A federal judge in New York has rejected arguments challenging the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) congestion pricing plan, which would charge truck drivers up to $36 for driving into Manhattan. However, New York Governor Kathy Hochul has paused the implementation of the plan, which was supposed to go into effect on June 30, leading to significant controversy. Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned that the MTA will need to cut $17 billion from its capital plan if the congestion pricing revenue is not replaced, potentially affecting over $21 billion in projects, including the Second Avenue Subway extension. The pause has also raised concerns about job losses, with estimates suggesting that 100,000 jobs could be at risk. Critics argue that the decision undermines efforts to reduce traffic and pollution, and jeopardizes necessary infrastructure upgrades and climate sustainability goals. The MTA board is set to meet to address the situation.
Should we all pay an extra 38 cents per $100 in sales tax instead of charging $15 in congestion pricing? An alternative from government expert and former MTA honcho @JoeLhota here: https://t.co/PKQi3ciCT3
this statement makes no mention of congestion pricing & sure sounds like the Governor is looking to move past congestion pricing long-term https://t.co/1x3DmkGxDa
"Whatever the motivation to delay implementation of congestion pricing, the reasons advanced for doing so do not comport with the facts as we know them." -Kathy Wylde, Carl Weisbrod, Elizabeth Velez, John Durso (4/6 ppl on Traffic Mobility Review Board) https://t.co/iUxryN3G6F
btw, was interesting to hear DM Meera Joshi, an Adams MTA Board appointee, sounding a lot more like Hochul & Adams today in her remarks about 'pausing' congestion pricing & trying to 'get it right' for various parties (some of whom would pay far lower overnight fee if driving)
Joe Lhota with another commonsense idea for transit funding. Despite the best concerted attempts to manufacture a crisis to undermine the governor, there is no crisis here (other than the three homicides within Manhattan below 60th in last two weeks). https://t.co/2Jk3MrDLqb
🚨NEW STUDY FINDS THAT HOCHUL’S CONGESTION PRICING “PAUSE” COULD KILL 100,000 JOBS.🚨 Keep calling your elected officials. @SenSchumer : 202-224-6542 @GovKathyHochul: 518-474-8390 @SenGillibrand: 202-224-4451 https://t.co/fsZyZOdGEc
Riders decry congestion pricing pause ahead of MTA board vote https://t.co/yrgNoTFIlU
*NY MTA DEFERS SECOND AVENUE SUBWAY EXTENSION AFTER TOLL PAUSE
Gimme a break. The never ending spin. Canceling Congestion Pricing Could Kill 100,000 New York Jobs https://t.co/qWXHdgixJD
Driving isn't always best. Congestion pricing 🚗 Takes cars off the road 🏭 Reduces pollution 👮 Lowers emergency response times 💨 Improves air quality 🚇 Boosts ridership & funds expansion of public transit. @GovKathyHochul's decision to halt its rollout in NYC is a mistake. https://t.co/8Yxy3LtNT1
Just a brutal accounting underway right now at the MTA's board meeting of the impact that congestion pricing's pause will have on elevator installations, new cars, signal work, and so much more. It takes what we've been reading in headlines and really airs it all out.
.@mta now “re-prioritizing” the capital plan — with congestion pricing and enormous part of what they’d planned to build. They’re saying it’s “$17.5B of unavailable funds.” #NBC4NY https://t.co/3rKJDIhTka
Here's the full text of Grace Rauh's testimony at today's MTA Board meeting. We're reprinting it because it makes a clear point that has been lost in the debate over congestion pricing. https://t.co/INKfs11bcp
The unilateral decision by New York Governor Kathy Hochul to pause congestion pricing will have major, negative ramifications on the region for decades to come if it's not reversed. https://t.co/pltY8L7ELD https://t.co/xSDyR9It49
We like 140 other MTA stakeholders testified at today's MTA Board meeting, highlighting our new report showing that 100,000 jobs are at risk with Hochul’s indefinite pause of congestion pricing. Our testimony ⬇️ https://t.co/XSv2VvoaE3
Janno Lieber giving very interesting remarks. Says that though the MTA is an independent entity, it can't move ahead on congestion pricing without sign-off from the State DOT (aka Governor) but that the issue may get litigated... https://t.co/4zpjTtegCa
Reversing congestion pricing imperils our chance to fund necessary infrastructure upgrades & meet our climate sustainability goals. That's why I joined 10 of my Council colleagues to urge the Governor to start congestion pricing by Sunday, June 30: https://t.co/m0nxzpUuHo
OPINION | A smarter way to achieve MTA congestion pricing It should not come as a surprise to anyone that a program designed half a decade ago is ill-suited for today's post-COVID world, @davidgarten and @ScottRechler write. https://t.co/O2XmqVgTU1
Yet another episode in the omnishambles Kathy Hochul created by canceling congestion pricing: NY is set to lose a lot of high-paying jobs that would have been created by the transit funding congestion pricing was set to supply. https://t.co/N17OiwyZjp
NYC could lose an estimated 101,500 jobs due to the gap in the MTA's budget following Governor @KathyHochul's decision to cancel congestion pricing. https://t.co/wEYbQvloTR
