The New York City Council doesn’t really have a role to play in implementing congestion pricing. But that isn’t stopping them from holding an oversight hearing this morning on “congestion pricing and the MTA’s fiscal future.” It’ll be “another opportunity for the public to weigh in” on congestion pricing, both for and against, “and creating space for that discourse,” Council Transportation Committee Chair Selvena Brooks-Powers told Playbook. The Traffic Mobility Review Board has the real power now, as it decides who will or won’t be getting exceptions or discounts to the possible $23 fee to drive into Manhattan below 60th Street. The council knows it, and members sent the board a letter Tuesday asking for taxis and for-hire-vehicles to be exempted. But the mobility review board, which also meets today, (and wasn’t invited to the council meeting) isn’t allowing public comment, just written submissions. So it’s good politics for the council. Constituents and interest groups are given time to say what they want about the controversial program in an official setting. Members themselves can show support or express concerns. And best of all, the MTA is showing up. The authority skipped the May executive budget hearing (“scheduling conflict”) but NYC Transit President Richard Davey and other MTA staff are planning to testify and take questions. They’ll be grilled over “what is happening in terms of the steps towards implementation,” Brooks-Powers said, and how the new revenue will be spent. She wants better public transportation for outer borough neighborhoods like hers in Southeast Queens. Councilmember Althea Stevens said she wants to hear about traffic impacts on her South Bronx district. Needless to say, congestion pricing has its critics. Like Transport Workers Union President John Samuelsen, who’s raised concerns about the impact on (the relatively low number) of low income car commuters. “Janno Lieber isn’t going to get blamed, Eric Adams is going to get blamed – he’s got to be aware of that reality,” Samuelsen said about the MTA chair and CEO, with whom he’s in the midst of a bitter fight. New Yorkers will blame their council members too, so the hearing will at least give them something to point to to say they took action. But let’s be clear: Some people love congestion pricing. So while some supportive organizations were surprised by the hearing at first, they’re seizing the opportunity too. The automobile skeptics of Transportation Alternatives, the Regional Plan Association, Bike New York and others are rallying this morning and releasing a report: How Congestion Pricing Will Improve Your Life. HAPPY THURSDAY. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman. WHERE’S KATHY? In Suffolk County with no public schedule (she does have a Hamptons fundraiser, as Playbook reported Monday). WHERE’S ERIC? Giving an housing and economic development related announcement in Manhattan and attending older adult town hall in the Bronx. Then he's giving remarks at a flag-rising ceremony for Peru, speaking at a Universal Hip Hop Museum and iHeartRadio event and attending events for Haitian heritage and the grand opening for Shawarma Shabazi. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “You’re looking to date. You may drive by. You may see eye candy sitting down somewhere, you may want to park and come and slip them your number. Come have fun, man. Outdoor dining is the way to go,” — Mayor Eric Adams on the benefits of the city’s new program for streeteries, which he signed into law. | 
