MTA CEO Pat Foye Says Key Congestion Pricing Decisions Will Be Made In Private
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Key decisions about the MTA's controversial congestion pricing plan will be made behind closed doors.
This comes from Pat Foye, the head of the MTA, who, in a concession, said there will also be a robust effort to listen to the views of the public.
Nothing in the annuls of the MTA -- not late trains, subway derailments, sexual predators -- has proved more controversial than Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to fund mass transit improvements by taxing people to drive into the central business district of Manhattan.
Now, Foye says some of the key decisions will be made where the public can't watch.
"Will there be private meetings that the public can't go to?" CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer asked.
"I think that executive sessions are set forth in state law ... and I think it's appropriate for an advisory group like that to have the ability to meet, on occasion, in private," Foye said.
At a taping of CBSN New York's "The Point," Kramer did get Foye to make concessions.
"Don't you think that something is served by letting the people participate and hear what's going on for something that's such a critical change to their lifestyle and their pocketbook?" Kramer said.
"I completely agree. There will be robust public outreach. There'll be public hearings," Foye said. "These are important decisions."
But a concession on transparency did not carry over to a concession for New Jersey commuters to pay less.
Last week on "The Point," Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop said, share the wealth, Pat.
"It's got to be a regional solution, and we need to share in some of the dollars," Fulop said.
Foye's answer to Fulop? The East River will freeze over before you get a piece of the pie. The money, Foye says, is "lock boxed."
"They can only be used for MTA capital projects," Foye said. "There's no legal way to share."
The MTA boss also talked about Cuomo's proposed ban to keep sexual predators off the subways. Kramer asked if facial recognition technology would be necessary. He says no.
"There are 472 subway stations. You can't be everywhere," Kramer said.
"But the police have-- the number of serial recidivist sexual assault perpetrators is a surprisingly small one," Foye said. "The NYPD and the MTA Police, in most cases, know who they are. They carry picture books. We will not need AI for this."