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    WSR Cartoon: Scenes From the UWS Congestion Pricing Border

    February 28, 2025 | 8:02 AM - Updated on August 26, 2025 | 7:02 PM
    in NEWS
    20

    About the cartoonist: Bob Eckstein is a writer, illustrator, author, and contributor of cartoons to The New Yorker and West Side Rag. Check out his popular newsletter, The Bob. Read the Rag’s Q & A with him — HERE.

    And our new feature, Rag Radio, talked to Bob about his work. You can listen — HERE.

    See all WSR Cartoons here.

    Subscribe to West Side Rag’s FREE email newsletter here.

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    Please limit comments to 150 words and keep them civil and relevant to the article at hand. Comments are closed after six days. Our primary goal is to create a safe and respectful space where a broad spectrum of voices can be heard. We welcome diverse viewpoints and encourage readers to engage critically with one another’s ideas, but never at the expense of civility. Disagreement is expected—even encouraged—but it must be expressed with care and consideration. Comments that take cheap shots, escalate conflict, or veer into ideological warfare detract from the constructive spirit we aim to cultivate. A detailed statement on comments and WSR policy can be read here.

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    20 Comments
    OPOD
    OPOD
    1 year ago

    That is one border President Trump will open.

    8
    Reply
    Anonymous
    Anonymous
    1 year ago
    Reply to  OPOD

    The main things Trump is going to accomplish is destroying our relationships with our allies, dragging a thriving economy into a crashing recession, ripping out our social safety net and spreading authoritarianism, starvation, and disease worldwide.

    But you’re right, he may also take out an extraordinarily beneficial congestion pricing program that virtually everyone who *actually lives here* agrees has been a smashing success.

    4
    Reply
    Ped Astel
    Ped Astel
    1 year ago
    Reply to  OPOD

    States Rights

    2
    Reply
    m.pipik
    m.pipik
    1 year ago
    Reply to  OPOD

    Sorry, folks but even though it can seem amusing I find this cartoon to be in bad taste. It isn’t funny for those who will be deported.

    2
    Reply
    Perer
    Perer
    1 year ago
    Reply to  m.pipik

    Shouldn’t have come here. That’s how it works.

    0
    Reply
    S G
    S G
    1 year ago
    Reply to  m.pipik

    If they came illegally, then they have no right to be here. LEGAL immigration, a wholehearted YES…ILLEGAL immigration, a big NO.

    6
    Reply
    Shari Brennan
    Shari Brennan
    1 year ago
    Reply to  S G

    B S. Just try living in the countries where these immigrants left. It was so bad that they gave up everything abd risked their lives to be here, only to end up without jobs and living on the streets or in camps hoping for better lives for selves and family .

    2
    Reply
    Gary
    Gary
    1 year ago

    Will they deport the Jersey & Connecticut vehicles? 😉

    6
    Reply
    Charisse Bozza
    Charisse Bozza
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Gary

    And Pennsylvania? 😀

    0
    Reply
    UWS Dad
    UWS Dad
    1 year ago

    This does a great job laying out the stakes! CP has worked just as expected, and the zone is far more pleasant to live and work in than before.

    4
    Reply
    Bob
    Bob
    1 year ago

    Just moving the congestion and pollution northward.

    3
    Reply
    Beata
    Beata
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Bob

    UWS has been more pleasant since CP went live. Fewer cars, fewer blocked pedestrian crosswalks, easier to cross the road with a double stroller.

    2
    Reply
    Maxx
    Maxx
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Bob

    Has ANYONE here on the uws noticed any problems up here caused by congestion pricing? I sure haven’t! I’m not sure who these crazy people are that you crazy people seem to think are going to bizarrely change up their driving and parking patterns to flood upper Manhattan neighborhoods. It’s just about the dumbest argument I’ve ever heard about anything

    5
    Reply
    Bob
    Bob
    1 year ago

    Take the subway Bob 😉

    Last edited 1 year ago by Bob
    3
    Reply
    Esther C.
    Esther C.
    1 year ago

    Really enjoy these cartoons – Thanks for brightening my day! (Any chance you can do one of DOGE and illustrate that it’s really pronounced ‘dodgy,’ like how the Brits use it?!)

    Last edited 1 year ago by Esther C.
    3
    Reply
    Joey
    Joey
    1 year ago

    😂

    0
    Reply
    Not the Real UWSDad
    Not the Real UWSDad
    1 year ago

    I find all of the “congestion pricing. has been a smashing success” comments really fascinating. I look at determining CP success in 2 parts.

    First, does it cut down on traffic in the zone. So far, early results are positive and traffic has been reduced. I work in midtown and it is noticeable. Now, we will see if this stays true over time (and I would also be curious to see what impact it has on neighborhoods in the other boroughs).

    Second, the revenue generated from CP would be used to fund MTA capital projects. Obviously, success for this part cannot be determined now and this is the part that I most worry about.

    So, I think many people claiming CP success are a bit early (or all they really care about is limiting car traffic).

    1
    Reply
    Eugene Nickerson
    Eugene Nickerson
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Not the Real UWSDad

    Let’s see when you have the first 70 and 80 degree days of the year how bad the traffic will be.

    1
    Reply
    UWS Dad
    UWS Dad
    1 year ago
    Reply to  Not the Real UWSDad

    It is of course early days, but traffic has significantly approved already and funds are being raised for the MTA’s capital budget (understanding of course that the projects themselves take years). I think its fair to call it a smashing success thus far.

    0
    Reply
    Ralph Caso
    Ralph Caso
    1 year ago
    Reply to  UWS Dad

    It is not the smashing success you think it is. Looks like when you say traffic has significantly approved, I guess there’s a Freudian slip and that you’re glad the traffic you approve of its up.

    1
    Reply

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