Three Democratic candidates for the City Council District 1 in Manhattan joined NY1 political anchor Errol Louis on “Inside City Hall” Thursday night for a primary election debate.
The district includes most of Lower Manhattan, such as SoHo, Chinatown, Lower East Side and the Financial District.
The three leading Democratic candidates are: Christopher Marte, Ursila Jung and Susan Lee.
Marte, the incumbent, has represented the district since last year.
He is being challenged by Jung, an education advocate, and Lee, a grant writer with experience in the nonprofit sector.
The candidates were asked about their thoughts on the MTA moving forward with a pricing plan that would charge drivers in Lower Manhattan as a way to decrease traffic and raise funding for the MTA.
Jung said she does not support congestion pricing. She said the plan is “incompletely fleshed out.”
“I think it focuses on a few outer boroughs and neglects communities along the eastern and the western edges of Manhattan where traffic will be funneled down the West Side Highway down, West Street and along the FDR,” Jung said. “I think that we have totally ignored those communities. There are no carve outs for those people who live in the central business district.”
Lee, who ran for the district seat in 2021, also said she does not support the plan. She pointed out that a lot of workers in Chinatown don’t live in the district because they were “priced out,” adding that they will “bear the brunt” of congestion pricing.
“I think it’s a disguise for the environmental solution because pollution knows no boundaries. So you’re gonna funnel traffic to the north side, above 61st Street to the Bronx, to Staten Island — it’s gonna make its way,” Lee said. “I think there are other ways to solve the environmental issue.”
For congestion pricing, Marte said there should be a “local exception.”
“If we’re replicating the model that was used in London, in Singapore, both of those cities understood that people, residents, all different types of people, low income families, working class families, live in these areas,” he said. “And so, I support a local exception for residents.”
The primary election is on June 27, and early voting begins Saturday.
