Prices of goods, services to go up on Long Island as congestion pricing goes begins
The ripple effects of congestion pricing are forcing many Long Island businesses to raise prices.
More Stories
The ripple effects of congestion pricing are forcing many Long Island businesses to raise prices.
Congestion pricing, which officially started on Jan. 5, implemented increased tolls on vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
Grace's Marketplace started in the Upper East Side in 1985 before expanding to their store in Greenvale.
Head Grocery & Specialty Buyer Rusty Pacheco says they expect a price increase on meats, produce, eggs, and dairy items brought in from suppliers that have to pass through the city. He says congestion pricing is raising their operating costs from suppliers.
"You're going to see anywhere from a 3% to 5% increase in prices,” he said. "The consumer, more often than not, is directly affected."
It's a similar situation for Ben Jackson's Freeport-based contracting business, Ben's General Contracting Corporation.
He says he's already paying more to give estimates on potential jobs in the city because of congestion pricing, and says there's no way for his crews to avoid it.
"We're going to have to increase our prices," he said. "I can't get on a train with ladders and scaffolds and tools. We have to take trucks into the city."
Hofstra University Adjunct Associate Economics Professor Dr. Martin Melkonian says he expects those increases will mainly hit Long Island’s small businesses.
"There will be minor increases in some prices,” he said. "If it's a competitive small business, they're going to pass it on. They have no choice. They're probably operating at a very small margin. For larger businesses, I think they might willingly absorb it."
Economists also say the benefits to congestion pricing could outweigh the temporary inflation we see once the program starts, and say prices could go down over time.
They warn though it's too early to tell.
