2008 Woodie Awards
Bloomberg encourages environmental change
By: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Nation
NEW YORK - Mayor Michael Bloomberg's plan to charge drivers extra tolls to enter Manhattan's most congested neighborhoods earned him invitations to speak at such gatherings as the U.N. climate conference and raised his profile as he considered a presidential run.
But the plan died Monday when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in Albany announced his chamber wouldn't take up the proposal because of strong opposition within the conference dominated by New York City Democrats.
In a speech yesterday at Georgetown University in Washington, the mayor shrugged off the defeat and said courage is needed in political leaders to take decisive action on the environment.
"A lot of people would still rather do nothing. It is sad but true. It takes courage to ask people to change - even if it won't really cost them much. Political leaders today are afraid of their constituents," he said.
The traffic fee proposal, known as congestion pricing, called for drivers of cars to pay $8, and trucks $21, to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Opponents argued it was an unfair tax on middle-class commuters who drive to work for lack of mass transit options in their neighborhoods.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters had said the administration hoped congestion pricing in New York could serve as a model for other cities nationwide. Charging drivers fees in congested city centers is a concept that has gained popularity around the world but has yet to be tried on a major scale in a large U.S. city.
By failing to pass congestion pricing before a midnight deadline on Monday, the state appeared to have forfeited an offer of $354 million in federal money to help kick-start the initiative.
A little more than a year ago, Bloomberg himself wasn't even persuaded the plan would succeed. He once said the idea was so politically charged that state lawmakers "will never let us do it."
But in the weeks leading up to the Earth Day 2007 speech in which he unveiled the plan, Bloomberg became convinced it was something New York City had to try, promising to "fight like heck" to get it done.
But the plan died Monday when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in Albany announced his chamber wouldn't take up the proposal because of strong opposition within the conference dominated by New York City Democrats.
In a speech yesterday at Georgetown University in Washington, the mayor shrugged off the defeat and said courage is needed in political leaders to take decisive action on the environment.
"A lot of people would still rather do nothing. It is sad but true. It takes courage to ask people to change - even if it won't really cost them much. Political leaders today are afraid of their constituents," he said.
The traffic fee proposal, known as congestion pricing, called for drivers of cars to pay $8, and trucks $21, to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays. Opponents argued it was an unfair tax on middle-class commuters who drive to work for lack of mass transit options in their neighborhoods.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters had said the administration hoped congestion pricing in New York could serve as a model for other cities nationwide. Charging drivers fees in congested city centers is a concept that has gained popularity around the world but has yet to be tried on a major scale in a large U.S. city.
By failing to pass congestion pricing before a midnight deadline on Monday, the state appeared to have forfeited an offer of $354 million in federal money to help kick-start the initiative.
A little more than a year ago, Bloomberg himself wasn't even persuaded the plan would succeed. He once said the idea was so politically charged that state lawmakers "will never let us do it."
But in the weeks leading up to the Earth Day 2007 speech in which he unveiled the plan, Bloomberg became convinced it was something New York City had to try, promising to "fight like heck" to get it done.
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