Five months after suspending the vehicle-tolling initiative aimed at funding transit upgrades, Gov. Kathy Hochul put congestion pricing back on track Thursday — and squarely in the sights of President-elect Donald Trump.
At a Midtown news conference as packed as a rush-hour train, Hochul announced that motorists driving south of 60th Street in Manhattan will begin paying a once-daily $9 toll on Jan. 5.
The tolls would kick in just over two weeks before the White House return of Trump, who has vowed to “TERMINATE Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in office.”
The governor’s latest reversal on the first-in-the-nation plan came after Hochul in June put an indefinite pause on congestion pricing, which would have originally charged motorists $15.
At the time the move was labeled politically motivated, but Hochul on Thursday also denied that her decision to revive the plan now was driven by the results of the presidential election.
“A pause is a pause is a pause,” Hochul said in response to a question from THE CITY about the five-month delay. “People thought it was a permanent death — I said all along it was not permanent death.”
Hochul had vowed since August to come up with an end-of-year alternative to the $15 tolling plan, which was designed to cut congestion and fund billions of dollars in upgrades to the MTA’s sprawling transportation network.
She announced one Thursday, five months after the June pause left a $16.5 billion hole in the MTA’s five-year capital plan, led to lawsuits from transit and environmental advocates and threats from Trump, who on Thursday told the New York Post that congestion pricing is “the most regressive tax known to womankind!
“It will be virtually impossible for New York City to come back as long as the congestion tax is in effect,” Trump said.
The day after Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris, THE CITY reported that transit and environmental advocates who back congestion pricing warned that it was “now or never” for the vehicle-tolling initiative to be implemented in short order before the Republican administration returns.
“Once it’s turned on, it becomes very difficult to turn off,” Julie Tighe, president of the New York League of Conservation Voters, told THE CITY on Thursday.
Hochul and her state budget director Blake Washington insisted the tolling scheme would still bring in $15 billion despite the 40% reduction in fees set to be slapped on motorists.
When repeatedly pressed as to how that was possible, Director of State Operations Kathryn Garcia summed it up as a condition of the 2019 state law that approved congestion pricing.
“We are required to give the MTA basically a $15 billion credit card…” Garcia said. “It just may mean that it takes longer to pay it all back.”
The governor also noted that while the $15 tolling plan predicted a 15-17% drop in traffic, the $9 plan only expects a 13% reduction in vehicles in the zone — meaning more cars would be paying.
Missing Money
The pause had forced the MTA to recalibrate its more than $50 billion 2020-2024 Capital Program. It put on hold plans that include installing elevators at 23 subway and Staten Island Railway stations, buying 250-plus electric buses and bus depot charging equipment and initiatives to detect trespassing on train tracks.
It also disrupted plans to put money toward so-called environmental justice communities disproportionately affected by vehicle emissions.
“Over $100 million dollars will be spent funding reducing polluting trucks that travel our city streets, especially in The Bronx,” said Deputy Mayor Meera Joshi. “And it also buys that borough additional green space and an asthma center.”
Hochul said those projects are now a go — while conceding they may take a little longer to complete.
“It took some time to navigate the right financial structuring so we could get to the money so no project is jeopardized,” Hochul said. “Then we can start, turn on the switch right away to start these critical projects that I believe in.”
Janno Lieber, MTA chairperson and CEO, said Hochul’s support of congestion pricing is essential for projects that had temporarily been put on ice, citing the extension of the Second Avenue Subway from 96th Street to Harlem.
“We will be putting out the [request for proposals] for the tunnel boring on the Second Avenue Subway promptly, as a result of the actions taken by the governor today,” he said.
Hochul also pledged her “strong support” for the transit agency’s next five-year capital plan. At $68.4 billion, it’s the largest in the history of the MTA, but also one that faces a projected $33 billion funding gap of its own.
Budget watchdogs said the governor needs to provide the public with more details and assurances that the funding shortfalls in both capital plans will be filled.
“The capital plan’s financing should be sustainable — not setting the stage for new tax increases every five years — and fairly apportion the cost across the region and among riders, drivers and taxpayers,” the non-profit Citizens Budget Commission said in a statement.
Hochul’s earlier shift away from congestion pricing also put into question a pledge to put money toward environmental justice efforts in neighborhoods disproportionately affected by poor air quality as a result of traffic. Those now have the greenlight.
“Lower-income communities will not only benefit from improved public transit service, but also cleaner air,” said Hochul, adding that she has directed the MTA to provide more frequent bus service along at least 23 bus routes outside of Manhattan.
For all the hopeful words that accompanied Thursday’s announcement, officials acknowledged the potential for a congestion pricing clash with Trump while expressing hope that the President-elect may pull a U-turn of his own on the vehicle-tolling plan.
“I am looking for support from the federal government to support our shared goals of making this a world-class system,” Hochul said. “So, I will have those conversations and ask all of my federal partners, from the president to congress on down.”
