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Pol calls shenanigans on congestion vote?

By Pete Catapano | pcatapano@am-ny.com

4:54 PM EDT, April 3, 2008

The already heated fight over congestion pricing just got turned up a notch.

City Councilman Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who recently declared a run for mayor, is trying to find out why so many council members apparently changed their position on the plan when the vote hit the floor Monday.

Avella wants info on their meetings with Mayor Mike Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn and is filing a Freedom of Information request to "obtain information regarding the mayor and speaker's negotiations with council members," according to a Thursday news release from Avella's office.

"I was stunned to see a number of my colleagues flip their votes in favor of congestion pricing at the eleventh hour," Avella said in a statement.

"As always, we will fully comply with the Freedom of Information Law," said John Gallagher, a mayoral spokesman.

Quinn's office declined to comment.

The council passed a resolution on Monday supporting Bloomberg's plan, which would charge cars entering the city $8 to enter below Manhattan's 60th street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays. The plan, though, still faces hurdles in Albany.