They praise the messengers more than the message.
By Sydney Céspedes
sydney29@gmail.com
Members of the New York State Assembly were impressed with the Hunts Point teenagers who pressed them to vote in favor of congestion pricing.
But they weren’t necessarily convinced.
“I am still up in the air,”
said Bronx Assemblyman Michael Benjamin. He said he remained skeptical that the money generated by the fees levied on drivers would be spent as promised on mass transit.
In addition, said Benjamin, “I am worried that the promise won’t arrive in the Bronx. The plan is Manhattancentric.”
Assemblyman Brian P. Kavanagh, whose district is in Manhattan, was a bit more optimistic.
“At the end of the day I think a plan that includes congestion pricing is one of the several ways that we can improve public transportation,” he said.
Joan Byron of the Pratt Center said it was “really up to our legislators” to add safeguards to insure the money is spent properly. “If they express cynicism about how the money would be used, they’re abdicating their responsibility to oversee the MTA,” she said.
Benjamin, whose district includes Morrisania and part of Longwood, and who is a former member of The Point’s board, sponsored the Albany workshop on congestion pricing at COMMUTE’s request.
“I thought it was a fine presentation,” he said of the young lobbyists. “I’m glad young people in Hunts Point continue to be involved in social justice.”
Kavanagh, whose East Side district includes part of the new Second Avenue subway that would gain from a new stream of mass transit funding, was also impressed by the presentation.
“I think it’s very important that communities affected by this should have a say in this,” he said, and added, “It’s terrific when young people get involved.”