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Friday, June 14, 2024
Vol. 12, No. 24
EDIA PRESENTS B L A N K S L AT E M
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LEADERS COUNTY OF NASSAU G AWARDS EVENT NETWORKIN
A BLANK SLATE MEDIA
SPECIAL SECTION
| JUNE 14, 2024
TOP BUSINESS KEISERMAN, SCHWARTZ SQUARE OFF LEADERS
SUOZZI, D’ESPOSITO BLAST FAA OVER FLIGHTS
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Hochul halts congestion pricing plan
PROM NIGHT
11th hour policy reversal elicits support from Nassau Democrats, Republicans BY TAY L O R H E R Z L I C H Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that she was halting the long-awaited MTA congestion pricing plan just weeks before tolls were set to hit New Yorkers. The move elicited support from Long Island Democrats and Republicans. The governor said while the plan was initially created pre-pandemic with noble causes in mind, such as reducing city traffic and vehicle emissions and boosting funds for MTA capital projects, it is unfair for workers who are now being “hammered on costs.” “Circumstances have changed and we must respond to the facts on the ground, not from the rhetoric from five years ago,” Hochul said in a video Wednesday. “I have directed the MTA to indefinitely pause the program.” The tolls were set to hit commuters June 30, MTA officials said. Car drivers would face a $15 charge to enter Manhattan at 61st St. and below, truck drivers would face a $24 to $36 charge, depending on their vehicle size, and motorcycle drivers would face a $7.50 charge. The congestion pricing plan was
crafted when city tourism was high and crime was low, the governor said. Now, in a post-pandemic world, she said inflation and the strain on middle- and working-class families is “just too much.” While many have criticized the congestion pricing plan, especially Long Island and New Jersey representatives whose constituents often commute into the city for work, proponents of the plan argued that it would alleviate traffic and generate muchneeded revenue for the MTA. Some environmentalists have said they are disappointed in the governor’s move, pointing to similar tolls across the globe that are meant to boost public transit conditions. Despite his outspoken opposition to the plan, Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (CD-4) slammed the program pause. He called for a harsher response and accused Hochul of playing politics. “Gov. Hochul is realizing her constant nickel and diming of taxpayers is widely loathed across New York,” D’Esposito said in a statement, “but we can’t allow Hochul and her Democratic allies to merely delay the impleContinued on Page 37
PHOTO COURTESY OF EAST WILLISTON SCHOOL DISTRICT
The Wheatley School seniors celebrated the end of the school year at prom.
Herricks bids farewell to 2 longtime trustees his race for re-election with 63% of Feinstein announced her retire- the vote in a May 21 contest, scoopment from the board during a March ing up the longtime trustee’s seat. “The time on the board spent meeting. And newcomer Maria Bono, a former teacher and active with the five of us as we were all this Continued on Page 37 PTA member, defeated Hassan in
B Y T A Y L O R H E R Z L I C H at a meeting Thursday night. The Herricks Board of Education honored outgoing Trustees Nancy Feinstein and Brian Hassan, who each served 12 years on the board, B L A N K S L AT E M E D I A P R E S E N T S
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LEADERS OF NASSAU COUNTY NETWORKING AWARDS EVENT
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