As New York's “congestion pricing” plan for inner-city tolls takes effect Sunday, one of its main proponents wonders whether the timing is right for a policy aimed at pushing people onto an increasingly dangerous mass transit system.
Through the previous speaker Governor Andrew Cuomo He emphasized that he still supports the system that now charges drivers $9 to cross under Central Park or enter lower Manhattan from Brooklyn, New Jersey — but questioned whether it would now be better to implement it.
“Governor Cuomo believes congestion pricing is ultimately the right policy, which is why he fought and succeeded in getting it passed after more than a decade of failed attempts,” government spokesman Rich Azzopardi told Fox News Digital on Friday.
Cuomo's original plan, which found approval from then-Mayor Bill de Blasio, was built on a “safe and reliable subway system” and a thriving city center, Azzopardi said. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed a similar plan in 2007, but it died in Albany.
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“(G)Given the public’s current apparent lack of confidence in the subway system — combined with the fragile state of New York City post-coronavirus, Cuomo has called for a data-driven study on the impact of congestion pricing to inform the timing of such a major policy change.” And to ensure that New York does not create additional obstacles to her return.
Cuomo previously wrote in A March editorial The success of congestion pricing depends on confidence in the MTA and mass transit, which he also noted has statistically yet to recover from coronavirus levels.
He pointed out how congestion pricing is meant to “incentivize” subway use — but that's hard to do when people are being brutally attacked underground — and noted that his father, Gov. Mario Cuomo, was the first to beef up police presence after “the bad old days.” “
At the time of writing a previous Washington Post column, Cuomo cited a bus conductor with 24 years of service to the MTA who had vowed never to return underground after he cut his neck and needed 34 stitches while running an A train in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Brooklyn.
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MTA President Janno Lieber and Governor Hochul (Getty)
Recently, a woman was burned alive in Ocean County, New Jersey, on Coney Island, and there have been several near-fatal cases of people being randomly pushed in front of trains, which have occurred from Morningside Heights to Tribeca, since Christmas.
“It is undeniable that New York is in a significantly different place today than it was in 2019, and without a study that predicts its consequences based on facts, not politics, it could do more harm than good to New York City’s recovery,” Cuomo’s spokesperson said. Friday said.
But Cuomo's former deputy, Governor Kathy Hochul, It came into full force in the enactment of the policy, which aims to get commuters and residents to consider mass transit to get to work or play downtown.
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In a recent statement praising her current plan, Hochul's office said that reducing the congestion toll from the original $15 would save drivers $1,500 annually, and that riders would see “new and improved subway services.”
“By implementing congestion pricing and fully supporting the MTA’s capital plan, we will open up our streets, reduce pollution and provide better public transportation for millions of New Yorkers,” Hochul said.
MTA President Janno Lieber, who oversees the state-run subway, bus and rail network, said Hochul is “stepping up its efforts” for people who want cleaner air and safer, less crowded streets.
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FDR Drive on the East Side of Manhattan; One of the few roads exempt from tolls. (Getty)
He also noted that upgrades have already been made to the 7 subway from Times Square to Flushing and Queens and the L train from Union Square to Canarsie.
However, Cuomo's camp maintains that it was he who conceived and oversaw upgrades to New York's transit network without imposing additional fees — and criticized Hochul and Lieber for claiming he felt indecisive.
when The New York Post asked Hochul To comment on Cuomo's suggestion that she “hit the brakes” on congestion pricing, the governor directed a comment to Lieber's spokesperson, who criticized Cuomo for “fumbling around.”
“What could really hurt New York’s ongoing recovery is depriving the subway of a much-needed funding source after decades of underinvestment,” said the MTA’s Aaron Donovan.
“The $15 fee was passed on by the MTA under Hochul's watch, but please stay away from it,” Azzopardi told Fox News Digital. “New Yorkers are not stupid.”
Cuomo previously told WNYW that people have the option to work from home, which they didn't have when he first pushed the plan in 2019 — and that if he were traveling, he would likely balk at the idea of additional costs at once. Of “high rates of crime and homelessness.”
Cuomo's camp said so, too Hochul loves To take credit for the accomplishments of his three-term administration that heralded the new fees.
“The difference here is that Governor Cuomo built the new (Amtrak/Metro-North) Moynihan train hall and the 2nd Avenue subway (extending to East Harlem), as well as repaired the L train and did the hard work to get to East (Grand Central).” “The siding and third track of the LIRR had been reached, all Hochul wanted to do was cut the straps,” Azzopardi said.
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Many New York Republicans have joined Cuomo's calls for a pause, yet the former governor and potential 2025 mayoral candidate remains supportive of congestion pricing, while the GOP wants to repeal it entirely.
Travelers from New Jersey still must pay a Port Authority fee to cross the Hudson River, and travelers from outside the region must pay the same fee via the East River—albeit with a slight addition to the “congestion” fee.
Drivers who remain on FDR Drive or the Joe DiMaggio West Side Expressway will not be charged a toll unless they turn onto surface streets.
