Yesterday, Streetsblog took a shot at Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and his anti-congestion pricing stance. Since I am a part of Dinowitz's local news sphere, he's sent over a response to the blog post, outlining just how he sees congestion pricing will screw The Bronx."We only got this commission thanks to Speaker Silver and the Assembly majority, but if supporters had their way debate would have been cut off on July 16 without a single hearing or town hall meeting being held by the city," writes Dinowitz. "And this same writer, not being a Bronxite, seems to have no problem that not one of the 1.4 million Bronx residents is on this commission. That’s not surprising. The response of supporters (Transportation Alternatives) to a recent poll showing overwhelming opposition in the Bronx to congestion pricing was that Bronxites are uninformed (i.e. stupid)."More after the jump.For more New York political coverage visit City Hall News. More on Congestion PricingBy Assemblyman Jeffrey DinowitzCongestion pricing has proven to be among the most lively debated issues facing our city. While most people on both sides of this debate have proven to be concerned New Yorkers who have presented many legitimate and well-thought-out arguments, some unfortunately have turned the discussion somewhat nasty and personal.Streetsblog yesterday contained a response to my recent op-ed piece in the Riverdale Press, which itself was a condensed version of a letter I sent out to the small number of people who have contacted me on this issue.The writer, Aaron Naparstek, has a problem with my “outrage” that an effort was made to force the Legislature to pass congestion pricing under the threat of forfeiting hundreds of millions in federal aid. Well, we didn’t pass congestion pricing, but we will get the money, so the threat was simply a lie to force us to pass it. In my op-ed I indicated that I am troubled by the lack of debate and that supporters have tried to ram this through. We only got this commission thanks to Speaker Silver and the Assembly majority, but if supporters had their way debate would have been cut off on July 16 without a single hearing or town hall meeting being held by the city. And this same writer, not being a Bronxite, seems to have no problem that not one of the 1.4 million Bronx residents is on this commission. That’s not surprising. The response of supporters (Transportation Alternatives) to a recent poll showing overwhelming opposition in the Bronx to congestion pricing was that Bronxites are uninformed (i.e. stupid). The writer’s response to my concern that New Jerseyites would pay only $2 to $4 for the congestion pricing tax while most Bronxites would pay $8 is that most Bronxites use mass transit. That’s no response. Bronxites who drive would pay more than those from New Jersey for the congestion pricing fee. They may be a minority of commuters, but they should not be an oppressed minority as Mr. Naperstak would seem to prefer. If traffic should increase on the Henry Hudson Parkway in the Bronx then our air would be dirtier. Yes, maybe air would be cleaner in midtown and no, cleaner air doesn’t stop at 86th Street, but if our traffic in Riverdale does increase that does mean dirtier air here. Excuse me for expressing concern about that and for representing the interests of my constituents. He also fails to comprehend that which I had written or simply twisted the words. For example, nowhere did I write that I drive to Manhattan. I simply stated that it takes a lot longer to use our inadequate mass transit to get to lower Manhattan than it takes to drive. In fact, I rarely go into Manhattan and avoid it whenever possible. When I do go into Manhattan I either take the subway or drive, depending upon where I’m going and the time of the day. I also did not say that taxis and car services should not be given an exemption. I simply pointed out the fact that they weren’t included. Taxis comprise a significant percentage of Manhattan traffic. As far as bicycles, I strongly favor laws and regulations more conducive to encouraging those who can to use bikes, but that doesn’t negate the fact that a very significant portion of those who do bike flagrantly ignore the traffic rules that the law requires them to follow, including stopping at red lights and driving in the correct direction, for example. That contributes to congestion. And please don’t tell me that mass transit will improve if this passes. The MTA has totally omitted the western Bronx from their proposed list of bus improvements. I don’t doubt the sincerity of most supporters of the mayor’s plan, but some of the support is very elitist in nature. There are some people for whom commuting by our inadequate mass transit system is a hardship. Not everyone lives in Manhattan or downtown Brooklyn. If you live in Riverdale, Woodlawn, Throggs Neck, Co-op City and other neighborhoods in the Bronx, formerly known as two-fare zones, then mass transit is less than adequate. Let’s improve service before we charge people a very expensive tax. And what about those who have no other choice? What about the parent who drives his or her child to school every day from the Bronx to Manhattan? That’ll cost $40 a week. And the cancer patient who needs to drive to his or her doctor in Manhattan? Maybe it’s just not as simple as supporters indicate. And to suggest that if it’s good enough for the Mayor, it’s good enough for the rest of us is a little disingenuous, especially since we now know the mayor drives to the express train. Once you leave Manhattan or some sections of Brooklyn, support for congestion pricing falls off considerably. The recent poll showed a large majority of Bronx residents oppose congestion pricing. Supporters attributed this to Bronxites not being informed. Since, according to Mr. Naparstek, only 5.2% of my constituents actually drive into Manhattan, it must mean that most people who take mass transit in the Bronx also oppose congestion pricing. Could it be that they don’t have faith that the MTA will actually deliver on mass transit improvements? Is it possible they don’t really believe that the plan is fair? Maybe they just think that a lot more work needs to be done to improve the plan. Thanks mostly to those who have not supported congestion pricing the Legislature refused to allow the plan to be rammed down our throats by the phony July 16th deadline, and we now have eight additional months to debate this issue, give people an opportunity to state their opinions and ideas, and improve the plan and make it fair so that people like me could consider supporting it. Despite the fact that the commission is stacked with supporters of the plan and has no one from the Bronx I remain hopeful that now there can be a democratic process and debate.