Mayor's Autocracy Fought

As the NY Post is reporting today, the opposition to the mayor's congestion tax seems to be stiffening in the assembly. As the Post says, "Assembly Democrats met privately late Monday for nearly three hours to discuss the issue...The overwhelming sentiment was that no deal on congestion pricing would get done..."

In fact, the opposition is so intense that the general feeling coming out of the caucus meeting was that the congestion tax, "is likely dead for good," since so many members vehemently oppose the measure "on principle." This large contingent sees the tax as simply "class warfare against the middle class." Speaker Silver's take here is that congestion can be alleviated without resort to the mayor's tax plan.

Opponents of the concept are not, however, resting on any assumption that this deal is dead. Today, a contingent of Queens civic groups, led by the indomitable Corey Bearak, are joining with Councilman David Weprin at 11:00 AM to march from the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge to City Hall for a press conference denouncing the congestion tax. More of these protests will follow to insure that the mayor's scheme doesn't re-emerge, in Freddy Kruger-like fashion, in a special session in July.