{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1044", "REPRESENTATIVES LAWLER AND GOTTHEIMER STAND WITH NYC RESTAURANT OWNER AGAINST $15/DAY CONGESTION TAX", "2023-12-05", "2023", "2023-12", "Republican", "House", "NY", "Michael Lawler", "L000599", "lawler.house.gov", "lawler", "https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentquery.aspx?DocumentTypeID=27", "scraper", "Yesterday, Representatives Mike Lawler (R-NY-17) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ-05) joined Julio Pena, owner of restaurant Il Posto Accanto, a 25-year New York City restaurant, to highlight the devastating impact New York\u2019s new $15-a-day Congestion Tax will have on small businesses, commuters, and families.\n\n\u201cAt a time when New Yorkers are struggling to make ends meet and can barely afford to live here, Governor Hochul has enacted an outrageous cash grab, stealing hundreds of millions from suburban commuters to fund the MTA\u2019s bloated and mismanaged operations. This regressive tax will punish working class and middle class New Yorkers, while also hurting businesses and workers in New York City who are struggling to make ends meet,\u201d said Congressman Mike Lawler (NY-17), co-chair of the Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus. \u201cI\u2019m proud to be working in a bipartisan fashion with Congressman Gottheimer to fight to put a stop to Hochul and the MTA\u2019s congestion pricing cash grab.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s a slap in the face to every single hardworking small business owner and employee who just wants to put food on the table for their families. If I were a New York City business owner \u2014 small, medium, or large \u2014 I would call Governor Hochul today and demand she clean house at the MTA,\u201d said Congressman Gottheimer, co-chair of the Anti-Congestion Tax Caucus. \u201cBecause of MTA Chairman Janno Lieber\u2019s Congestion Tax, families will be priced out of coming to see the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, walking past Macy\u2019s store front windows, or coming to dinner at Il Posto. Janno \u2018Scrooge\u2019 Lieber is putting coal in everyone\u2019s stockings this year with his $15-a-day Congestion Tax.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs a small businessman, my wife and I have been running this business on this block since 1995. Whatever has come our way, Sandy, 9/11, anything and everything, the community has all rallied around. But after Covid and the difficulties we went through with that, to have Congestion Pricing shoved down our throats it\u2019s going to be a death blow. It\u2019s going to be a death blow to small businesses like ours and our customers will think twice about coming into the city from Jersey or Long Island, or Westchester \u2014 or even from the Upper East Side or Upper West Side,\u201d said Julio Pena, co-owner of local small business Il Posto Accanto Restaurant. \u201cIt also going to hit us over the head with our vendors. We get at least 10 deliveries a day\u2026 they\u2019re going to hit us with a fee. It\u2019s just a money grab as far as we\u2019re concerned.\u201d\n\nNegative Effects of New York\u2019s $15/Day Congestion Tax\n\nThe $15 Congestion Tax, on top of the existing tolls, gas, and parking, will drive many of Il Posto\u2019s customers, including tourists and Jersey commuters, away from the city, decimating their small business.\n\nHudson Valley commuters will have to pay up to $5,000 a year in new fees just to get to work.\n\nRestaurants will be charged new fees for deliveries because trucks will have to pay the Congestion Tax every day. That cost will be passed down to the small business owners and customers.\n\nHudson Valley commuters and families will be priced out of coming to New York City for a meal, seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, walking past Macy\u2019s store front windows, or huddling together with hot chocolate while watching the light show on Fifth Avenue.\n\nThe Congestion Tax will increase carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, and even formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, into the Hudson Valley and North Jersey.\n\nHardworking New York and New Jersey families will soon face a $15 dollar a day \u2014 nearly $4,000 a year \u2014 Congestion Tax just to drive to work or visit south of 60th street in New York City. That\u2019s on top of the $17 dollar tolls Jersey drivers pay a day already.\n\nVideo of the remarks can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-08T01:14:16Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://lawler.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=1044"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8898100350052118, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}