New Jersey Rep. Josh Gottheimer ridiculed New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Tuesday for moving ahead with a $9 congestion toll to enter Midtown Manhattan, noting the fee will eventually rise to the originally planned $15.
With the George Washington Bridge as a backdrop, Gottheimer — a fellow Democrat running to become Garden State governor next year — read Hochul’s statement from June when she said she would “pause” the congestion pricing plan because the $15 toll would put the “squeeze” and “break the budget” of working and middle class drivers.
“I guess New York suddenly stopped caring about the budgets they were breaking — nurses, restaurant workers, taxi drivers and police,” Gottheimer said at a press conference, with Port Authority cops standing behind him.
The congressman urged federal transportation officials to conduct a 60-day review of the “new” toll plan, and called on the US House of Representatives to pass a series of bipartisan bills co-sponsored with New York Republicans — including Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Mike Lawler — aimed at blocking the fee.
“We stopped the congestion tax once. We’ll stop it again. Game on!” Gottheimer said.
He likened the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan to a political war New York is waging against New Jersey residents crossing the Hudson, as well as punishing its own citizens.
Jersey daily drivers already pay $17 in tolls to cross the Hudson bridges and tunnel, and they’ll have to pay $2,300 more annually to enter Midtown south of 60th Street.
Some Garden State families may forgo trips to Manhattan during the Christmas holiday season, Gottheimer said, noting they already pay a hefty sum in tolls and parking for the privilege.
“Forget about taking the family to Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree,” he said.
The $9 toll is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 5 before President-elect Donald Trump, an opponent of congestion pricing, takes office.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority plan calls for the toll to increase to $12 by 2028 and $15 by 2031.
Gottheimer was joined by Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and reps from the Greater Northeast Motorcoach Association, whose buses would have to pay the added toll, and members of the Port Authority Lieutenants Benevolent Association.
Government workers are not exempt from the fee to commute to work in the toll zone.
Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and southern Brooklyn, praised Democrat Gottheimer for continuing to press the bipartisan fight.
“It’s nice to have someone running for governor who cares about taxpayers. We certainly don’t have that here in New York,” said Malliotakis, in a dig at Hochul.
Aside from using litigation and legislation to try to kill the toll, Malliotakis is hopeful that Trump will move to stop it when he takes office.
“President Trump knows the congestion tax is bad policy. I believe he will do the right thing for New York taxpayers,” Malliotakis said.
Lawler noted he introduced legislation with Gottheimer in a bid to stop congestion pricing when he first took office last year.
“We are going to fight tooth and nail to stop congestion pricing. It’s exactly why I’m working with President Trump and Democrats like Josh to put an end to Hochul’s congestion pricing cash grab, and if it takes holding up federal funding for the MTA to force a change in course, so be it,” Lawler said.
“If Kathy Hochul wants to fund the MTA, she should stop hurting hard-working cops, teachers, nurses, and firefighters and instead actually hold accountable the 400,000 people who skip paying the fare each day in the subway.”
Hochul, through a rep, defended the congestion toll as good for mass transit and reducing gridlock.
“Nearly 90% of commuters to Manhattan’s central business district rely on public transit – and this congestion reduction plan will deliver $15 billion to ensure better, faster transit for millions of working New Yorkers, all while lowering tolls by 40%,” said Hochul spokesman Sam Spokony.
“The critics of our more affordable plan have still failed to offer any of their own meaningful solutions for reducing gridlock, improving emergency vehicle response times, and strengthening the transit system that is so vital to New York’s economic future.”
There are existing lawsuits against the congestion toll.
A law approved by then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Democratic-run legislature in 2019 authorized the MTA to charge a congestion toll aimed at curbing traffic to Midtown and providing a new funding stream for the transit agency.
