Good Morning Chair Lieber and members of the Board. I am Assemblymember Robert Carroll representing Brooklyn’s 44th District. I appreciate this opportunity to address you, but regret the circumstances.

I have been a strong supporter of congestion pricing for New York City since it was first approved by myself and my colleagues in the State Legislature in 2019. After years of work, numerous public hearings, and overcoming all manner of bureaucratic and technical hurdles it was great to see the MTA poised to implement a well-crafted Central Business District Tolling Program.

The Governor’s abrupt announcement to “indefinitely delay implementation” was shocking and deeply disappointing. The Governor’s move is bad environmental and transportation policy, shortsighted politics, and a usurpation of the legislative process. New York City’s vibrancy and that of the entire metropolitan region depends on a high functioning mass transit system and relief from traffic-clogged streets, bridges, and roadways. City residents, especially working-class New Yorkers, and suburban commuters depend on public transportation and we simply cannot afford to let the system deteriorate. Those who insist on driving into the City or must do so for work will also benefit from the reduction in traffic and improvement in air quality that congestion pricing will bring. Congestion pricing correctly values the cost that driving has on all New Yorkers.

What should also be clear to anyone who loves New York City, whether you are a resident, tourist, or occasional visitor from the suburbs, is that its uniqueness and vibrancy is because of its diverse and varied neighborhoods and its amazing public spaces – sidewalks, plazas, and parks – where people rule, not cars. The COVID pandemic was a profound blow to this culture and resulted in a retreat from the public sphere accompanied by a surge in reliance on automobiles – whether personal vehicles or for-hire ones like Uber and Lyft. We can’t give up on the vision of a city that is both economically and culturally dynamic, and that meets the needs of the majority of its residents.

Rather than undertake the painful exercise of cutting the MTA’s Capital Budget, the Board should act to move forward with Congestion Pricing as it has been authorized to do by the enabling legislation.