Feds give okay to NYC congestion pricing

BY PETER KATZ Pkatz@westfairinc.com

The Federal Highway Administration has given its approval to New York City’s congestion pricing plan that would create new tolls for drivers who enter Manhattan at 60th Street or below. The federal agency actually completed its action on the environmental assessment of the congestion pricing plan on June 23 but the action was not revealed until June 26. There was no formal announcement at that time from the Federal Highway Administration that it had given final approval to the controversial plan to collect additional tolls from drivers.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, an advocate of congestion pricing, revealed the federal approval in a brief statement.

“Congestion pricing will reduce traffic in our crowded downtown, improve air quality and provide critical resources to the MTA,” Hochul announced. “With the green light from the federal government, we look forward to moving ahead with the implementation of this program.”

Congestion pricing is touted as a way to reduce traffic congestion while also reducing air pollution, decreasing travel time on Manhattan’s streets and raising money for the financially-troubled Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The exact schedule of tolls to be charged for vehicles traveling below 60th Street in Manhattan has not yet been determined but has been proposed to range from $9 to $23 for drivers using E-ZPass and up to $35 for drivers billed by mail.

In a joint statement, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer and U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, Jr., all of New Jersey, said, “All New Jersey drivers entering Manhattan using the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels and George Washington Bridge must be exempt from New York’s

Congestion Tax. We will not stop fighting until we defeat this plan and ensure New York is not allowed to balance its budget on the backs of hard-working New Jersey families. That’s a Jersey promise.”

Some advocates of congestion pricing said the MTA should take in about $1 billion a year from the new toll collections. Congestion pricing could begin operating as soon as the spring of 2024.

All of the apartments would be priced to be affordable to workers earning an average of 60% of the Westchester Area Median Income (AMI). Some units would be priced for families with incomes as low as 30% of the AMI with others priced for those people earning as high as 80% of the AMI.

The Broadway Diner, located at 590 S. Broadway, would be closed and the building demolished to make way for the project. The diner has been a fixture in the area for decades. It’s the place legendary performer John Lennon stopped in March 1975 after a photo session at a park in Yonkers.

The Yonkers City Council referred the proposal to the city’s Planning Board to begin the review process. The Planning Board expressed its intention to declare itself lead agency for the environmental review of the project. According to Planning Board Chairman Roman Kozicky, the developer would need to obtain approvals from the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals before the Planning Board will begin reviewing a yet-to-be-submitted site plan for the project.

In addition to changing zoning to allow for a large apartment building, the Zoning Board would have to grant some waivers. The developer proposes providing only 134 off-street parking spaces while 349 spaces are required. The developer proposes building to a height of 129 feet and three inches while a height of 120 feet is permitted. The proposed plan calls for 92% coverage of the land by construction, while the normal maximum is 90%.

Nightingale,

1 Trumbull —

she called Trumbull a special place, “a community of choice.”

Tesoro credited the town’s Department of Economic and Community Development and its director, Rina Bakalar, with achieving much of that success through an emphasis on redevelopment and development in carefully selected sections of town.

“Some of this development has been initiated by long term planning studies including the Long Hill Village District Plan and the Trumbull Center study among others,” she said. “We plan to work, and we work the plan. These improvements are visible all over our town. A few examples include the Long Hill Green area, Madison Village Shopping Plaza, CVS, Starbucks Plaza, Lindeman Reservoir, and the Oakview Area.”

Tesoro highlighted that in the past six years more than 800,000 square feet of commercial space was either redeveloped or reoccupied, leading to the town having the lowest office vacancy rate in all of Fairfield

Westhab, which is headquartered in Yonkers, told the Planning Board, “We are the largest not-for-profit developer of affordable housing in Westchester. Our co-developer, Mega, is a very well-known builder and developer of affordable and market-rate housing.”

Mega Contracting Group based in Astoria bills itself as a full-service development, general contracting and construction management firm. It was established in 1990 and shows 29 residential projects in the New York metro area as having been completed in the last five years.

Nightingale pointed out that Westhab has completed housing projects in Yonkers and runs youth centers, employment programs and other community programs serving Yonkers residents.

