NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday that the MTA was to “indefinitely pause” congestion pricing, which was slated for implementation on June 30, and the controversial plan’s unexpected shut down has been met with approval from unions, criticism from transit advocates and mixed reactions among elected officials.
The governor, who has previously been a vocal supporter of the program, cited New York City’s post-pandemic economic recovery and the financial burden the tolling plan places on commuters as the reasons for its delay despite her continued support of environmental initiatives.
Hochul and the MTA will continue discussing the plan with no implementation date in sight, and a source told 1010 WINS that the program, which was voted into law in 2019 to become a revenue stream for the MTA, is “dead in the water.”
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo initially approved the plan in 2019, but recanted his opinion in a March 11 op-ed in the New York Post headlined “Yes, I approved congestion pricing but it’s time to hit the brakes.”
“Many things have changed since 2019 and while it is the right public policy, we must seriously consider if now is the right time to enact it,” Cuomo wrote while making reference to low office occupancy, the migrant crisis, crime, homelessness and taxes as more pressing issues.
When asked by reporters about congestion pricing, Mayor Eric Adams said that he supports taking time to “get it right.”
“We have to make sure that it's not a dual burden on everyday New Yorkers. We have to make sure that it's not going to impact our recovery,” Adams said. “If she's looking at analyzing what other ways we can do it and how we do it correctly, I'm all for it.”
NYC's transit workers union, TWU100, sided with the governor and mayor by saying that the plan is "premature" and that it refused to have its members be taxed "for simply coming to work."
"This isn't about convenience; it's about ensuring that the implementation of congestion pricing doesn't compromise the safety, efficiency, and accessibility of the transit system," TWU100 president Richard Davis said. "It's about advocating for a plan that genuinely serves the common good, with necessary improvements and safeguards in place."
Political leaders from commuter-heavy Long Island and New Jersey have applauded the governor’s decision, noting the financial pressure the plan would have taken on their constituents.
Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine said that Hochul’s ruling is “great news for hardworking Suffolk County families” and that “levying yet another tax on the backs of the working class is not the answer,” sentiments echoed by Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey who said that “after a five-year fight, New York appears to have done right by hardworking Jersey families” by backing off of the “outrageous” plan.
While the MTA did not immediately issue a statement with their reaction to Hochul’s direction, MTA Board members have come out in support of and opposition to the plan's delay.
The governor has been scrutinized for her quick change in position, with critics pointing to the controversial nature of the high-cost plan plagued by litigation during an election year in which constituents are already feeling the squeeze of inflation.
“I have always maintained that this is absolutely the wrong time to impose an additional tax on a region still recovering from the aftermath of the pandemic,” MTA Board member David Mack said, stating that even if the decision was politically motivated, if “the correct devision is made and it is based on the political will of the people, then the political system has actually worked.”
President of the United Federation of Teachers, one of the organizations that leveled a lawsuit against the MTA’s plan, touted the decision as a win for the group, which has already been to court.
“Governor Hochul heard the concerns of educators and ordinary New Yorkers that this plan for congestion pricing just shifts pollution, congestion, and costs onto already struggling communities,” Michael Mulgrew said.
On the other side of the aisle, MTA Board member Andrew Albert said that he was “in shock” by the governor’s announcement, with MTA officials not getting a heads up before her decision. Albert stated that New Yorkers and commuters won’t get new buses, subway cars and signals and that “it’s a betrayal of the millions and millions of people who would have been helped by this.”
Transit advocates, including prominent non-profits Regional Plan Association and Transportation Alternatives, have issued statements condemning the delay as an economic and infrastructural hindrance.
Deputy executive director for public affairs at Transportation Alternatives Elizabeth Adams said that the delay was a “slap in the face to the millions of New Yorkers who rely on public transportation every day just to appease the program’s loudest foes,” pointing out that the program is a “$15 billion lifeline for the MTA.”
Executive vice president Kate Slevin of the Regional Plan Associated agreed, writing that the delay “means delays on critical transit projects like the faster service on the A/C line, station upgrades and bus electrification along with all the jobs that they bring” and that it is a “total betrayal of New Yorkers and our climate.”
Local officials like city Comptroller Brad Lander and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine have similarly criticized the pullback for economic, traffic and environmental reasons.
Lander said that the delay would “derail our chance to create a modern, accessible transit system” and “deprive our city of cleaner air, safer streets and a more thriving economy.”
Levine questioned how the city would address “crises” like those mentioned by Lander. “We have paralyzing levels of traffic in midtown and downtown. This is slowing emergency response times, harming the climate, and serving as an enormous drag on our economy," he said.
The future of the plan is up in the air, as are the potential repercussions of not implementing it after the MTA invested tens of millions of dollars into installing cameras, license plate readers and other equipment on the roadways, held months of public hearings and has been in and out of court.