Congestion pricing is becoming increasingly prominent throughout NYC. To the misfortune of city authorities, not all residents across the five boroughs are thrilled about the new procedure. This pricing plan is created to lessen traffic, enhance air quality, and finance public transportation. This pricing strategy will present a toll starting on January 5th, 2025. The toll will require vehicles entering underneath 60th Street to pay a $9 fee per day for each car and, at most, $21.60 for every entry if trucks pass through.
A coalition of more than 100 food banks, food distributors, restaurateurs, small businesses, trade associations, and wholesale markets combined forces to address this impending deadline. The alliance, which aims to urge Governor Kathy Hochul to exempt food and beverage distributors within the five boroughs, stands firmly against the new pricing initiative.
The coalition’s central argument is that congestion pricing will raise costs throughout the supply chain. Margaret Magnarelli, vice president of marketing at Baldor, the major food provider leading the alliance, explains that if residents eat food in NYC at food pantries, grocery stores, or restaurants, “the cost is going to go up.” Magnarelli believes “since the multiple tolls per day will hit every truck across the distribution chain, the cost of food in NYC is going to go up.”
Why Is the Cost of Food Rising In New York?
Right now, NYC residents are already paying high prices to dine out. Fair wages, increased ingredient costs, and overpriced rent propel these expenses. Restaurants such as Carroll Gardens’ Buttermilk Channel and Harlem’s Contento are just a few unfortunate ones that have recently shut down due to rising costs. Even more, industry figureheads say residents should expect prices to increase further, putting more concerns and complications on diners and the food service market at large.
Practically all restaurants in NYC depend on food distributors, with warehouses in Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Queens. Distributors like the ones at the Hunts Point markets manage more than 60 percent of the city’s fish, meat, and produce. These foods cannot be transported through public transit, making matters more complex.
Food Distributors & Restaurateurs In Favor of Cost Reductions
Several restaurateurs, including Sean Feeney of Misi and Tom Colicchio of Lilia, along with food distributors like Chefs’ Warehouse and Fulton Fish Market, support reducing congestion. The Fulton Fish Market, which provides almost half the city’s seafood, believes air quality should be improved but argues that the current pricing plan disproportionately compromises food businesses.
The coalition stated that it is “New Yorkers serving New York, collectively employing tens of thousands of local residents and contributing significantly to our city’s economy,” aligning with other New Yorkers. Additionally, the alliance declares that congestion pricing will hinder access to health food options, negatively affecting “those at the greatest risk of chronic and diet-related diseases.”
What the Congestion Pricing Plan Hopes to Accomplish
Under Gov. Hochul’s direction, city leadership expects the pricing plan to finance $15 billion in mass transit enhancements, including the Second Avenue subway extension. Supplemental improvements could include air quality projects and boosted subway service. Measures such as air filtration units in schools near highways, electric truck charging infrastructure, and expanded green space could also accelerate these enhancements.
Conversely, many argue that congestion pricing may displace truck traffic to low-income and underserved neighborhoods that face current struggles with poor air quality. Regarding backing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), critics note the existing metropolitan commuter transportation mobility tax (MCTMT). The MCTMT already charges trucks to support the MTA, persuading many detractors to believe the congestion pricing plan is unnecessary. The coalition also contends that NYC’s “food and beverage distributors find themselves doubly penalized for providing a vital service” to the city and its beloved residents.
Magnarelli says Baldor already pays about six figures annually for the MCTMT. This predicament has led the coalition to spotlight the hypocritical nature of treating food distributors like city-bound businesses for the MCTMT while not following those same guidelines for congestion pricing.
The Future of Food Access in NYC Due to Congestion Pricing
Jeffrey Bank, owner of the Alicart Restaurant Group, including Carmine’s, says this plan is just “another example of Swiss cheese legislation.” He additionally asserts that NYC “policies have been brutal for small businesses,” making it near “impossible to plan.”
Ackerina of Fulton Fish Market noted that the timing of the congestion pricing plan is exceptionally cruel for an industry that has recently begun to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. She calls the initiative “a cash grab by the MTA, with limited environmental benefits” and believes “it will directly impact retailers, restaurants, and the tourism industry.”
All in all, it seems that only government officials and higher-ups really support congestion pricing at this point in time. Although the plan claims its goals are to fix ecological crises throughout NYC, only time will tell how effective the program will be.
