{"id":1266,"date":"2025-01-22T18:06:46","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T18:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/oped-brooklyn-can-turn-congestion-pricing-into-a-win\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T18:06:46","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T18:06:46","slug":"oped-brooklyn-can-turn-congestion-pricing-into-a-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/?p=1266","title":{"rendered":"OpEd: Brooklyn Can Turn Congestion Pricing Into A Win"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"nes-body-intro\">\n<p><strong>News Distributed by <a href=\"https:\/\/nycnewswire.com\/about-nyc-newswire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NYC NEWSWIRE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>OpEd by <a href=\"http:\/\/KhariEdwards2025.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Khari Edwards<\/a>, 2025 Brooklyn Boro President Candidate<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Brooklyn has always been a borough of resilience, innovation, and community. As the MTA prepares to roll out its Congestion Pricing Program in January 2025, Brooklynites are facing yet another challenge that we can transform into an opportunity. While many see this program as a way to keep people out of Manhattan, I see it as a way to draw people into Brooklyn\u2014and keep Brooklyn residents enjoying everything our borough has to offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"nes-body-copy\">\n<h2><strong>Promoting Brooklyn as the Destination<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Congestion pricing imposes tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan below 60th Street, but here\u2019s the good news: Brooklyn businesses have a golden opportunity to attract customers who want to avoid fees while enjoying world-class dining, shopping, and cultural experiences.<\/p>\n<p>As your next Brooklyn Borough President, I will work tirelessly to ensure that businesses in every Brooklyn neighborhood\u2014from Brownsville to Bay Ridge, Flatbush to Williamsburg\u2014thrive under this new reality. My plan includes:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Promoting Local Restaurants:<\/strong> Brooklyn\u2019s diverse food scenes are second to none. From Caribbean cuisine in Crown Heights to Italian fare in Bensonhurst and vegan dining in Bushwick to our fabled Chinatown, there\u2019s no reason to leave the borough for a great meal.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Highlighting Retail Hubs:<\/strong> Brooklyn has vibrant shopping districts, from the boutiques of DUMBOto the iconic Fulton Mall to our many economic corridors. These businesses deserve support and recognition as alternative &amp; primary destinations to Manhattan\u2019s crowded shopping districts<\/li>\n<li><strong>Showcasing Cultural Institutions and Destinations:<\/strong> Brooklyn is home to world-renowned museums, theaters, and cultural hubs, like the Brooklyn Museum, BAM, and Prospect Park. To expand our cultural footprint, we must also highlight treasures like the Brooklyn Children\u2019s Museum, Weeksville Heritage Center, and the Jewish Museum. We will highlight our amazing local organizations who keep the culture rooted &amp; future driven. These institutions deserve to be on everyone\u2019s must-visit list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Plus the WNBA Champs, NY Liberty, are in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Supporting Small Businesses and Reviving Brooklyn Tourism<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>As Borough President, I will seize this opportunity to tap into our small businesses and further expand King County\u2019s tourism industry. By supporting these businesses, we can increase the vibrancy of our local economy while creating new jobs and opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, I will push the new City Comptroller to truly utilize Economically Targeted Investments (ETIs) for small businesses \u2014 traditional and digital. These investments are essential tools for driving economic development and ensuring that Brooklyn\u2019s entrepreneurs have the resources they need to succeed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-lg-8 col-md-8\">\n<div class=\"nes-body-copy\">\n<h2><strong>A Strategic Partnership with Businesses<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>My vision as Borough President is to form strategic partnerships with businesses across Brooklyn. This means working directly with local chambers of commerce, neighborhood associations, and small business owners to create marketing campaigns that amplify Brooklyn\u2019s appeal.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll use social media, digital advertising, and grassroots outreach to spread the word: You don\u2019t need to pay a congestion fee to experience the best that New York City has to offer\u2014because Brooklyn has it all.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-8 col-md-8\">\n<div class=\"nes-body-copy\">\n<h2><strong>Brooklyn\u2019s Strength and Innovation<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Brooklyn has always been winning, and we will continue to win even if they change the rules. When challenges arise, we meet them with creativity and determination. The MTA wants congestion pricing? Fine. We\u2019ll turn it into a reason for people to explore our incredible neighborhoods and support our local businesses.<\/p>\n<p>Brooklynites are strong, innovative, and resourceful. I\u2019m confident that together, we can use this moment to showcase everything that makes our borough extraordinary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-lg-8 col-md-8\">\n<div class=\"nes-body-copy\">\n<h2>Supporting All of Brooklyn<\/h2>\n<p>As your next Brooklyn Borough President, I am committed to ensuring that every neighborhood\u2014from the bustling streets of Downtown Brooklyn to the quiet corners of Marine Park\u2014gets the support it needs to thrive.<\/p>\n<p>Brooklyn is more than a borough; it\u2019s a lifestyle. We are a community of dreamers who do. Let\u2019s turn this challenge into an opportunity to uplift our businesses, celebrate our culture, and show the world what Brooklyn can do. We don&#8217;t need Manhattan. Respectfully!<\/p>\n<p>Join the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.khariedwards2025.com\/volunteer\"><strong>#BrooklynVested Movement<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Khari\u00a0Edwards<\/strong><br \/>\nCandidate for Brooklyn Borough President<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/KhariEdwards2025.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">KhariEdwards2025.com<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>News Distributed by <a href=\"https:\/\/nycnewswire.com\/about-nyc-newswire\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">NYC NEWSWIRE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>News Distributed by NYC NEWSWIRE OpEd by Khari Edwards, 2025 Brooklyn Boro President Candidate Brooklyn has always been a borough of resilience, innovation, and community. As the MTA prepares to roll out its Congestion Pricing Program in January 2025, Brooklynites are facing yet another challenge that we can transform into an opportunity. While many see [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1267,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1266","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1266\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1267"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brownsvillenews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}