FDNY union leaders warn against congestion pricing after being denied exemption: ‘Don’t go down this road’

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FDNY union leaders are fighting back against the Big Apple’s new congestion pricing, warning the toll will negatively impact response times, leaving residents and first responders to deal with potentially deadly results.

Uniformed Firefighters Association President Andrew Ansbro and Uniformed Fire Officers Association President Jim Brosi discussed the new congestion pricing and its inadvertent side effects on the fire department during “FOX & Friends.”

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“We begged, and we pleaded, ‘Don’t don’t go down this road,'” Ansbro told Lawrence Jones on Tuesday. “There’s only about 270 firefighters every single day working in the zone. We estimate the cost to be $3,000 a day because we bring our vehicles into the zone, and we bring vehicles into the city, and then we use them when they move us from firehouse to firehouse.”

“When there’s a shortage [in] one place, and a surplus in another… twice a day, you have three to 400 firefighters going to a different firehouse or returning from that firehouse, and they used to have the ability to use 2000 of our cars at a moment’s notice,” he continued. 

But the new toll, which reportedly makes the Big Apple the most expensive city to drive into, has prompted many firefighters to leave their cars at home to avoid the astronomical price tag. 

As a result, they no longer have access to those personal cars if they are called to work outside their zone in the city, prompting them to rely on coordination with other firefighters or public transportation – all while lugging their 85 pounds-worth of gear. 

Officials claim on any given day, there are about 200 occurrences when firefighters are called to work outside their original zone to mitigate staffing shortages. 

“The members said they’re fed up. They don’t want to do it,” Ansbro said. “So members are waiting… four, six, eight hours after their 24-hour shift to get back from where they started.”

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The congestion pricing, which took effect on January 5, costs $9 for cars, $4.50 for motorcycles, $14.40 for small trucks and $21.60 for large trucks and tour buses during peak hours. 

City officials stand by the toll despite criticism, claiming the revenue is needed for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to modernize the Big Apple and argue the tax will drive down emissions. 

NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – 2024/11/14: Governor Kathy Hochul speaks during a press announcement to unveil the path to unpausing congestion pricing. The plan will launch with a reduced base fare of $9, down from the original plan of $15, and the start date is set for January 5, 2025. Congestion pricing was designed to raise money for the MTA’s capital plan, while reducing congestion, by tolling drivers in Manhattan south of 60th Street. Press briefing was held at the Governor’s office in New York on 3rd Avenue.  (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

The new toll encourages city-goers to use mass transportation, like the NYC subway system, instead — but recent criminal attacks have heightened concerns for people forced to take public transit.

“Change is hard. And when things are going well for people — like the 90% of people who know that the system that gets them to work or to school every single day is going to be invested in, is going to be there for them and their families — they’re not taking to the streets to say how great this is. But they are the beneficiaries, the mass majority of people who work in this area,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said on Monday.

“I understand the frustration of drivers. I truly do. I truly do,” she continued. “But the vast majority of people are going to benefit from this.”

Brosi argued the likely delayed response times and unconventional traffic outside the congestion pricing zones could be dangerous for residents and firefighters alike, and could cost millions if the department needs additional vehicles to fill the void.

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“It’s difficult to see how the response times wouldn’t be affected because these units are operating well beyond their normal routine response area,” Brosi said. “We’ve already seen firefighters stay on duty for an extra two, four, six or eight hours after a 24-hour shift in a place where they’re really already doing 6,000 runs a year. That is a tremendous toll on the members and likely to lead to more injuries.”

Ansbro said they asked the city for an exemption to the congestion pricing, but to no avail. 

“Our business is uncontrolled chaos,” he said. “You start out in the morning, wherever you start out, you could be at a fire in five minutes. You could be anywhere. You could be sitting around having breakfast. Who knows how your day is going to go?”

“But if you’re telling me I’ve got to take a member across town to get him to that firehouse and a run comes in, we have members sitting on rigs while everyone else is inside dealing with an EMS case, and a member who is waiting to go home is sitting outside saying, ‘Well, I’m off duty. I have to sit here and wait,’ and it’s just running up overtime,” he continued. “And it’s also causing a problem where people are out of position… They’re losing track of firefighters.”

Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago are just some of the other cities contemplating a congestion toll.