Queens Pols Rally to Keep Using Gioia’s District as Their Doormat

Gioia_Headshot3.jpgTony Avella, Leroy Comrie, Melinda Katz, David Weprin "and other possible members of the Queens Delegation" are holding an anti-congestion pricing rally tomorrow morning at 8:00 on the Queens side of the 59th Street Bridge, according to an e-mail from the Queens Civic Congress.

Notably, Eric Gioia (right), who represents the traffic-burdened district where the rally will be taking place, is not listed as a participant. Perhaps he realizes that standing in front of a backdrop of rush hour traffic, yelling, "We need to keep this as is!" isn’t going to play all that well with his constituents.

But who knows. Maybe he’ll show up. Despite the clear benefit to his district (only 3.2% of his constituents regularly commute by car into the pricing zone), Gioia has yet to come out in support of congestion pricing. You can be sure that the car commuting Council members to his east are happy about that. For them, Gioia’s district is little more than a highway on-ramp that helps them avoid the toll at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel.

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

What Western Queens Stands to Lose Without Congestion Pricing

|
Queens residents crash Friday’s anti-pricing rally We’ve received several reports that Friday’s anti-pricing rally on the Queens side of the 59th Street Bridge, spearheaded by City Council Member Tony Avella, was a bust. According to our sources, of the council members slated to attend — Avella, Leroy Comrie, Melinda Katz, David Weprin "and other possible […]

“Thums” Down and Zero Unispheres for Queens Pricing Supporters

|
Oppose congestion pricing and all this could be yours If Tony Avella and David Weprin and other Queens City Council members succeed in killing congestion pricing, at least Queens residents who lose out on transit improvements could take comfort in knowing that their representatives will have escaped the wrath of the Queens Civic Congress. Check […]

Queens Chamber Continues Campaign Against Congestion Pricing

|
Foes of congestion pricing marshalled by the Queens Chamber of Commerce held a press conference yesterday at which several politicians from the borough took a stand against the mayor’s plan. According to a press release provided by the chamber, City Council Finance Chair David Weprin called the proposal unnecessary: "I don’t think City Hall understands […]

Tony Avella Goes Berserk Over Community-Backed Flushing Plaza

|
State Senator Tony Avella held a press conference this week to denounce a pedestrian plaza proposed for the Murray Hill section of Flushing. He’s afraid it will lead to unbearable traffic congestion. Too bad he’s conjuring nightmare scenarios about something that’s not even in his district: State Senator Toby Stavisky, who actually represents the plaza site and the blocks […]