NYC congestion pricing plan up for vote today at MTA board meeting
NEW YORK -- The reintroduction of New York City congestion pricing tolls will be discussed at an MTA board meeting today.
Last week, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced she wants to launch congestion pricing in early January 2025, but she wants to lower the toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street from $15 to $9.
A joint MTA committee meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m., followed by a regular board meeting at 11 a.m. A livestream of the meeting will be available on the MTA's website.
Members of the public are invited to comment, either virtually or in person. Anyone who wants to comment will be allowed to speak for up to two minutes. If you want to make a comment, you must register either online or in person. Online registration for the committee meeting will take place from 8:25-8:55 a.m., and online registration for the board meeting will take place from 10:25-10:55 a.m.
Hochul aims for congestion pricing in January 2025
In order for the plan to go into effect, the new pricing structure must pass an MTA vote. It will also need to go through a federal review process, and the cameras that were installed to scan E-ZPasses and license plates will need to be tested.
The MTA is depending on congestion pricing to provide $15 billion in funding for signal modernization, accessibility improvement, the expansion of the Second Avenue Subway line, and more projects.
Hochul said the plan will still be able to raise those funds for the MTA despite the cheaper toll.
"We're still getting the $15 billion to fund the MTA, and drivers are paying $6 less," she said Thursday. "Some skeptics predicted we would never find a path that would lower tolls while still addressing congestion and the important funding of public transit that millions of New Yorkers rely on, but that's exactly what we did."
Congestion pricing was supposed to start in June, but Hochul slammed the brakes on the plan just a few weeks before its launch date, saying the city had not yet recovered economically from the COVID-19 pandemic and voicing concerns about "unintended consequences for New Yorkers."
The plan has faced pushback from a range of critics, including elected officials across the Tri-State Area and President-elect Donald Trump, who has said he would kill congestion pricing.
"Only in New York can the governor hit you with thousands of dollars in additional fees and somehow try and tell people she's saving you money," said Hempstead Supervisor Dan Clavin, who has filed a lawsuit against the MTA. "And now they're going to be forced to pay this fee.
"The fact of the matter is, this is a regressive tax that is going to be on the commuters, forcing them to pay additional money just to go to work," Clavin added. "I would tell people if they can, submit your opposition. There's power in voices together."
Advocates say the tolling plan help ease congestion in Manhattan below 60th Street, improve air quality and fund much-needed public transportation projects.