It didn’t take long for Suffolk’s new representative on the MTA board to disappoint drivers by not taking a hard line against the Manhattan congestion pricing money grab.
“The head of the Long Island Contractors' Association, Marc Herbst, was one of three nominees of county Executive Edward Romaine and was appointed by Gov. Kathy Hochul to the 23-member Metropolitan Transportation Authority board. Appearing before the state Senate Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions Committee for a confirmation hearing, Herbst was questioned by Sen. James Skoufis, a congestion pricing opponent. The Hudson Valley Democrat agrees with Long Islanders arguing that the fees are confiscatory since tolls are already paid to the MTA to enter Manhattan. Under the new pricing plan, drivers will have to pay up to $23 more to access different parts of the island.
“If you say ‘no,’ you put a tremendous hole in the budget, the capital program,” Herbst was quoted as saying. “Everything has been done. The due diligence has taken place. And, for me to turn around and vote against that, I don’t think would be appropriate.”
Herbst replaced Sammy Chu, an energy industry executive, as Suffolk’s representative on the MTA board. A congestion pricing advocate, Chu was not nominated by Romaine for that reason but was given another seat on the board by the governor. Herbst and Chu are expected to vote to green-light congestion pricing this week.
“I'm a little disappointed about his vote on congestion pricing, which is going to pass anyway,” Romaine said of Herbst. “I knew we didn't have the votes to stop it. I think Marc, in the long run, will be a good board member. The governor chose him, and I can understand why because of his knowledge of construction and the industry.”
Romaine argues that congestion pricing is a bad deal for Long Island since none of the money is earmarked for local projects. “We don't get anything out of it,” he stated. “Tell me you're giving me electrification of the railroad lines in Suffolk. Tell me you're easing up on the payroll tax that you're hitting our large employers with. Tell me you’ll take care of our stations, and maybe I’ll have a different point of view,” he said, noting that he’s been trying to get the station in his hometown of Center Moriches reopened for years. Romaine has also advocated for new stations in East Yaphank and Port Jefferson Station.
“I have to say I have great respect for Marc Herbst,” Romaine continued. “He's very knowledgeable; he knows a great deal about construction and has the construction industry behind him. I’m not knocking him. I'm just disappointed that we have a different point of view on congestion pricing.”
The massive MTA bureaucracy is on a constant quest for funds to cover an annual operating budget of over $19 billion and a $52 billion capital plan. The authority covers transit operations in 12 Downstate New York counties, along with portions of Connecticut, handling over 11 million passengers on an average weekday and over 850,000 vehicles on its seven toll bridges and two tunnels. It recently completed the new $11 billion Grand Central Madison Station on Manhattan’s east side, one of the nation’s most expensive transit projects that was wildly over budget and way off schedule.
"If this is not approved, who is going to fill that hole?” Herbst asked of congestion pricing. “Is the legislature going to fill in that hole to make up the difference in the capital program? Because if there's not an alternative to continue the process of the capital program funding through the next few years, then voting no would be irresponsible to the overall system," he said.
Critics of the authority’s spending cite the recovery of millions in lost revenue from turnstile jumpers and toll evaders, in addition to trimming its bureaucracy, as alternatives to congestion pricing. The MTA, arguing that the new toll will curb vehicular traffic and reduce air pollution, is looking to extract nearly $15 billion from drivers over the next few years.