QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, November 9, 2023 Page 8
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Fort Lee mayor sues over congestion tolls NJ residents seek full environmental review, NYS-funded pollution monitoring by Michael Gannon
and $23 per automobile, with trucks paying more. Federal authorities have mandated overThe mayor of Fort Lee, NJ, and a group of Garden State residents suffering from night discounts and reductions for incomerespiratory ailments have filed a lawsuit in eligible residents of the CBD. The stated aims are to reduce the amount federal court to stop implementation of congestion pricing for the Manhattan central of traffic and automobile pollution in Midbusiness district unless a full environmental town and Downtown Manhattan; and to study is conducted to identify possible raise a minimum of $1 billion per year in impacts of the plan on New Jersey residents. order to finance $15 billion in borrowing for Mayor Mark Sokolich is filing in his the MTA’s capital fund. The 19-page complaint, filed in U.S. Discapacity as both a public official and resident. Richard Galler is filing as a resident trict Court in New Jersey on Nov. 2, names nine individuals and agencies as defendants, and as an asthma patient. The suit alleges that federal officials and including the U.S. Department of Transporsome based in New York State approved tation and the Federal Highway Administraboth the process and environmental studies tion, both of which approved environmental “without adequately considering the conse- studies that did not include a complete environmental impact statement. quences of the program on New Jersey ... It also includes the Metropolitan Trans“This matter is ripe for judicial review as the Defendants are actively deciding on the portation Authority, its chairman and CEO, specifics of the CBD Tolling Zone, costs Janno Lieber, the Traffic Mobility Review and other terms and conditions which will Board, which will set tolling rates and reguhave a direct impact on New Jersey resi- lations, its chairman, Carl Weisbrod, and the Triborough Bridge and dents in less than a year.” Tunnel Authority. T he lawsu it ca n be The most incendiar y v iewe d on l i ne at bit . one of the a l le g a t io n s r e g a r d i n g ly/47ieiCg. potential pollution start on Sokolich and Galler are measures page 13. asking the court to grant addressed “46. In March 2023, the them class-action status MTA reportedly submitrepresenting New Jersey issues identified ted a secret memo to the residents who will face FHWA indicating it would increased traffic, pollution by New Jersey.” commit to spending $130 and financial costs if the — Complaint in U.S. District million towards mitigation plan goes into effect this Court, New Jersey measures for New York coming spring. communities with enviGaller also is requesting that class-action status be granted to those ronmental justice concerns, almost all comin the Fort Lee region who suffer from ing from congestion pricing measures. None of the measures addressed potential harms respiratory ailments. In addition to a New Jersey-inclusive to New Jersey as a result of the congestion environmental study, the suit is calling on pricing scheme. Moreover, because this New York State to fund pollution monitor- memo was not made public New Jersey and ing, as it is promising to do in areas of the other interested stakeholders had no ability Bronx that are likely to bear the brunt of the to comment. “47. In early May 2023, the FHWA pubrelocated traffic and pollution. Under the congestion pricing proposal, lished its Final [environmental assessment]. vehicles will be charged tolls for entering Although several mitigation measures were Manhattan at or below 60th Street. Yet-to- added none addressed issues identified by be-determined fees could be between $9 New Jersey. Senior News Editor
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Resorts World job fair, Nov. 17 State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Woodhaven) is hosting his annual large-scale, free job fair at Resorts World Casino, located at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., on Nov. 17, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by the Queens Chamber of Commerce. All are welcome to attend. Companies, organizations, recruiters and agencies across the tri-state area are invited to participate. Each registered company will be provided with an assigned table and chairs. Job seekers are recommended to dress in business attire, with resume copies on
hand for distribution. Resorts World will provide free parking to job seekers in the lot across from the casino entrance. “Helping individuals find work is one of the most important services I can provide as an elected official,” Addabbo said. “ ... Over the years, many constituents have returned to my office to let me know that they were successful in finding a job at my job fair, and there is no better feeling than that.” For more information, call Addabbo’s Q office at (718) 738-1111. — Kristen Guglielmo
Mayor Mark Sokolich, left, of Fort Lee, NJ, is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit seeking to delay or halt the implementation of congestion pricing in Manhattan. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority and Janno Lieber, right, its chairman and CEO, are among nine defendants in what Sokolich hopes FORT LEE, NJ, PHOTO, LEFT; AND PHOTO COURTESY MTA / FILE will be approved as a class action lawsuit. “48. Although the [Finding of No Significant Impact] was issued, the MTA had indicated that “Certain environmental justice communities will benefit from decreased traffic: some communities that are already overburdened by pre-existing air pollution and chronic disease could see an adverse effect as a result of increased traffic.” Among the areas mentioned which are in New Jersey are Orange, East Orange, Newark and Fort Lee. “49. The Plan Sponsors have indicated that they will fund a neighborhood asthma center in the Bronx, and monitor ... to determine whether changes in air pollution are occurring in New York, expand clean trucks program and off-hours delivery program, replace diesel burning trucks and coordinate to expand electric truck charging infrastructure, as well as install or upgrade air filtration in New York school, no such promise has been made to alleviate the suffering in New Jersey that will result from instituting the CBP.
“50. Additionally, the FONSI acknowledged that truck traffic on 1-95 in Bergen County will increase by up to 1,000 trucks and cost will increase for all drivers in New Jersey under each of the seven scenarios under consideration.” In a statement from the MTA, Chief of Policy and Exter nal Relations John J. McCarthy was unimpressed. “It’s Gottheimer Groundhog Day and — shocker — he wants to send more traffic and more pollution to New York,” McCarthy said. “News flash: Manhattan is already full of vehicles, and we don’t need more carbon emissions. So congestion pricing needs to move forward for less traffic, safer streets, cleaner air and huge improvements to mass transit.” McCarthy’s reference was to U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (R-NJ). He and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island, Brooklyn) have filed a bill calling for a full audit of the MTA’s books as part of their opposition to Q the congestion pricing proposal.
Crash kills motorcyclist in HB A 29-year-old man is dead after a car crash in Howard Beach, according to police. On Nov. 6, at approximately 1:23 a.m., police responded to a crash between a motorcycle and an SUV at the intersection of Cross Bay Boulevard and 165th Avenue, the NYPD said. A preliminary investigation by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad determined that vehicle No. 1, a 2020 BMW X3, operated by a 24-year male, was traveling northbound on Cross Bay and made an illegal U-turn from the left turn bay at the intersection of 165th Avenue, ignoring
a no U-turn sign when it was struck on the passenger side by vehicle No. 2, a 2004 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle, operated by 29-year-old Raiquel Tapia-Villar of Arverne. Police said the motorcycle was traveling southbound on Cross Bay at an apparent high speed before it struck vehicle No. 1. Tapia-Villar was transported by EMS to Jamaica Hospital Medical center, where he was pronounced deceased. Vehicle No. 1’s driver remained on the scene and was uninjured, authorities said. The investigation Q remains ongoing. — Kristen Guglielmo
