As I noted earlier today, it is ridiculous that the MTA and the city have to squabble over $10 million in E-Z Passes. The Federal government should be helping out with the funding for mass transit instead of its "investments" in war and giveaways to wealthy Wall Street bankers. For now though, we are screwed on that side of things and funding has to come from somewhere. So today two political opponents got together and spke out for the reinstatement of the Commuter Tax.
From The NY Observer:
As shocking as it is to see Sheldon Silver open to do something substantive in regards to anything related to the problems of New York City(excluding those that donate to his campaign), that in no way means that he'll actually follow through with it. The Mayor learned that lesson well during the congestion pricing fiasco among other skirmishes with the Speaker.After Sheldon Silver dropped the news that he's open to reinstituting the commuter tax, Michael Bloomberg told reporters in City Hall that he himself is also in favor of bringing it back. Bloomberg stopped short of demanding Republican state lawmakers take action.
“I’ve always thought it was a very bad mistake to give up the commuter tax back when it was done,” the mayor said. “I’ve been screaming about the commuter tax for all the time I’ve been here.”
New York City's commuter tax was lifted in 1999.
Bloomberg added, “The fact that the speaker is in favor of it is encouraging, but there’s 145-odd members in the Assembly, and we’re going to need a majority of them, as well, if we are to reinstitute it.”
Westchester, Rockland and Duchess County legislators will probably cry out the most, but the fact of the matter is that millions of commuters come to the city every single day do not pay their fair share. Those that travel in and out each weekday depend on the city for their livelihood just as us city dwellers. Pataki got rid of it back in 1999
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