After abruptly pausing the start date of Manhattan’s “congestion pricing tolls” in June, citing “facts on the ground,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the initiative will now go into effect on Jan. 5. Drivers entering the city south of 60th Street will be forced to fork over $9 for the privilege. Those who drive into New York City five days a week will pay an extra $2,300 per year.
One might take the governor at her word – that she halted the June start date due to “economic concerns including high inflation and post-pandemic vacancy rates in Manhattan office buildings.” But in reality, her decision came after a talk with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY). Knowing how unpopular congestion pricing is with voters, Jeffries was concerned this issue would hurt the party’s chances of winning back control of the House in November.
With the election over, Hochul has little time to waste. She must work fast because this initiative requires approval from the federal government. The Biden administration, of course, is on board. But President-elect Donald Trump has (wisely) vowed to end the tolls when he takes office.
Hochul is hoping that if she can get the tolls up and running before he returns to the White House, it will be far more difficult for him to stop.
The income generated by the tolls will be used to pay for sorely needed repairs and upgrades to the city’s 110-year-old mass transit system which are estimated to cost $15 billion. No one is disputing the fact that this overhaul is necessary.
The bigger issue is that, somewhere in its massive budget, leaders in Albany should be able to find the funds to pay for it. New York City’s mass transit system has been in decline for years. The work to repair it and the money needed to fund it, will occur over a period of years. The point is the state doesn’t need to come up with the entire $15 billion all at once.
In a Friday interview with Newsmax, New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis pointed out the shameless way the governor has tried to frame this brazen “cash grab” to make it sound more palatable to constituents. She calls it the “Hochul Hoax.”
During her Thursday announcement, Hochul told reporters, “I’m proud to announce we have found a path to fund the MTA, reduce congestion and keep millions of dollars in the pockets of our commuters. You heard that correctly: It was $15 before, and now it is $9.” Actually, it was zero before.
Before the launch of congestion pricing tolls was “paused indefinitely” in June, the price tag was slated to be $15. Because the government has since decided to lower the “starting rate” of the January tolls to $9, Hochul is disingenuously portraying this as a 40% tax cut.
Malliotakis said that “only @GovKathyHochul would call a toll going from $0 to $9 a tax cut.”
Malliotakis reminds Americans who may not care about a New York State issue that congestion pricing could soon be coming to a city near them.
She said, “This is a first in the nation-type program. And if we don’t stop it here in New York City, it’s going to come to a city near you. So we all have to collectively speak out against this unjust cash grab.”
Asked what she’s hearing from her constituents, the congresswoman said they are angry. “They don’t believe they should be paying a toll to drive into another borough of the city in which they live.” She noted the predicament of her constituents in Staten Island. They “already pay a toll to head toward Manhattan. Now they’re going to be hit with another toll.”
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), whose constituents will be directly impacted by the tolls, called Hochul’s plan a “scam” and a “cash grab.”
He reminds Hochul, “Commuters who drive because they don’t have adequate mass transit options already pay a toll to cross bridges and tunnels and pay a gas tax.”
Even the Democratic governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, is “firmly opposed” to the plan. Following Hochul’s announcement on Thursday, he wrote on X that his “administration will continue the fight to block this plan in court.”
In an attached statement, Murphy said, “All of us need to listen to the message that voters across America sent last Tuesday.”
[For those wondering, Murphy is term limited and cannot run for reelection in the gubernatorial race in 2025. He could, however, run for another office.]
In the clip below, CBS News, who is clearly on board with congestion pricing, discusses the next steps that must be taken to implement the plan.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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