggling just to get by.

“The MTA and others need to stop seeing people who live outside New York City’s official boundaries as ATMs that they can just keep draining," he said.