"What's in it for Staten Island?"

The College of Staten Island's Williamson Theatre was the setting for the Staten Island hearing of the Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission on Monday, November 5. (Apologies for the poor quality photo.)

A NOTABLE UNANIMITY

At the November 5 Staten Island public hearing called by the NYC Traffic Congestion Mitigation Commission and held at Williamson Theatre within the sprawling, suburban-style campus of the College of Staten Island (CSI), there was a notable unanimity on on plaNYC's Congestion Pricing proposal among Staten Island's elected representatives. Even South Shore Republican Councilman Vincent Ignizio--a reliable foe of government whose salary is paid by government--said that despite great skepticism, he was determined to keep an open mind.

All elected officials who attended (Borough President James Molinaro sent a representative) declared their support for some sort of congestion mitigation program––but only if Staten Island's share of the dollars on offer from the Feds were made commensurate with the problems of a borough whose average commute is acknowledged to be the longest in the entire country.

The comments of Staten Island's Republican borough president, delivered by a representative, included concerns and recommendations made more forcefully by subsequent speakers. His primary recommendation was that, because of the difficulties Staten Island commuters endure, they must be held harmless from additional fees and charges. The comments of City Councilman Michael McMahon and State Senator Diane Savino, both Democrats who represent the island's less remote but still underserved North Shore, were the most scathing of those delivered by the Staten Island elected officials present.

What Staten Island's share of new federal transportation dollars should pay for

McMahon gave voice to islanders' outrage that the commission includes not a single representative of the city's most transit-starved borough, still the fastest growing county in the city and, until very recently, the state.

Other frequently voiced complaints concerned the hastily called hearings themselves; the complexity of the process for citizen comment; and the scheduling of the meeting for 6 p.m., an hour or more before many Staten Islanders get home.

"The MTA collects a major portion of their budget from Staten Island residents from that $9 Verrazano bridge toll," said Councilman McMahon, "which they now want to raise to $10 or more, and we get very little back. If the city is going to ask Staten Islanders to accept yet another toll" [which is how most pols at the hearing, among others, characterized the Congestion Pricing scheme] "we need a lot more information on what kind of benefits are on the table."

In addition to the creation of a West Shore rail line and the reopening of the North Shore line, abandoned in the 1950s, McMahon proposed two novel ideas––a comprehensive monorail system, eliminating the cost of upgrading the seriously deteriorated North Shore rail right of way; and a causeway from the Verrazano Bridge to Perth Amboy, diverting New Jersey-bound traffic from the Staten Island Expressway, if not entirely, then significantly.

"Don't buy cameras; buy more buses"

Major improvements to Staten Island's existing transit infrastructure, or firm budgetary commitments to undertake them, according to State Senator Savino--whose district includes Staten Island and South Brooklyn--must take place before any congestion mitigation scheme will be approved. Skeptical islanders, she said, will not be content with promises [such as the promise, made in the 1950s, that the now-closed Fresh Kills landfill was only a temporary fix, which is still a bitter memory for many here].

"Don't buy cameras," Savino advised commission members, "buy more buses. Run more ferries. Enforce bus-only lane regulations. Give [Staten Islanders] some improvements," Savino advised, "then they'll back Congestion Pricing." Mid-island State Assemblyman Michael J. Cusack, a Democrat, echoed the substance of McMahon's and Savino's comments, then proposed the development of a protocol, a clearly defined process for prioritizing transit projects citywide.

City Councilman Lew Fidler, a genial but determined foe of Congestion Pricing, traveled all the way from his home borough, Brooklyn, to propose the development of Cross-Narrows Tunnel from Brooklyn to Staten Island. This capital project, first proposed in the 1920s, would make possible the development of a subway connection to the 86th Street station of the R train.

Five key recommendations--all mass-transit based

Patrick Hyland of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce expressed his organization's support for Congestion Pricing, provided five thoughtful recommendations that address a range of transit-related problems experienced island-wide are implemented. Significantly, every recommendation involves mass transit.

