NYLCV Executive Director Marcia Bystryn met with Albany leaders about congestion pricing on Thursday.The New York League of Conservation Voters joined other prominent environmental groups in Albany on Thursday to voice their ardent support for a congestion pricing plan in New York City.

The groups focused their efforts on the Capitol after a marathon hearing at the New York City Council on Monday, at which NYLCV Executive Director Marcia Bystryn laid out compelling environmental arguments in support of congestion pricing.

Supporters of congestion pricing have been buoyed in recent days by a Quinnipiac poll [1] that shows New Yorkers overwhelmingly support the plan, as well as by efforts [2] by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. 

Pollution from traffic is a major problem for New York, where one in eight people suffer from asthma-one of the highest asthma rates in the country. In fact, New York City's children were twice as likely to be hospitalized for asthma as the average American child. Vehicle emissions alone contribute more than 80 percent of the total cancer risk from hazardous air pollutants in New York City. On Thursday, the groups detailed how congestion pricing would significantly reduce air pollution, and improve the health of New Yorkers.

In an eloquent editorial on Tuesday, the New York Times [3] noted that this is the moment of truth for congestion pricing, since city and state legislators have only days before the deadline for a decision passes.

"Since the first tunnels were dug, public transportation has been central to New York’s vitality and success," the editorial reads. "The only way to ensure the system will continue to work is to move forward on congestion pricing."