XPost: alt.party, misc.taxes, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns, alt.society.liberalism   
   From: yourdime@outlook.com   
      
   The MTA held a cheery celebration to unveil a new “Congestion Relief Zone”   
   sign in Manhattan, just hours before drivers will feel the pain as the   
   controversial toll goes into effect in the Big Apple.   
      
   The agency’s CEO Janno Lieber seemed to have no concern for the many   
   lawsuits and pleas from commuters aiming to stop the new $9 toll, as he   
   personally unveiled a toll sign Saturday at one of the entry points to the   
   zone at Broadway and W. 61st St.   
      
   Video shared by the MTA on social media shows a small crowd of toll   
   supporters and elected officials cheering Lieber as he stood in a crane   
   and revealed the new price sign.   
      
   Despite the cheers, the celebration drew online  jeers from opponents of   
   the toll — which begins at midnight.   
      
   “How do you cheer for this,” one person commented on Instagram.   
      
   Another wrote: “Who’s celebrating bro… like who is happy to pay more ugh.”   
      
   Some found the tone of the celebration distasteful in light of the   
   financial strain it will  put on many commuters.   
      
   “We ain’t happy about this, just put the sign up and go about y’all day.   
   No unveiling necessary,” another Instagram user wrote.   
      
   Despite the criticism, Lieber took time to boast last Saturday about the   
   contentious plan as something that will improve safety, pollution and   
   traffic conditions.   
      
   “We’ve been working on this for five years but if you stand in Midtown for   
   five minutes you know we have to deal with the traffic problem,” he said.   
      
   “Now we’re showing the world that in New York we do something about our   
   challenges.”   
      
   Tonight at the stroke of  12, the agency will begin charging passenger   
   vehicles $9 during peak hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays, and from 9   
   a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends.   
      
   Motorists will be charged $2.25 during all other times to enter   
   Manhattans’ busiest neighborhoods south of 60th Street.   
      
   Tolls for those not using an E-Zpass will be higher.   
      
   Small trucks will be charged $14.40 during peak hours while large trucks   
   will be charged $21.60.   
      
   The new congestion pricing will be the first of its kind in the nation.   
      
   Money generated by the toll is expected to provide $15 billion toward MTA   
   capital projects.   
      
   https://nypost.com/2025/01/04/us-news/mta-holds-cheery-ceremony-to-unveil-   
   congestion-pricing-signs-hours-before-drivers-are-set-to-feel-the-pinch/   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)