Last week in Congestion Pricing: 9 key moments to catch you up
Author’s note: The sudden end of Congestion Pricing is one of the biggest stories in New York City urbanism in decades. To properly document this evolving story in one place, I’m doing a weekly post about the past week in Congestion Pricing news for the rest of the month.
Feel free to comment questions you have about the MTA or Congestion Pricing, I can spin those out into posts as well!
1. Sunday evening, 6/2 (and earlier): MTA advertises the start of Congestion Pricing as June 30th
Heading into this week the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) assumed that Congestion Pricing would begin in less than a month on June 30th. For example, here’s a photo from a Metro North train I took on Sunday, June 2nd:
The MTA also had webinars lined up to educate the public on different aspects of Congestion Pricing, like seeking disability exemptions:
2. Tuesday 6/4 at 10:34am: Publications like the NY Post continue to pan Congestion Pricing
Editorials from the New York Post aren’t usually newsworthy. However, this one from Tuesday morning featured common talking points of Congestion Pricing opponents. Their argument includes:
The idea is unpopular with the state of New York has a whole
There are a ton of lawsuits trying to block Congestion Pricing
The MTA already wastes a lot of money and doesn’t clamp down on fare evasion
Governor Hochul and Mayor Adams have gone quiet on the issue, so their support is fickle
3. Tuesday 6/4 at 11:38pm: Politico bombshell: Hochul considering Congestion Pricing delay
Close to midnight, Politico broke the news based on leaks from Albany insiders:
Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering delaying the state’s pending congestion pricing plan, out of concern that its June 30 implementation would hurt Democrats in competitive House races this year, three people familiar with her thinking told POLITICO.
The reporting placed the decision in context of Hochul’s political ambitions and ongoing lawsuits:
The move is the latest example of the governor seeking a larger role in the Democratic Party. Earlier on Tuesday, she joined President Joe Biden for a border security announcement in the White House.
And it comes as several lawsuits challenging congestion pricing — one from the state of New Jersey — make their way through the courts.
4. Wednesday, 6/5 at 12:50pm: Hochul directs MTA to pause Congestion Pricing indefinitely
In a 10-minute speech called “Addressing Affordability and the Cost of Living in New York”, Governor Hochul formally told the MTA to indefinitely pause Congestion Pricing:
Hochul’s argument against Congestion Pricing boiled down to:
Workers headed into the office 5 days week and tourism was at a record high when planners created the current version of Congestion Pricing
Congestion Pricing would hurt middle-class families as another cost on top of inflation
Congestion Pricing would cause a lot of commuters to stay at home. Hochul described New York’s post-pandemic recovery as “delicate” with a notable “20% reduction in foot traffic”.
Hochul did not share concrete details about why she decided to pause the program so close to its start or how the MTA would make up lost revenues from the pause.
5. Wednesday, 6/5 all day: Democrat Lawmakers react to Hochul’s flip-flop
Democrats up and down New York’s government had an immediate and notably negative reaction to Hochul’s demand. For example, here’s Congressman Jerry Nadler, who represents Central Manhattan:
The Chair of the New York Senate Finance committee — a notably powerful position in the New York Senate — also panned the decision:
In longer statements, Jerry Nadler and Liz Krueger point out canceling Congestion Pricing:
Is paid for by only ~3% of New York commuters
Creates a huge hole in the MTA’s financing for large infrastructure projects. It puts projects like better subway accessibility and Phase 2 of the Second Avenue subway at risk of delays or not happening at all
Some Republicans also panned the move for being so nakedly political. Here’s a Queens councilwoman:
This Gothamist post has a good round-up of New York political reactions if you want to see more.
6. Thursday night, 6/6: New York Senate rejects Hochul’s payroll tax proposal
To make up for a funding shortfall brought by nixing Congestion Pricing, Governor Hochul proposed a tax on New York City businesses. However, as Politico reported it was basically dead-on-arrival.
7. Friday, 6/7: New York Legislature ends Session without new funding for MTA; Hochul doubles down
Governor Hochul made her first public comments on Congestion Pricing since the initial backtrack on Friday. She doubled down on the initial reasons she gave for her decision. In particular, she spoke about “protecting working and middle class New Yorkers”. She began talking about Congestion Pricing at the 3:20 mark in this appearance.
Hochul stated that she was working with the MTA to avoid any disruptions to the MTA capital funding plan. However, as the New York Times reported, the state Legislature ended its Session without any new funding for the MTA. The article also pointed out the MTA appeared to accept Hochul’s indefinite pause:
On Friday, Ms. Hochul dashed those hopes, telling reporters that she did not believe a board vote was necessary. In its statement Friday night, the M.T.A. appeared to agree, saying that moving forward with the program would require the consent of the state, the city and the federal government, and Ms. Hochul’s announcement had effectively withdrawn the state’s approval.
8. Friday night, 6/7: MTA announces de-prioritization of many projects
On Friday night, two officials released a statement saying that the MTA would cut projects without the anticipated funding from Congestion Pricing. CBS News published the statement, which I’m excerpting below (emphasis mine):
"... Modernization and improvement projects like electric buses, accessible (ADA) stations and new signals will likely need to be deprioritized to protect and preserve the basic operation and functionality of this 100+ year old system.
"New York State law places an obligation on MTA to implement a congestion pricing program, and the agency stands ready to do so. But under applicable federal law and regulation, the MTA cannot act until the Central Business District Tolling Program is approved by New York State, New York City and the federal government – and with the announcement of the pause, we no longer have the State's consent."
9. Sunday, 6/9: Backlash to the decision continues
Over the weekend different transit advocate groups protested Hochul’s pause. For example, NY1 News reported that the Riders Alliance protested with the message:
...congestion pricing is necessary to modernize the city’s mass transit system. They say the MTA needs the money to improve elevators and accessibility, install new signals and fund expansions, among other things. Congestion pricing would also cut back on city traffic, pollution and emergency service response times ...
The group states that only 2% of New Yorkers drive to work and that those New Yorkers can afford to pay the $15 toll that was set for cars heading into the congestion zone.