Bayside Group To Protest Gov. Cuomo's Congestion Pricing Plan

BAYSIDE, QUEENS -- Any tolls on New York City drivers feels like a slap in the face to Michael Feiner, which is why he said the Bayside Civic Association will oppose any such congestion pricing the state proposes.

Talk has long circled of adding tolls to the four East River bridges connecting Queens and Brooklyn to Manhattan and putting the money toward an overhaul of the city's desperately suffering subway systems.

But Feiner, president of the Bayside Civic Association, is among swaths of Queens locals who feel such congestion tolls punish motorists already neglected by the city. The Bayside Civic Association voted unanimously at its January meeting to oppose any congestion tolls proposed on the bridges.

"They want us to pay for what they did to make congestion so terrible," Feiner said. "I think it's ludicrous."

The vote came on the wheels of the Queens Civic Congress blasting out an email newsletter to the borough's civic associations, stating it opposed any tolls on the East River Crossings.

"We unanimously voted to join them (Queens Civic Congress) in whatever protests they plan," Feiner said.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo did talk plans for congestion pricing while unveiling his 2019 budget on Tuesday, but said the tolls wouldn't be on bridges into Manhattan.

Rather, he said, the plan would charge drivers entering certain congested "zones" in the city. The boundaries of those zones, as well as fees and what hours they would be charged, haven't yet been worked out, Cuomo said.

"It's literally an ongoing spectrum of options," Cuomo said during the budget unveiling. "You'll get that report at the end of the week."

But Feiner said any congestion pricing at all is unfair to motorists commuting into the city.

"In all honesty, congestion pricing should not be on our dime," Feiner said. "It should not be us who bears the brunt of mistakes that our government has made in the past."

Feiner claimed the government already makes "a small fortune" from tolls on the Triborough and Whitestone bridges - now $8.50 with cash or $5.54 with an EZ Pass. He suggested that money is being underutilized.

"If they could figure something out, that would be one thing, but they're already getting enough money - They're just not doing anything with it," Feiner said.

Feiner said the civic group plans to take its cues from the Queens Civic Congress as far as how it will voice its opposition to the congestion tolls. He said if and when the civic congress decides to organize a protest, BCA will be onboard, but they have no official plans for one of their own - yet.

"There's nothing that we're planning to do on our own right now, but you never know," he said. "It might be in the future if somebody takes the initiative."

Lead photo by Seth Wenig/Associated Press

Caption: Traffic moves slowly toward downtown Manhattan on the West Side Highway in New York, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2018. A proposal to make part of Manhattan a toll zone, where drivers would be charged to drive into the most congested neighborhoods, is gaining momentum, despite continuing criticism from lawmakers representing car-heavy parts of Brooklyn and Queens.