When it comes to the New York City congestion pricing debate, businesses operating near 60th Street are divided about how the initiative will impact their bottom line.
Congestion Pricing Operation
New York State officials introduced the congestion pricing concept to alleviate the immense traffic impacting Manhattan, limit air pollution, and encourage commuters to use public transportation.
Beginning on January 5, drivers of vehicles entering the city from 60th Street or South will be required to remit more in toll money. The highest tolls will be levied during peak travel times, which are five in the morning until five in the evening on weekdays and nine to nine on weekends. The notion has created significant and sometimes contentious political and legal debate.
Potential Impact on the Business Community
Some believe the traffic and pollution-fighting initiative will benefit the local business community. Business owners have varying opinions about this.
“It will help the subways, it’s not going to help us,” said Debbie Kavourias, who owns Columbus Hardware, a business on Ninth Avenue and West 55th Street.
Kavourias’s establishment is a mom-and-pop operation that has existed for years. She expresses reservations about how congestion pricing holds the potential to keep the flow of goods into her store consistently.
“We have deliveries seven or eight times a week that could get cut back,” she said. “They may say to us we can no longer come, or just once a week.”
Her concerns may be legitimate. During peak commuting times, trucks entering the pricing zone may be charged anywhere from $14 to more than $21.
Kavourias said that her team is already feeling the impact. When congestion pricing was first suggested, vendors added surcharges, which are still in effect.
“Per delivery, it can go all the way up to $25 per delivery and it doesn’t matter how much is on the delivery,” she said. “If I order one thing, it’s $25. I order 25 things it’s $25.”
For Romulo Coronel, the owner of Dock Parking on West 58th Street, congestion pricing could equate to a decline in vehicle volume. He said that 90 to 150 automobiles currently enter his facility daily. Car drivers often shop at nearby Columbus Circle or attend Broadway shows.
Coronel believes drivers will circumvent congestion pricing simply by parking several blocks above the pricing zone, bypassing his garage.
“With this pricing congestion pricing, there will be a lot less cars, like 15, 30 cars,” he said. “it’s going to be very bad for us because we work on tips.”
Coronel offers that he could earn anywhere from $50 to $75 in tips a day. However, once congestion pricing sets in, those figures could drop to as little as $30 per day or possibly even less.
A Double-Edged Sword
Not every business owner in the pricing zone vicinity expects the economic impact to be all bad.
Karen Vasile, the owner of Dynasty Dry Cleaners on East 62nd Street, expects some positive and negative results.
“Sometimes, we have to go uptown or downtown, so that will be a problem for us because we will have to pay more,” she said.
However, another potential side of the coin may be increased walk-in customers.
“Now, people are going to stay in the area and just come in here and do business here,” she said.
Only Time Will Tell
Such circumstances precipitate more floor traffic and a possible increase in cars, with more drivers finding nearby parking spaces to elude the tolls and take mass transit.
City Councilmember Gale Brewer’s district travels across the dividing line. She is interested in watching the plan unfold.
“We don’t want people circling and we don’t want people to park in illegal locations,” she said.
Brewer added that the creation of permitted parking for residents could alleviate the strain on neighborhoods close to the pricing zone. That said, she realizes that this proposal is not entirely failsafe.
“You could get a parking sticker,” Brewer said. “However, that parking space is not guaranteed. I learned from San Francisco that people got a sticker for their car. They came home from work and there’s no place to park.”
