Congestion Pricing Advocates Demand Answers As Hochul Betrays Them … And Herself

This toll tolls for her.

Hundreds of protesters rushed to protest at Gov. Hochul’s Midtown office on Wednesday, minutes after the governor’s videotaped announcement revealed that she had “indefinitely” halted a congestion pricing initiative that advocates, politicians and MTA officials had worked on for decades.

The chanting was bitter:

“Keep your promise!”

“Time is money!”

“Get it done!”

The tolls were supposed to start on June 30, the fruit of years of advocacy and the result of a 2019 state law requiring $1 billion in revenue from a simple toll on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street. Hochul’s decision on Wednesday to delay implementation was met with talk of betrayal, especially after years of support from the governor.

“The fact that she thinks this is a good idea is mind boggling to me,” said Liam Jeffries, a Transportation Alternative volunteer. “For Hochul to backtrack like this because she thinks that it would somehow serve to politically do so, it’s unacceptable. She’s going against the wishes of millions of New York transit riders who have been anticipating this and have been directly advertised by the MTA and have been directly advertising improvements for the last year.”

New York City would have been the first U.S. city to implement congestion pricing. Many cities have already done so including London, Milan, Stockholm, and Singapore.

“It’s vital. It’s terrible how cars have kind of marred this city since basically the 1960s,” said Kyle O’Hara, one of the protesters.

Leaders of Riders Alliance, Transportation Alternatives, Open Plans and the New York Building Congress were among the speakers at the rally.