Hochul presses for last-minute congestion pricing delay
Gov. Kathy Hochul is quietly trying to postpone a plan to impose tolls on motorists entering Manhattan’s central business district just weeks before it is set to take effect, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The nation’s first-ever congestion-fighting plan, decades in the making, is set to begin June 30. Drivers using E-ZPass will have to pay $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street.
But while Ms. Hochul believes that pricing in crowded spaces is a good policy for the environment, she worries that the timing was less than ideal, according to a person familiar with her thinking. The governor feared it would deter travelers from returning to the central business district, which has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic.
Ms. Hochul’s move, if successful, could also help her fellow Democrats in the House, who might otherwise face angry voters in an election year. But it would be a devastating blow to the advocates and organizers who have worked for more than a decade to bring this change to New York City.
It is unclear whether Ms. Hochul’s still preliminary plan to delay congestion pricing and replace it with another revenue source will receive the necessary approval from the New York State Legislature, which passed the plan years ago.
The tolling was planned to ease traffic congestion in Manhattan and generate $1 billion in revenue per year for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the region’s subways, buses, and its two commuter rail systems. This revenue, in turn, would fund the system’s massive capital construction needs.
To fill the $1 billion annual gap, Ms. Hochul is considering proposing a tax on New York City businesses. Such a tax would require the approval of the Legislature, which is not certain, especially with only two days left in the legislative session.
If the congestion fee goes into effect, the bulk of the burden would fall on drivers in New York City, Connecticut, New Jersey and surrounding counties. The burden of the business tax would fall primarily on New York City. But shifting the tax burden from drivers to businesses could also have some populist appeal ahead of the general election.
The plan to charge drivers a fee to enter Manhattan’s central business district has generated fierce opposition from unions, drivers, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, former President Donald J. Trump and New York City suburban residents in an election year when several suburban congressional seats are at stake.
Other major cities around the world, including Stockholm, London and Singapore, have charged tolls for entry to central business districts for years, and transportation experts have long expected New York City to join their ranks.
Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg made a serious effort to persuade Albany legislators to pass a congestion pricing plan for New York City, but was ultimately unsuccessful. The plan gained momentum only after the transit system’s so-called “summer of hell” in 2017, with then-subway chief Andy Byford championing the effort, and then-Governor Andrew M. Cuomo belatedly embracing the idea.
In the years that followed, the pandemic ravaged Manhattan’s central business district, and Mr. Cuomo began publicly questioning the wisdom of congestion pricing. Mayor Eric Adams has offered only tepid support to the plan.
“Banning congestion pricing would be a huge betrayal of the many millions of public transit riders,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director for the Riders Alliance, which has pushed for congestion pricing for years. “It would also mean taking cues from people like Phil Murphy, Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump.”