NEW YORK, NY April 07, 2008 —Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver says his chamber is rejecting Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposal to charge a fee to help reduce traffic and pollution in Manhattan. The decision comes after days of closed-door negotiations. It means the city will forfeit $354 million in federal money for kick-starting the initiative.

The Legislature faced a Monday deadline to act on Bloomberg's proposal, which was already endorsed by Democratic Gov. David Paterson, the Republican-led Senate and the City Council.

Supporters argued that congestion pricing would cut traffic and pollution by forcing more commuters onto mass transit. It would have charged most drivers $8 to drive below 60th Street between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday. Truckers would have paid $21.

The money was to be dedicated to mass transit projects throughout the city. Critics saw it as an unfair tax to residents in the outer boroughs and something that the mayor was not able to sell to skeptical elected officials.