In the News
Times Union: NY Republicans revive congestion pricing fight as Trump returns
By Raga Justin,
November 19, 2024
New political advertisements and countless social media posts have bubbled up since Gov. Kathy Hochul announced congestion pricing's revival last week. The politically charged opposition to the rollout of New York City’s congestion pricing program, a $9 toll that will be levied on drivers entering certain areas of Manhattan during peak hours, has been re-energized after this month’s presidential election — and could signal doom for the policy.New York’s Republican members of Congress have cast the revival of congestion pricing, albeit at a lower price tag than the previous $15 toll, as a “cash grab” that will hurt middle-class workers who commute into the city. And as they’ve honed in on the issue as a top political priority since the election, they’ve secured a key ally: President-elect Donald J. Trump, a former New Yorker who has come out firmly opposed to congestion pricing. That has pushed Democrats in New York to get congestion pricing into effect before Trump’s Jan. 20 inauguration, when he will be able to officially begin implementing his administration’s transportation policies, which may include finding a way to revoke federal authorization for the program. While it’s still unclear how Trump could shut down congestion pricing, Republicans in Congress have been ramping up public pressure in the days since the election, with countless social media posts and television appearances slamming the toll. And they’ve made it clear they will seek to invoke the incoming president’s disapproval of the toll. Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a Hudson Valley lawmaker who represents many New York City suburbanites whom he contends would be heavily impacted by the toll, has emerged as a key proponent of the GOP’s resistance to the congestion pricing measure. A new ad campaign launched over the weekend, paid by Lawler’s campaign committee, depicted Lawler driving while he criticizes the toll and Gov. Kathy Hochul, who announced the program would be moving forward last week. Hochul has taken some heat for the timing of her official actions on the toll program. She ordered the measure “paused” in early June, days after she had visited the White House and as President Joe Biden’s poll numbers had him losing to Trump. Several hotly contested congressional seats were up for grabs this year as well, including districts in and around New York City where the earlier implementation of the toll may have hurt Democratic candidates. Last week, with the elections over, Hochul announced the toll program was being revived but with a lower proposed toll of $9. The debate over the toll is unfolding as Lawler has signaled interest in running for the state’s top role when Hochul comes up for reelection in 2026. “I’ve been opposed to congestion pricing from day one,” Lawler says in the ad. “We’re never going to let Kathy Hochul and the MTA bring it back.” He told the Times Union’s Capitol Confidential last week he would be working with Trump to explore how to undo the federal authorization for the program. Trump could theoretically withhold final approval from the project, though the Biden administration approved it in 2023. The president-elect told the New York Post shortly after Hochul announced the toll’s revival last week that it was “the worst plan in the history of womankind.” The $9 toll was formally approved during a meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board on Monday. The entity’s CEO Janno Lieber, speaking to reporters after the meeting, expressed optimism that the measure would not be torpedoed under the new presidency and that Trump, as a longtime New York businessman whose companies are headquartered in Manhattan, could be persuaded to support the program. “What we’re doing is not some crazy initiative solely of the city or the state or the MTA,” Lieber said. “This is a federal program that has been on the books for 20-plus years that we’re operating under. So I am confident that if and when we receive approval from the federal government, albeit the Biden administration-era federal government, it will stand the test in the courts.” Rep. Marc Molinaro, who represents New York’s 19th Congressional District but lost his reelection bid to Democratic challenger Josh Riley in this month’s election, said he has long been a critic of what he called bloated spending by the MTA, which has faced criticism for infrastructure projects that get tangled in bureaucratic gridlock and red tape. “It’s just this constant drug of new taxation, without any capacity or interest in actually getting the MTA to function effectively,” Molinaro said. “And I hope that the president and the Department of Transportation can unravel this nonsense and make the system run efficiently.” He added he would be willing to serve “in some capacity” as an advisor to the administration or as a volunteer to aid the Trump administration’s handling of the toll program. The tolls are used to fund bonds that the MTA issues to fund projects that are intended to improve mass transportation systems in New York. The toll plan has hailed by numerous civic and environmental advocacy groups as a massive win. Proponents cite the expected reduction of traffic on gridlocked Manhattan roadways, which would result in less emissions and cleaner air quality, as well as a huge influx of cash to carry out much-needed transportation improvement projects. Opponents have in part questioned whether the toll will actually work to decrease the number of drivers who commute into the city in personal vehicles. They have also cited the growing problem of license plate fraud and toll evasion. Other Republican lawmakers in both New York’s congressional delegation and those elected to state office have increased their criticism in the days since Hochul announced she would be re-instituting the toll after the indefinite pause she announced in June. “Today’s vote by the MTA Board, acting as a rubber stamp for Kathy Hochul, simply proves how out of touch Democrats in New York are with the struggles of everyday New Yorkers,” Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt said in a Monday statement. “Congestion Pricing was a scheme from the very beginning — this was never about traffic or the environment, but in reality is a way to collect money for the continuous mismanagement of the MTA.” Some moderate Democrats in New York have also expressed reservations about congestion pricing, citing affordability concerns and cost-of-living complaints that many in that political party believe cost them the presidential election and control of both houses of Congress. |
