Brooklyn's Progress
June/July 2007

BY JILL SHEEHY

Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration is running on all cylinders to push his divisive congestion pricing pilot program through the state’s agenda before legislation breaks for summer on June 21.

And as word comes in that Manhattanites support the scheme, it is high time for Brooklyn’s business community to have a say. The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is distributing a survey to its 1,500 Members, all of whom have a stake in the decision to charge for driving into Manhattan’s central business district.

"The role of the Brooklyn Chamber is to articulate the needs and opinions of its Members,” said Mark Kessler, interim president and chief operating officer of the Chamber. “When there is consensus amongst our Members, we must communicate it with clarity; when there is a diversity of opinion, we must present the range of opinions in a balanced manner.

The centerpiece of Mayor Bloomberg’s $852 million-dollar PlaNYC, the pricing program would charge $8 for cars and $21 for trucks to enter Manhattan below 86th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays.

Survey Says
The survey, which should be available by the end of the month, will be distributed via e-mail form, and will also be available by fax.

Before returning the survey, Members should arm themselves with as much information as they can. To help Members, the survey will guide them to reports and studies that will talk about the impact of a pricing plan.

The goal is to find out how the pricing plan will affect business in the borough, and questions will range from how congestion pricing will come into play in your business on a daily basis, like will it help or hinder Members trying to get goods and services to where they need to go?

The Chamber is urging Members to respond to the survey. As a Membership organization, we answer to our 1,500 Members throughout Brooklyn and before this plan can go through, we want to let elected officials know where you stand - your thoughts, issues, specific concerns. The way congestion pricing might impact a bank in Brooklyn Heights won’t be the same for a warehouse in Fairfield.

“We can only do this if our Members tell us what they think; how issues like congestion pricing will effect the daily operation of their business, their bottom line, their future, and the quality of their lives,” said Mr. Kessler.

“This survey is one of the tools we use to get feedback from our Members. We hope to hear from each and every one," he said.