Meet The 5 Honchos Who'll Brainstorm NYC Congestion Pricing Toll Rates

NEW YORK CITY — Five bigwigs will help craft exactly how much Manhattan congestion pricing tolls will cost motorists, MTA chair and CEO Janno Lieber said.

Lieber's paired his announcement Wednesday about the five-person panel — officially dubbed the Traffic Mobility Review Board — with news that MTA officials plan to soon release an environmental assessment.

The environmental assessment set to be released Aug. 10 is a critical step in getting Federal Highway Administration approval for plans to toll cars that enter Manhattan below 61th Street.

“We have overcome huge hurdles and are ready for public comment and a second phase of hearings once the FHWA shortly releases the EA document," Lieber said in a statement.

"And the experienced, talented and diverse group we have selected to serve on the state-mandated Traffic Mobility Review Board will be there to factor it all into their deliberations about pricing, discounts and exemptions."

The twin announcements show congestion pricing is moving past long-standing bureaucratic traffic jams.

Indeed, former President Donald Trump's administration held up the environmental assessment and created a years-long delay in bringing tolls to Manhattan.

City and state officials have pitched congestion pricing as a solution to heavy traffic in Manhattan and a $15 billion boost for the MTA, which is badly in need of funding.

But many people who live outside Manhattan aren't keen on the idea, which some call a tax on workers.

How tolls will affect motorists will be in the hands of five appointees with long-standing political and business ties to the city.

Those are:

• John H. Banks, president emeritus of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY)
• Scott Rechler, chair of the Regional Plan Association
• Elizabeth Velez, president and principal of the Velez Organization, a construction services firm
• Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, a prominent nonprofit

And Carl Weisbrod, who served as founding president of the NYC Economic Development Corporation, will serve as the board’s chair.

MTA officials also will collect public feedback on the environmental assessment during six hearings that can be found at mta.info/CBDTP. The dates and times are:

• Thursday, Aug. 25, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 27, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 28, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Monday, Aug. 29, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 30, 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
• Wednesday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.