New York City’s congestion pricing program, charging drivers entering 60th Street and below in Manhattan, started yesterday, with MTA officials optimistic it will loosen traffic-clogged streets. At a news conference Sunday, Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Janno Lieber said motorists can expect to see toll charges on their E-ZPass accounts within a few days after fees are calculated based on what time drivers entered the congestion zone, their vehicle type and whether they stayed on an exempt road like the FDR Drive.

"We’re only 12 hours in, so it’s hard to give an accurate measure of the program’s success ... It’s going to take a few days for this all to kick in, but it’s gone smoothly," Lieber told reporters Sunday afternoon. "We don’t expect New Yorkers to change their behavior overnight."

Lieber encouraged drivers to make sure their E-ZPass accounts are connected to their license plates, as the toll for passenger vehicles is $13.50 without E-ZPass rather than $9 during peak hours. As reported in Newsday the congestion pricing program launched at one second after midnight. About seven hours later, hundreds of vehicles, a handful of taxicabs and several food trucks drove across the Queensboro {59th St.} Bridge into Manhattan to avoid the new congestion pricing charge. The bustling business district on the East Side stands right at the perimeter of the congestion pricing zone.

Digital screens inside subway trains Sunday morning advertised the new policy. "Congestion pricing is here," one message read on a Bronx-bound No. 2 train, alongside an address for an MTA informational website. "Less congestion, better future."

***

Emphasizing the “promise and potential” of a new year, East Hampton Town Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez listed a series of proactive initiatives including affordable housing, environmental conservation, fiscal responsibility and human services — the latter including a defense of the new senior citizens center that has come under criticism for its proposed size and cost — in the annual State of the Town address, when the East Hampton Town Board held its organizational meeting this past Thursday. As she begins the second of a two-year term as supervisor, following 10 years as a councilwoman, Burke-Gonzalez said that housing “remains a cornerstone of our efforts” and that last year “we truly embraced” the All Hands on Housing initiative announced three years ago by her predecessor, Peter Van Scoyoc. Christopher Walsh reports on 27east.com that Burke-Gonzalez closed her State of the Town address with a pitch for citizen involvement. “I invite every member of this community to join us in this journey. Volunteer your time, lend your voice and bring forward your ideas. This is our time to come together and to ensure that East Hampton continues to thrive as a place of possibility and hope,” she said. “Now, let’s get to work.”

***

About 170 student volunteers from an array of North Fork schools and service groups removed about 55 tons of trash, debris, equipment and scrap metal from the Greenport woods surrounding the Bay to Sound Trail in 2024, in an effort coordinated by Group for the East End and Southold Town. Beth Young in EAST END BEACON reports that the Bay to Sound Trail, in the works since 2007, is a network of trails that crosses a variety of ecosystems west of Greenport Village on lands preserved by a variety of entities. It includes trails on Arshamomaque Preserve, Skipper Horton Park and Pipes Cove Preserve, among other state, town and county-preserved properties.

The 2024 work involved the creation of about 1.8 new miles of trails through Pipes Cove Preserve, the former site of Sill’s Dairy Farm, where volunteers spent more than 1,620 hours taking down the remains of a defunct milk house and dairy barn, along with the buildings’ contents. They removed more than 50 wheels and tires, a...