• Font Size    
E-mail

Close Window E-mail This Page

Red-Hot Bloomberg Takes Congestion Fight To D.C.

Required fields are marked with an asterisk(*)

The information you provide will be used only to send the requested e-mail and will not be used to send any other e-mail communications. Read more in our Privacy Policy

Send E-mail

   Print     Share +    Comments
Jul 10, 2007 7:55 pm US/Eastern

Red-Hot Bloomberg Takes Congestion Fight To D.C.

Mayor Running Out Of Time To Get His New Fee Passed

by Marcia Kramer
WASHINGTON (CBS) ― The congestion pricing clock is ticking. Only six days to win approval and Mayor Michael Bloomberg was here to step up pressure on one man, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

A green light on congestion pricing means over $500 million in federal transportation funds -- a red light means New York City gets nothing, though it's no surprise Bloomberg is seeing red because Albany won't help him get the green.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for New York City," Bloomberg said. "I can't guarantee that it's going to work, but I can guarantee that doing nothing is intolerable."

But not everyone in Albany is in the mayor's sights. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been supportive. Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, both Republicans, came with the mayor to meet with federal officials.

"Everybody knows it's got to get done," Bruno said. "It's got to get done."

They want Assembly Speaker Silver to sign off on Bloomberg's bill, but Assembly Democrats now have their own bill and surprise, surprise there's no $8 fee to enter Manhattan. It's got carpools to ease congestion, tax credits for businesses to have employees telecommute -- work at home, on computers.

Bloomberg quickly slammed that idea.

"It's a preposterous piece of paper," Bloomberg said. "I find it hard to understand why we would pass a bill that encourages Connecticut commuters to stay at home."

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

Add Comment

here. here. Need a log in? Register here
  •  * Will not be displayed with comment
  •  * e.g. (http://www.mywebsite.com)
  •  
  • Click here to refresh with new letters

Show Comments (0)

Close Window Login


Close Window Flag Comment


loading...
You need the latest Flash player to view video content.
Click here to download.

Click here to bypass this detection if you already have the latest Flash Player.

Top Stories

Top News Stories

© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.