Cuomo Intent on Fixing MTA

Cuomo floats MTA revenue fixes in budget address

Share on Facebook Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive budget address admitted that Fiscal Year 2019 would be a complicated one for the state in terms of closing a $4.4 billion deficit with a $168.1 billion spending plan.

  From article, (Cuomo made clear his intention to fix the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and establish a dedicated revenue stream by enacting congestion pricing — charging drivers in congested Manhattan neighborhoods.

“In many ways, this is going to be the most challenging budget that we’ve had to do. It intertwines a number of economic and policy and legal issues that makes the situation complicated. It’s not just the budget this year, it’s really an economic transformation plan that we’re talking about.” Cuomo said Tuesday before explaining how the Payroll Mobility Tax, which levies about $1.6 billion per year, could possibly go directly to the MTA as a dedicated revenue stream:

“We would change the law so that the MTA collects the tax itself. It now has a dedicate funding stream, can securitize it, it can get a better credit rating from it, it can finance the installation of the Fix New York City, the Penn Renovation, etc.”

Fix NYC was established by the governor as a panel to deliberate on how to enact congestion pricing at tolls going into Manhattan during peak hours. According to Cuomo, a report from Fix NYC was to be released at the end of the week defining hours, fees and geographic zones for congestion pricing, which will be collected through cashless tolling.

Queens pols have been vocally opposed to congestion pricing on East River bridges since the proposal was announced by Cuomo over the summer, Including Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows).

“I am pleased to hear that the governor did not include tolls on the East River bridge crossings, which have been free since 1911, as part of his 2018 Executive Budget Proposal,” Weprin said. “As I’ve expressed before, tolls impose an unfair burden on the middle class, small businesses, and those who cannot access public transportation. I’d like to ensure that any congestion zone will keep the needs of all New Yorkers, including the many the working New Yorkers who often commute from the outer boroughs and who do not have easily available access to public transportation, in mind.”)

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