Rockland Writes: Statement from Senator Bill Weber on Congestion Pricing

Dear Rockland Residents,

Another day, another insult to the residents of Rockland County from the MTA. 

More than 60% of Rockland residents who work in New York City have no choice but to commute by car due to the MTA’s inadequacies and failures. The MTA does not care about Rockland’s needs, just its money. We are being fleeced for living where we live.

All Rockland County residents should be excluded from paying these additional taxes. That is what tolls are, just another new tax on the seemingly endless list of taxes we are forced to pay. We used to be nickel and dimed to death, now it’s $10’s and $20’s. 

Adding insult to injury, there are no exemptions in this plan for our public servants - police officers, firefighters, medical professionals, teachers, and others - who are forced to commute by car.

This is why I have cosponsored Senate Bill 5425 (https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S5425), which would repeal congestion pricing and force the MTA to contract with a certified public accounting firm to conduct an independent forensic audit. 

No amount of revenue will ever be enough for the failed MTA. It needs to be audited and its leadership should resign in disgrace. 

Senator Bill Weber