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Ten days into the grand experiment that is congestion pricing, the MTA is already praising the state’s efforts as a resounding success. Of course, the announcement was met with more than a fair bit of skepticism, particularly by business owners whose livelihoods would be affected by a drop-off in customers. One such entrepreneur is Alan Rosen, the owner of Brooklyn’s iconic Junior’s Restaurant. Rosen appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to explain how the city’s nickel-and-dime approach with regulations is costing businesses serious dollars.
“Janno Lieber’s doing a dance at how traffic has been reduced immediately,” Rosen told host Larry Mendte. “But I wonder if he’s ever worked in a restaurant, or a parking garage, or a Broadway theatre, or any other type of retail shop in the congestion pricing zone that could be affected, and somebody could, in effect, lose their job because of this. You know, traffic might be freed up, but that could mean I don’t know how many thousands of less visitors to New York City every day.”
To further illustrate the cash-grab mentality of congestion pricing, Rosen brought up another new regulation that makes business owners feel like ATMs for the state. “So the other day I became aware of a new DEP ruling or law… that if you cook over 875 pounds of meat on an open flame in New York City, and you don’t have a certain way to clean your smoke and you do it on an open flame, as we have been doing at Junior’s for 74 years, you’re going to get a new broiler and fix your exhaust. And I just found out this morning you have to register your char-broiler, and you know what goes with registering a char-broiler? A fee. It almost makes you feel like you don’t want to do business in New York City.”
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