•Reinstitution of rail service (roadbeds are deteriorated but right-of-way is intact)
•Increase in the number of Bus Rapid Transit routes (the first and so far the only such route was instituted earlier this year; ridership was surprisingly strong from the beginning and continues to grow)
•Fast ferry service to and from the South Shore--the most remote and least well served by mass transit of the island's three community board areas
•Full extension of the currently limited-distance express bus lane on the Staten Island Expressway, and
•A fourth bus depot (the third, already in the MTA capital budget, has already been outpaced by demand for express bus service)

Citizen comments

--Robert L. DiBiase predicted Staten Islanders would never give up what he described as their "one-seat ride" and added that transit-oriented development would destroy Staten Island's suburban environment, which to many residents and prospective residents is the borough's key attraction. He said Bus Rapid Transit consumes too much space, relative to the amount of traffic it may reduce. Instead, he proposed the creation of an infrastructure for bicycles within the median of the West Shore Expressway and the Staten Island Expressway.

--Steve Harrison, a Brooklyn resident and currently a Democratic candidate for the Brooklyn/Staten Island congressional seat now occupied by Republican Vito Fossella said, through a spokesperson reading his testimony, that transit improvements must be made before Congestion Pricing is instituted. Harrison also expressed the concern that the proposal could result in a two-tier, class-based transit system, with the rich riding limos and everyone else stuffed into buses and subways.

--Jack McCloy suggested that mass transit improvements be funded by using transponder technology (such as is used for E-Z Pass) not to collect Congestion Pricing charges, but to identify and prosecute the many drivers of unregistered cars and the even greater number of unlicensed drivers who enter the CBD--which could raise substantial income from fines; and to deter other would-be lawbreakers from entering the specified zone, which would lighten traffic.

--Roy Moskowitz asserted that Congestion Pricing offers no additional options to Staten Island commuters; rather, he said, it severely compromises the existing option to drive into the CBD without charge except for parking. Moskowitz's primary recommendation is that express bus service run on the same schedule as subways.

--Pedro Torres, an MTA employee, expressed his support for a Cross Harbor Tunnel.

Comments from the business community

--Peter Petino, president of Active Transport, contended that:

•The oft-cited London model was not relevant to NYC because of London's more adequate preparations for the institution of Congestion Pricing--preparations this city has yet to make
•Commerce should not additionally taxed
•Vulnerable sole proprietorships are particularly threatened by the imposition of Congestion Pricing charges
•Don't charge drivers of cars containing two or more people

Comments from transportation-related not-for-profits

--George Haikalis, president of the Institute for Rational Urban Mobility (IRUM) made several points:

•Pricing should be used as an incentive for using mass transit and as a disincentive for driving a car
•Pricing regulations should be kept in force 24/7, not merely during peak periods
•Congestion pricing-related issues should be considered in a regional, not merely a five-borough context through a multi-state planning agency

--Elena Conte, Director, Move NY and NJ, Pratt Center for Community Development, recommended construction of the Cross Harbor Tunnel from Brooklyn to Jersey City, which would significantly reduce congestion and thus pollution.

And last, there were the following health-related points made by medical researcher and assistant professor Jennifer Richmond-Bryant of Hunter College, all in support of Congestion Pricing:

•Vehicle emissions produce asthma attacks
•Idling and passing of diesel trucks are big contributors to those asthma attacks
•Failure to provide reasonable mass transit options forces people into their cars and keeps pollution and pulmonary disease rates high

The hearing adjourned 10 minutes early (!) at 8:50 p.m. I took the bus home. No one else from the hearing joined me. We've obviously got a lot of work to do on Staten Island. But the (very) conditional willingness of many Staten Islanders to at least consider some sort of pricing scheme to reduce traffic and improve local mass transit services was encouraging.

Comments

[Dan Icolari]

Thank you, Tom, and you, too, Jonathan, for your kind comments.

[Tom Brice]

I testified at the hearing last night, while I don't agree with congestion pricing as I stated because not one local bus is promised to Staten Island, only one express bus, and I also believe the revenue generated from this is just another way to give government more money that it won't properly use.

However, I really think you did one hell of a job describing what happened last night. I don't think anyone on Staten Island is for congestion pricing is pretty much I don't see how this is gonna fix traffic to the point we are all off the roads, after all what we really need is cutting bus,express, subway fares, increasing bus service, returning the Brooklyn Ferry we don't even need any 8 dollar tax on trucks, cars, and anyone else who desires here, and there to come to the city. I also don't see with buses moving as slow as they will, this is gonna speed up our commute, we have the worst commute in the country, not to mention the only place in the country that has to pay to leave.

I do think you did a great job with your testimony, and covering this as whole, I hope you make it too the meeting next week about the MTA Fare Hike.

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the writeup; very informative!!