As another Trump presidency looms, the fate of New York’s transit system hangs in the balance, as a plan for congestion pricing to raise funds for the MTA is under threat from the president-elect, who recently declared on social media that he would “terminate” it once in office. With only ten weeks until he takes office, the clock is ticking to implement the measure, which would charge a 15-dollar fee on car traffic below 60th street in Manhattan. But New York Governor Kathy Hochul has made it clear that she has no plans to do so. In her first press conference yesterday after Trump’s victory, Hochul reassured New Yorkers that she is “very vested in the success of the MTA,” but that “15 dollar[s] was too much for everyday New Yorkers when affordability is top of mind for them as we have recently seen again.”
The congestion pricing plan – which was created by local legislators and transit officials, confirmed in coordination with the federal government, and had overcome a number of legal challenges – was killed by Hochul at the 11th hour, only weeks before it was set to take effect last June. The governor’s justifications at the time were different than her more recent comments about the measure’s burden on New Yorkers, as she claimed that small businesses were “deathly afraid that they’ll lose their customers who may come in from places like New Jersey,” mentioning a few midtown diners whose owners were apparently “very happy” with her decision. “I encourage you to go to the next diner with me … watch the people come over and thank me.” A reporter from Gothamist found that one of the owners of the diners she mentioned denied ever making comments to the governor about the measure.
Local lawmakers, community advocates, and experts in urban planning were left confused and frustrated. The congestion pricing plan, combined with matching funds from the feds, was expected to bring in $15 billion, which would have gone directly into much-needed repairs and expansion of the 2nd avenue subway line into Harlem. Experts say it would reduce congestion, and the decline in car traffic would have a number of knock-on benefits, including better air quality. “It really sums up the approach to American cities as places to live and enjoy versus places to work and visit, and [it] prioritizes the latter,” said Sarah Kaufman at the time, director of NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation. The transportation news outlet Streetsblog called the move “plutocratic populism,” as the priorities of car-users in the city apparently superseded what is widely agreed to be the public interest.
Hochul has yet to provide details as to what alternative funding could be scrounged together to meet the MTA’s funding requirements, at a moment when the agency is crippled by over $40 billion in debt (which is higher than most US states) and is decades behind schedule on vital repairs. “Before the end of the year we will have our announcements and a funding plan and will also be talking about capital projects for the next five years as well. So we have a comprehensive approach to this,” the governor said.