“On Locust Hill Avenue we’re building 113 units of affordable housing,” Nightingale said. “Not only will it be one of the greenest multifamily affordable buildings, I think it will be one of the greenest buildings in Westchester.”

Nightingale said that the co-developer Mega has done everything from affordable to market-rate buildings to luxury development.

“They have built here in Yonkers. They have built in partnership with the Housing Authority,” Nightingale said. “What we try to do is deliver a market-rate product and deliver that with super-thoughtful design, abundant amenity space, and really be thoughtful about the streetscape, the business corridor, the South Broadway business district. We’re really proud to join and hopefully stimulate what could be a boom for this community.”

Nightingale said that Westhab is trying to design housing that meets the needs of the community and helps it thrive. He said that apartments in the proposed building would be affordable for nurses, police and even workers at the Lionsgate studio in Yonkers.

Architect Brian Loughlin of Magnusson Architecture and Planning PC said the facade facing South Broadway would be treated with different materials in a number of horizontal and vertical sections to make it appear to be smaller. He said the frontages of ground floor retail, management office and main entrance of the building have been recessed to make them “more welcoming.”

Loughlin said the grade of the building site is about 25 to 30 feet lower than the grade level of the structures to the rear and they took advantage of the difference to place as much parking as possible at the lower grade and then treat the area above the parking as open space, amounting to approximately 9,000 square feet. He suggested that some of it could be used as play areas for children as well as seating areas and a community garden.

Loughlin said that the building will be all-electric and a solar array will generate some of the power that is used. He also said that the building would have numerous other sustainability features.

Nightingale noted that a previous development proposal for the site resulted in strong community opposition.

“To acquire this site and put together a development plan that we thought could be financeable through affordable housing finance channels we had to present something with some level of scope and I will just say that impact on the neighborhood we see as very net positive for the economy, for our workforce,” Nightingale said.

County for the first quarter of this year.

“Our vacancy rate was over 40% when I took office in 2017,” Tesoro told the audience, “Today that rate is 11.7%.” She pointed to recent corporate arrivals including Henkel Corporation, Amazon, Fuji Film, Kone Elevator, and packaging company TransPak.

“Like any community, there are concerns,” Tesoro allowed, acknowledging that the new ownership of the Westfield Mall has spurred some to worry. She indicated that ongoing studies, a public meeting about potential future uses for the mall, and stakeholder meetings with good attendance are causes for optimism.

However, throughout the rest of her speech she emphasized that past successes can indicate a robust future.

“For many in our community the purchase of their home is one of their most significant investments,” Tesoro said. “In Trumbull, this investment has paid off. It is important to remember that residential property values increased on average by 16% since the last reevaluation in 2015 and this value has been maintained.”

Tesoro noted that the current growth rate has factored heavily into financial planning in the face of pandemic-related economic headwinds, although she stated there was “some good news here. For the 23-24 fiscal year a growth rate of 34.15% was set on June 12 by the Board of Finance. This represents a tax increase of 1.52%, which is important to everyone, residents and businesses alike.”

According to Tesoro, the tax increase is well below the current inflation rate and is on par with the average rate when she became first selectman in 2017.

“In these very challenging times for our business community and citizens alike it is imperative that we not only keep spending in check, but that we continue to strategically invest in those things that matter to our community and act as a catalyst for growth,” Tesoro added, thanking Director of Finance Maria Pires for her leadership in managing town spending.

Tesoro made the case that investments in education were paying off for Trumbull, with several schools being recognized by the state Department of Education for academic achievement. She also highlighted efforts to improve recruiting for the police department with a $30,000 sign-on bonus and efforts to reinstate pensions for new officers hired since 2014 as an important catalyst for town growth.

“Trumbull’s future is bright,” she said in closing. “I have spoken of many of our successes and there are more on the way. My administration has faced challenges from weather emergencies to a pandemic. We have proven equal to those challenges. And I remain confident that we as a community have the resources, the people, and the spirit to overcome any challenge. Trumbull is a wonderful community, and I am confident in its future. We are committed to our citizens. We are committed to our business. Trumbull is the place to be.”