Congestion Pricing Should Be Eliminated

Recently Governor Kathy Hochul announced that she was pausing Congestion Pricing from taking effect, but I think Governor Hochul shouldn’t just postpone the measure, but eliminate it entirely.

The State of New York allowing the Congestion Pricing tax to go into effect is an insult to families who have been struggling with record-breaking inflation, high gas prices, and outrageous interest rates for close to two years.

The City of New York is already unaffordable and to make it even more now is utterly ridiculous.

There’s no way congestion is worse now than before the pandemic; since then, population in New York City is down 6%, only 60% of the workforce is working 5 days a week (many are hybrid or fully remote) and Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s own analysis found most of the vehicles in the Central Business District are for-hire vehicles.

Rockland’s approximately 4,000 residents who drive into the CBD – many of whom are first responders – are forced to do so because there is no one-seat-ride, despite our more than $40 million annual value gap between what we pay and what we receive from the MTA. That is not their fault; it is the MTA’s. Don’t punish residents for the MTA’s inability to manage its budget.

It is for all those reasons we have fought this from day one and applaud fellow lawmakers, including those in New Jersey, Long Island, and Staten Island, who are in that fight as well.

If not, we will continue our legal fight, alongside my colleagues in government, on behalf of families we serve who do not deserve another unnecessary tax.

Our lawsuit contends Congestion Pricing is an illegal tax, is penalizing a legal activity, and discriminates against drivers from outside the Central Business District.

If or when the Governor decides to resume Congestion Pricing, with reports indicating she’s holding off until after November elections, I pledge to continue fighting the good fight!