Two New York lawmakers have requested to charge drivers $50 to enter Manhattan.
Notably, the proposal is not for all drivers entering The Big Apple. The lawmakers are targeting drivers from New Jersey.
The lawmakers are calling it a “non-cooperation fee” a result of a bill proposed by New Jersey lawmakers that prevent the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission from helping New York enforce red light and speed camera tickets against New Jersey drivers, according to Travel Noire.
If the proposal is approved, the $50 non-cooperation fee will be coupled with the $16 toll to cross the Hudson into Manhattan. And that’s not the only proposal made by NY lawmakers, who also propose to endorse a congestion fee ranging from $9 to $23 for driving south of 60th Street.
“In an ideal world, I think New Jersey lawmakers would shelve their dangerous bill, and this whole issue would be moot,” New York Assemblyman Jeffery Dinowitz, D-Bronx, said to NJ.Com.
“Without my legislation, New York City will be less safe as scofflaw drivers from out of state avoid culpability for speeding and running red lights,” he added.
New Jersey state senator Declan O’Scanlon, R-13, is not in favor of Dinowitz’s response.
“It’s one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard. It will drive more people away from a city desperately trying to recover from COVID,” O’Scanlon told NJ Advance Media. “New Jersey bans automated enforcement because we know it doesn’t improve safety and is theft.”
He also warned that he has the option to propose a bill that would make it costly for New Yorkers to enter New Jersey.
“It’s [a] toll to enter NYC. If they want to go down this path … we’ll propose our own fee,” he adds. “Let’s hold hands and demonstrate how stupid we are.”
It currently costs $16 to travel on the George Washington Bridge into New York City.
New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority is in the process of charging a congestion fee that would range from $9 to $23. It’s an attempt to reduce the amount of traffic in Manhattan by charging people driving south of 60th Street.
