Congestion Pricing Separates Rivals in Staten Island

Congestion pricing isn't popular in Staten Island. So yesterday, when Staten Island Councilman Michael McMahon at the last minute decided to vote in favor of congestion pricing, it was a big deal in some circles, especially because his likely opponent in the 2009 borough president race, Republican Jimmy Oddo, voted against it.

In this video, at about the 4:45 mark, McMahon explains his support for the program during the Committee on State and Federal Legislation vote, saying, “If we don’t vote for this, we miss an opportunity to move forward on many projects that benefit the people of Staten Island and all of the city.”
At the full City Council vote later, Oddo spoke about the city's failure to provide promised funding for transit in the past, citing in particular the Verrazano bridge, which was originally supposed to be toll-free. Quoting Pete Townshend, Oddo said, “No one respects the flame quite like the fool who's badly burned."

"I have to vote no," he added.