Members of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and the Brooklyn business community gathered at Polytechnic University to share the results of a survey on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s congestion pricing plan and discuss its potential impact on the borough. (Click here to download the survey results in PDF format.)

“Close to a majority of our Members would favor a pricing plan but over 50% say this plan weighs too heavily on small businesses,” said Interim President & COO Mark M. Kessler. “It seems to me that our Members want to support a congestion pricing plan, but are looking for a proposal that spreads the costs more equitably and for much more extensive expansion of mass transit.”

In fact, survey results, based on the responses of 236 business owners (16% of the Chamber’s membership) shows 45% of Members either support or strongly support congestion pricing as a strategy while 41% oppose it; 13% of respondents say they are neutral or don’t know enough about the plan.

Some of the most notable results of the survey include:

• 60% of respondents say they will not change their business or commuter travel habits if congestion pricing is implemented.
• 53% say they would support residential parking permits to prevent their neighborhoods from becoming parking lots.
• 17% alone believe they will be able to pass the cost of congestion pricing on to their customers

The forum, which followed the release of the results, was moderated by Errol Louis of the New York Daily News and included panelists Kathryn S. Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City, John C. Falcocchio, professor of transportation planning and director of the Urban Intelligent Transportation Systems Center at Polytechnic University, and New York City Council Members Lewis Fidler and David Yassky. Opening remarks were given by Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz. 

The forum is being held at a crucial time for the borough and City. Within days New York State could become eligible for an estimated $500 million in federal funding for the congestion pricing program if the New York State legislature approves the plan.