Staten Islanders again second-class citizens in their own city | Opinion from the borough president

Residents of Staten Island can be reminded once more in the coming days that they are treated like second-class citizens in their own city. Whether Staten Islanders who drive their cars into Manhattan will be subject to yet another burdensome levy is largely up for debate in a Federal Court dispute that will be determined soon in New Jersey.

The MTA and the city plan to flick a switch on January 5th that will impose a $9 Congestion Pricing Tax on any vehicle entering lower Manhattan south of 61st Street. With this new tax, who will gain the most? Manhattan’s ultra-rich citizens. In addition to enjoying cleaner air, the tax money will primarily be used to expand the already vast public transportation system, which provides wealthy Manhattan residents with virtually door-to-door access to the majority of the City of New York’s amenities.

Who is going to pay for this costly and regressive tax? People on Staten Island, particularly those on the North Shore, who make a fraction of what people in lower Manhattan make; people on Staten Island, particularly those on the North Shore, who already breathe more polluted air before the implementation of congestion pricing, compared to the much wealthier residents of lower Manhattan; people on Staten Island who, according to the city’s own study, will pay a $9 tax, which will soon rise to $15, and who will be forced to pay for more air pollution and more traffic on our roads, which we must drive on because the city has never significantly increased the number of commuter train services on Staten Island in its 126-year history. Before it became a part of the City of New York, Staten Island actually had more transit infrastructure in 1896 than it has now. In addition to ferries to St George, Tottenville, and Snug Harbor, Staten Island boasted a North Shore Railroad and ferries to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Perth Amboy. Additionally, Staten Island was rapidly becoming the borough with the largest population growth during the period when this transit system was lost.

There is a serious problem in Gotham.

While there are plenty of public transportation choices in the other four boroughs, thanks to state and local subsidies as well as money taken from recently established toll schemes, residents of Staten Island have become the proverbial Peters who are constantly robbed to pay Paul. To make matters worse, the MTA’s extravagant spending spree with our toll money will provide the rest of the city brand-new, shiny subway vehicles. In the meantime, the Staten Island Railway did not get new railcars for fifty years. In 2075, we all eagerly await our next delivery.

When the famous, six-ton Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball ushered in the new year, it threatened to fall on and crush already overburdened Staten Island taxpayers, who might soon have to pay for the luxury of breathing more polluted air on our more congested roads so that our affluent Manhattan neighbors could enjoy a happier New Year.

Another year, another tax, another insult for Staten Island.

We will try to persuade President-Elect Donald Trump, the Federal Department of Transportation, and the Federal Highways Administration to eliminate this unjust tax on drivers on Staten Island if the ongoing New Jersey case does not prevent or postpone the implementation of the Congestion Pricing plan tax.

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