“If the governor’s unilateral action controls the MTA, what is the point of having a fiduciary board at all? That may be the real $15 billion dollar question.” Insightful piece on the role of the MTA board and the future of congestion pricing. https://t.co/XC0liziC1k
OPINION | Better funding for MTA capital plan We can fix the subways and the commuter rail roads. We can have the Second Ave. subway. A dedicated sales tax increment is affordable to everyone while providing revenue stream that's reliable. @JoeLhota @MTA https://t.co/gLRobcaPgg
Such a common sense approach from @JoeLhota on how to fund the MTA capital plan. Here is his original op ed, with charts, which I am posting so @GovKathyHochul et al can see how our transit sales tax rates compare with other cities. https://t.co/kfKwUlWFVe
Congestion pricing’s promises never reached East Harlem—and now, after Governor Kathy Hochul scratched the program, the Second Avenue Subway won’t either. https://t.co/OYDwxxpEJl
SCOTT RECHLER, DAVID GARTEN: Hochul Was Right – A smarter way to achieve MTA congestion pricing https://t.co/YD1od1F4yO
Full MTA board set to meet for 1st time since congestion pricing pause https://t.co/7790PAegwk https://t.co/fBZHzfx8Zk
Today, the MTA will hold its first board meeting since Gov. Kathy Hochul pumped the brakes on the state transit agency's congestion pricing plan that was suppose to go into effect June 30. "Now we’re just making sure the wheels don’t fall off.” https://t.co/V9QtTXbjeT
It appears as though the MTA board is set to vote to "pause" congestion taxation tomorrow. This should serve as another initial step in the process to terminate this ill-advised taxation scheme that does nothing to fix the MTA's demonstrably poor fiscal mismanagement,… https://t.co/ZtxJDer8dP
N.Y. Comptroller DiNapoli warns of "substantial impact" on MTA if congestion funding is not replaced "The MTA will be forced to put off badly needed investment in expansion and improvements to the system. Those choices will directly affect riders." https://t.co/IAxMIMKqCd
The effects of Kathy Hochul killing congestion pricing are going to be much more devastating and far-reaching than she admits. In Stockholm, congestion pricing reduced childhood asthma by 50%. NYC kids won't get to find out if that could happen here. https://t.co/0qQ1vuPEAY
Pitching congestion pricing as a patch on the leaky bucket that is the MTA was part of the problem. The original idea was to combat congestion. It should have been sold that way. I wrote about this in my first blog post (which also explores alternatives): https://t.co/ALNGOEm0v6 https://t.co/hPz1FcGcQj https://t.co/L8lNh2zRPl
The best option to get out of this crisis that impacts the entire 12-county MTA region is to go forward with congestion pricing as the law requires. There's absolutely no need for any of these terrible storylines to become reality. https://t.co/xRoq9blvvg
NY MTA WILL NEED TO CUT $17 BILLION FROM CAPITAL PLAN: DINAPOLI
*NY MTA WILL NEED TO CUT $17 BILLION FROM CAPITAL PLAN: DINAPOLI Subway doors will now be optional
"As the MTA reconsiders which capital projects to fund and which to put off, DiNapoli’s report estimates there are over $21 billion in projects that potentially relied on congestion pricing revenue and are under review" https://t.co/WqPrlxSFV2
That’s quite a headline on a press release from @NYSComptroller about new his new report on the MTA & congestion pricing: ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️ DiNAPOLI: NO GOOD OPTIONS FOR MTA TO MANAGE HOLE IN CAPITAL FUNDING Here’s a screenshot of the release. https://t.co/aIDMlGV5a8
At first glance, those right of center should oppose New York City's congestion pricing plan. @ad_mastro argues it's not that simple. https://t.co/1CxImPG5xy
Long live congestion pricing https://t.co/T0FF66FwlK
Congestion Pricing is dead https://t.co/pgMaE5MBtn
So historic congestion pricing does not even “fix” the MTA; we’ll all be back with the same apocalyptic pronouncements even with CP. Time to look at full cost structure and think of a better post-Covid package, including more modest peak-hours-only CP. https://t.co/GpCJ38RIJw https://t.co/7QWodqwgK6
New York Governor Kathy Hochul "has been failing our generation on climate across the board," says Keanu Arpels-Josiah of @FFF_NYC_ after the governor abruptly canceled congestion pricing in Manhattan that would have reduced traffic and pollution. https://t.co/tiOi09xXJ5
OPINION | Congestion pricing remains the best way forward Congestion pricing will help revitalize our economy and reduce costs of living and doing business in the region. It will not lead to higher prices for most consumer goods and services. https://t.co/LYkvhJPLlt
The panel of experts and advisors that ostensibly oversees the MTA was blindsided by the governor’s move to pause congestion pricing. They meet Wednesday to “make sure the wheels don’t fall off.” https://t.co/yucibNjSqW
The Politics That Derailed Congestion Pricing in New York | The New Yorker https://t.co/wekZwEiUi6
A federal judge in New York has rejected arguments challenging the MTA's congestion pricing plan — which would charge truck drivers up to $36 for driving into Manhattan — and sided with officials hoping to implement the plan. https://t.co/qEuqWFqF9c