Gottheimer calls out the MTA for failure to comply with legal request and explain congestion tax revenue calculations
MANHATTAN, NY — U.S. Congressman Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) Wednesday visited the MTA headquarters after the agency failed to comply with an official Freedom of Information Law or FOIL request more than 60 business days ago and ignored more than 30 messages from Congressman Gottheimer’s office, requesting a meeting with MTA CEO Janno Lieber.
Following Wednesday’s announcement at the MTA headquarters, Lieber was unavailable to meet with Gottheimer.
In January, Gottheimer filed an official Freedom of Information Law, or FOIL, request to the MTA to provide any emails and documents containing the data, calculations, and discussions that went into their Congestion Tax revenue projects. The MTA has refused to share this data and their calculations — the public deserves to know.
The $15/day Congestion Tax would whack hardworking New Jersey and New York commuters with a $4,000 annual bill just to travel south of 60th Street in Manhattan. According to a Congressional report produced by Congressman Gottheimer, the MTA’s Congestion Tax cash grab will raise $3.4 billion — more than triple the amount required by the New York State Legislature.
According to the MTA’s own reports, the Congestion Tax will price out up to twenty percent of Manhattan commuters, driving up prices and encouraging businesses to leave New York.
Additionally, the Tax will result in a $830 million loss to the Port Authority, which provides vital funding for North Jersey infrastructure projects. Finally, the Congestion Tax will increase the concentration of known carcinogens like formaldehyde in the air of Bergen County and the Outer Boroughs because of increased truck traffic.
“Since Janno and the MTA won’t get back to us, I thought I’d just stop by the MTA’s office to pay Janno a visit, share my grave concerns about the commuter-crushing, cancer-causing Congestion Tax, and see if he has the documents I’ve requested,” Gottheimer said. “Federal lawmakers and the public have a right to review the MTA’s math and understand the Congestion Tax’s impact. What is the MTA hiding? After wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, the public deserves a little bit of transparency.”
Gottheimer’s New Action to Stop the Congestion Tax:
- Gottheimer is sending a bipartisan letter to the Chairman of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, with Congressman Kean (NJ-7), Congressman D’Esposito (NY-4), Congresswoman Malliotakis (NY-11), and Congressman Lawler (NY-17) requesting a formal subpoena for the information that Congressman Gottheimer sought in his FOIL request and a hearing where Janno Lieber and other MTA leaders can testify about the Congestion Tax.
- Congressman Gottheimer and fellow Problem Solvers Caucus Member Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) have introduced new legislation to block the implementation of the Congestion Tax.
According to a new poll from Siena College this week, opposition to the Congestion Tax is bipartisan. A majority of New York Republicans, Democrats, and Independents are against the MTA’s Congestion Tax plan. One in seven New Yorkers said that they’d travel less to Manhattan to avoid the tax.
