Congestion Pricing Foes Outnumbered During UES Rally, Reports Say

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Transit advocates and union members joined forced Sunday to crash an Upper East Side press conference held by a small contingent of NYC lawmakers opposed to a congestion pricing policy that would toll drivers entering Manhattan's busiest areas, according to reports.

City Councilman Barry Grodenchik (Queens) and State Assembly members Rodneyse Bichotte (Brooklyn) and David Weprin (Queens) criticized a congestion pricing plan supported by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio for lacking details and claimed it was a tax on working class residents in their outer-borough districts, the New York Daily News reported.

Grodenchik called the policy the "Seinfeld" of congestion pricing plans because "it’s about nothing."

"There is no accountability. We don’t know where the money is going to go. We don’t really know what the border is going to be. We also don’t know what they’re gonna charge," Grodenchik said Sunday as reported by the Daily News.

The three lawmakers were outnumbered by counter protesters from groups such as Transportation Alternatives, the Riders Alliance and Transport Workers Union Local 100, according to reports. Counter protesters directed chants such as "vote them out" and "fix our transit," at the congestion pricing foes, AM New York reported.

Transportation Alternatives advocacy director Thomas DeVito told AM New York that congestion pricing has many benefits: "From decongesting streets, to allowing buses to move, to having a dedicated revenue stream to make sure capital improvements happen on our subway system to bring them up to 21st-century standards."

Sunday's press conference and counter protest occurred in Tramway Plaza near the Queensboro Bridge, the same spot congestion pricing supporters held a rally in February. State lawmakers will vote to approve New York State's budget on April 1. De Blasio and Cuomo announced in February that congestion pricing is part of a 10-point plan to reform and fund the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which gave advocates hope that this year could be the year congestion pricing is adopted. De Blasio had previously opposed the policy.