MTA boss Janno Lieber and Manhattan lawmakers are “thrilled” that Gov. Kathy Hochul will propose a plan by year’s end to fund the MTA’s massive capital program that could include a lower “congestion” toll to enter Midtown.
The governor shelved the unpopular $15 fee in June, but The Post earlier this week reported she’s floating a plan — for after the pivotal November election — that would include a lower toll to enter Manhattan south of 59th Street with exemptions for some city employees who commute into the zone.
“It’s good news that the governor continues to focus on this issue,” Lieber, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s chairman and CEO said during a press event Thursday.
“I’m also thrilled she’s talking about the [2025] legislative session” to address MTA financing, Lieber said, adding, “Private conversations are underway.”
Lieber said in June that he was blindsided when Hochul surprisingly reversed course — just weeks before the $15 toll would be implemented — by calling for a “pause” in the program, claiming it was too costly for motorists still struggling with inflation post-pandemic.
Hochul denied reports that she postponed congestion pricing because it would hurt New York Democrats running for House seats in swing suburban districts.
But critics argued Thursday the renewed discussions of implementing the program with a lower toll prove Hochul’s pause was a gimmick to help Democrats in the fall elections.
“This is a disgrace. Governor Hochul has now made it clear that she paused the Congestion Pricing Tax solely for political reasons,” said Susan Lee, president of New York Against Congestion Pricing Tax, and a Manhattan Chinatown business owner.
“It had nothing to do with New Yorkers struggling to pay bills,” Lee added. “Is it any wonder that voters have lost faith in their elected leaders?”
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) said, “Any elitist congestion pricing tax on my constituents to keep them out of Manhattan while shifting pollution and traffic to the outer boroughs is unacceptable.”
She claimed the Biden-Harris administration broke federal law when they “rubber-stamped” congestion pricing and said the best way to kill it is to re-elect former President Donald Trump to the White House.
“New Yorkers who oppose congestion pricing must vote accordingly. President Trump publicly committed to stop this cash grab on our working class,” Malliotakis said.
Assemblyman Michael Tannousis, the Staten Island Republican Party chairman, said the toll should be “permanently suspended.”
“This is just another tax that will encourage New Yorkers to flee the state for more affordable places,” Tannousis said.
Congestion pricing came up Thursday after an event where Lieber and the MTA announced completion of three new elevators providing access from the street to the Sixth Avenue’s L train platform and the uptown F/M platform, as part of the 14th Street complex megaproject.
State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, who was at the event in his Manhattan district, said he appreciated the governor’s concern about the “sticker shock” of a $15 toll for government employees — teachers, cops, firefighters, ambulance crews and sanitation workers — who work in the zone south of 59th Street.
“But we need congestion pricing,” Hoylman-Sigal said.
The MTA has already contracted or spent $500 million to install tolling technology and plate readers along the local highways and roadways to implement the new fee, Hoylman-Sigal noted.
Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, who represents lower Manhattan, said, ” “I know [Hochul] is committed to finding an appropriate replacement, which may be a combination of a slightly lower toll and some additional state commitments.”
Glick said it was important to provide the MTA the necessary financing to upgrade and expand mass transit as well as keep existing infrastructure in good repair.
Hochul, during an interview with Politico she gave this week while attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, did not dispute that a lower toll is on the table.
Congestion pricing remains highly unpopular.
A Siena College poll released last week found 59% of New York voters want to scrap the scheme for Manhattan entirely.
Two lawsuits were filed in Manhattan state Supreme Court last month claiming Hochul did not have the authority to stymie a state law approved by ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo enacting congestion pricing in 2019. Other lawsuits filed by the teachers’ union and other opponents have sought to block the toll.
“Regardless of any rumors coming from unnamed sources, Governor Hochul’s position has not changed and congestion pricing continues to be paused indefinitely. Like the majority of New Yorkers, Governor Hochul believes a $15 daily toll is just too much for working people trying to get by in today’s economy,” Hochul spokesman John Lindsay said in a statement Thursday.
“That’s why, as the Governor has repeatedly said in public, she is exploring multiple options with legislative leaders to fund transit as the pause continues.”
