Hochul Delays Nation’s First Congestion Charge at NYC in Stunning Turnaround

In a stunning turnaround, Governor Hochul is indefinitely halting New York City’s congestion pricing scheme, months after she promised “congestion pricing is going to happen.” The first-in-the-nation plan, which had been set to go into effect on June 30, would have levied $15 charges on private cars entering Manhattan below 60th Street between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. Trucks would have faced up to $36 tolls, while rideshare vehicles would have faced extra charges of $2.50, as the Sun reported. The extra tolls sparked outrage in the form of several lawsuits in federal court, including one from the state of New Jersey, as well as criticism from President Trump, who brought attention to it ahead of the election. “I can’t believe that New York City is instituting Congestion Pricing, where everyone has to pay a fortune for the ‘privilege’ of coming into the City, which is in desperate trouble without it,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social in May. “ It is a big incentive not to come — there are plenty of other places to go.”Citing changes in the five years since the congestion pricing law was enacted and concerns about New Yorkers already “getting hammered on costs,” Ms. Hochul said that she directed the MTA to “indefinitely pause” the congestion pricing program. “After careful consideration, I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time,” Ms. Hochul said on Wednesday, citing concerns that the added fees, in the remote-work era, could further discourage employees from going into the office as well as reduce visitors and tourists to the city. “Let’s be real: a $15 charge may not mean a lot to someone who has the means, but it can break the budget of a working- or middle-class household,” she said. “It puts the squeeze on the very people who make this City go: the teachers, first responders, small business workers, bodega owners. And given these financial pressures, I cannot add another burden to working- and middle-class New Yorkers — or create another obstacle to continued recovery.”Her words echo concerns in a Sun editorial in July about the additional “money grab” as New Yorkers already face crippling taxation. “As Gotham struggles to recover from Covid, it’s hard to imagine a worse idea,” the Sun observed. “Now, residents of other states are expected to cough up cash for New York’s dysfunction.”Ms. Hochul’s announcement is already being applauded by leaders in New Jersey, where the initial congestion pricing plan had sparked anger and fears among commuters. “I want to thank Governor Hochul for pausing the implementation of congestion pricing in Manhattan’s Central Business District,” New Jersey’s governor, Phil Murphy, said in a statement. The halted plans are facing pushback from Congressman Jerry Nadler, who said he is “disappointed” in the turnaround by Ms. Hochul. “After years of delays, we need congestion pricing now more than ever to reduce paralyzing vehicle traffic in the Central Business District, improve air quality in our city and region, and raise desperately needed capital funds to enhance the public transit system that millions depend on,” he wrote in a statement on X, adding that most commutes use transit already and that the opponents of congestion pricing are a “small, vocal, minority of drivers” who would be tolled. “It’s estimated that Congestion Pricing will generate $15 billion for the MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Program,” he said, adding that without the tolls or another similar funding source, the MTA will have to make billions of dollars in cuts to subway, bus, and Long Island Railroad projects.

Hochul Delays Nation’s First Congestion Charge at NYC in Stunning Turnaround

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