N.Y. lawmakers reject fee aimed at easing traffic

ALBANY, N.Y. – Lawmakers rejected a proposal on Monday to charge Manhattan motorists an extra fee to drive in the city, a plan advocates hoped would reduce traffic and curb pollution.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver announced the decision after a survey of Democratic Assembly members in a private conference.

The concept aimed to cut traffic and pollution by forcing more commuters onto mass transit. It would have charged most drivers $8 to drive below 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Truckers would have paid $21.

The Legislature faced a Monday deadline to act on Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposal, which was already endorsed by Democratic Gov. David Paterson, the Republican-led Senate and the City Council.

“What we are witnessing today is one of the biggest cop-outs in New York’s history,” said Bloomberg spokesman John Gallagher.