The head of a business group representing the Broadway theatre district and Times Square has launched a scathing attack on the state’s plan to impose a $15 “congestion” toll to enter the Midtown business district, claiming it will stifle the growth of the Big Apple’s tourist mecca.
“This is just another barrier to people coming into the city – especially the bridge and tunnel people who are so important to Broadway theatres,” Cristyne Nicholas, president of the Broadway Association, told 77 WABC Radio’s The Cats Roundtable on Sunday.
“Remember, they make up about 30 percent of the Broadway audience and they have been the slowest to come back,” she told host John Catsimatidis.
Nicholas said the city has not fully recovered economically from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This is not the same city it was five years ago. The city was booming then. The city was doing great. It was before COVID. Broadway was doing well,” she said.
Nicholas said remote work, coupled with concerns about crime, make tourists from the New York suburbs and New Jersey “nervous” about coming to Manhattan.
“Then you have this,” Nicholas said. “Broadway is doing well, but it could be doing better, and I don’t think congestion pricing is going to help.”
The Broadway Association represents the theatre district and the business improvement districts for Times Square and Midtown.
“The economy is shaky. There’s got to be another way to do this,” she said.
Nicholas said the $15 toll was more about raising nearly $1 billion a year to fund mass transit than a “congestion mitigation issue” to discourage vehicles from entering Manhattan’s business district during peak hours.
It suggested that all bridges should be tolled at a lower but uniform rate to discourage toll evasion and traffic diversion to other parts of the city. Some of the East River crossings are currently toll-free.
Under the congestion pricing plan, car drivers entering Manhattan south of 60th Street would be charged $15.50 during the day and $3.75 during off-peak hours.
The fee for small trucks would be $24, while large trucks would be charged $36 during the day. At night, these tolls would be reduced to $6 and $9 respectively, in an effort to move traffic-clogging deliveries out of rush hour.
Catsimatidis, who owns Gristedes grocery stores, said the high truck tolls would simply be passed on to customers through higher food prices.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic-led state Senate and Assembly approved the congestion pricing law in 2019 and created the Transportation Mobility Review Board, which last week recommended the $15 peak-hour toll increase.
His successor, Governor Kathy Hochul, has thrown her political weight behind the effort, attending a pro-congestion pricing rally last week.
But Democratic Mayor Eric Adams is calling for some exemptions from the $15 toll for people travelling to Manhattan for necessities such as medical appointments.
Some New Jersey Democrats, including Garden State Governor Phil Murphy, have been vocal opponents of congestion pricing. Some suburban and upstate Democrats also oppose tolls.
Republicans in New York have said they intend to use the issue against Democratic opponents in the 2024 elections.
The tolling programme is supported by transit and environmental advocates and some business groups, including the Real Estate Board of New York.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will implement the congestion pricing programme as early as next spring, defended the $15 toll to drive into Midtown.
“The vast majority of theatregoers use mass transit, as do fans attending sporting events and concerts, which has helped Broadway shows enjoy what the Broadway League calls a ‘strong rebound’ this season,” said MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan.
“The reality is that anyone paying hundreds of dollars for tickets, meals and parking in Midtown is unlikely to be deterred by a $15 congestion charge,” he said.
