NEW YORK, April 7 (Xinhua) -- New York City's congestion pricing plan was abandoned Monday after the state legislature in Albany failed to get enough support ahead of a deadline to qualify for millions in federal funding.

    The plan would have charged drivers eight U.S. dollars to enter Manhattan below 60th Street during peak hours on weekdays.

    Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver refused to bring the proposal up for vote in his chamber, saying it did not have enough support in the Democratic-controlled House, the NY1 television station reported.

    On the State Senate side, the controversial measure also failed to reach the floor as Democrats largely boycotted the session.

    Opponents of the plan included many politicians from Queens, Brooklyn and New York's suburbs, who viewed the proposed congestion fee as a regressive measure that overwhelmingly benefited affluent Manhattan residents.

    The plan's collapse was a severe blow to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's environmental agenda and political legacy.

    Without approval from Albany, the city now stands to lose about 354 million dollars worth of federal money that would have financed the system for collecting the fee and helped to pay for new bus routes and other traffic mitigation measures.

    Mary E. Peters, the federal transportation secretary, has indicated that her department would now seek to distribute those funds to traffic-fighting proposals in other cities, the New York Times reported.

    A spokesperson for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn issued a statement, expressing disappointment at the news, but vowing to move forward with an environmental plan.

    "I am disappointed that we missed an opportunity to make a significant investment in our mass transportation system, an investment that would have secured the long-term vitality of our city and improved the health of people living in our most congested neighborhoods," the spokesperson said.

    "In spite of this setback, the Council remains fully committed to environmental responsibility and to improving and expanding our mass transit system," NY1 quoted the spokesperson as saying.