City Considers Pushing Through Congestion Pricing If Albany Won't

NEW YORK — The New York City Council may move congestion pricing forward on its own if state lawmakers keep kicking the plan down the road. The Council is examining its "home-rule authority" to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority by tolling cars entering central and lower Manhattan, Speaker Corey Johnson said Friday.

The plan is thought to be under the jurisdiction of the state Legislature, where it has not gained much traction despite support from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. But Johnson, a Democrat, suggested the council could make an end-run around Albany similar to its recent legislation reviving the city's school-zone speed camera program.

"It is always cleaner and easier if Albany does it because of the vast powers that Albany has because of the state constitution over the City of New York," Johnson told reporters after a speech at New York Law School. "But if there’s going to be inaction, we will take a look at what our potential authority and powers are."

Johnson also said it's time for a "conversation" about the city taking control of the subway system from the state-controlled MTA, though he doesn't have a concrete plan for how that would work.

He compared the idea to mayoral control of city schools, saying the city "needs to be in charge of its own destiny on the subway system."

The move would likely encumber the city with the massive financial obligation — $8.4 billion of the MTA's 2018 budget goes to New York City Transit and the Staten Island Railroad, according to an MTA document — though Johnson said the state could still contribute money.

"I don’t know why they want the headache, honestly. They should want to give it to us," Johnson said. "They would kind of be able to say, 'It’s the city’s fault, stop yelling at us about it.'"

Congestion pricing has been a top priority for transit advocates, who argue it would serve the dual goals of unclogging Manhattan's streets and injecting the ailing subway system with much-needed cash.

The most recent proposal, released by a Cuomo-commissioned panel in January, calls for an $11.52 charge for cars to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, plus surcharges for taxis and for-hire vehiclesand a heftier toll for trucks. Such a scheme could raise as much as $1.1 billion annually for the beleaguered MTA.

Johnson made a case for flexing the city's home-rule authority as he spearheaded a push to renew and expand the speed camera program — which tickets drivers caught on camera speeding near schools — after months of resistance from the Republican-led state Senate.

But any local congestion pricing plan would face a roadblack in Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is skeptical of the idea. The mayor wants to fund the MTA with an income-tax hike for rich New Yorkers.

Johnson said the so-called millionaire's tax shouldn't be ruled out, but the bottom line is that the massive, delay-ridden subway system needs a new consistent revenue stream.

"There are many options on the table, but they are not letting that happen for us," Johnson said of the state Legislature. "And I hope with a progressive Democratic majority in the state Senate, we’ll actually be able to do some of those things."

(Lead image: Council Speaker Corey Johnson appears at a Thursday hearing in City Hall. Photo by John McCarten/New York City Council)