Gov. Kathy Hochul’s road show in support of congestion pricing made a stop in Midtown Wednesday at an MTA board meeting — after her in-person pitch last week to President Donald Trump.
Vowing that New York “will not be steamrolled” by the federal government’s bid to shut down the vehicle-tolling plan by a newly revealed March 21 deadline, Hochul cited the early gains of the effort to cut congestion and raise billions of dollars for mass-transit upgrades.
“I know there’s a lot of power in that Oval Office, but I’ll take that power up against the power of 6 million pissed-off commuters there in New York City,” Hochul said.
She also pointed to a letter from Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy last week that called for the “orderly cessation of toll operations” that kicked in Jan. 5.
“I will propose something in the alternative: orderly resistance, orderly resistance,” Hochul said. ”We will keep standing up for New Yorkers, reducing traffic, air quality is going to continue improving.”
During Hochul’s cameo at the board meeting held in Grand Central Madison, she needled Trump while holding up a copy of the booklet she gave him during their Oval Office sitdown on Feb. 21, noting that it is easy to read.
“Congestion pricing is working — big words, nice colors,” she said to laughs, pointing to an image of an empty Manhattan street that cites a 43% drop in trip times from New Jersey.
The governor grinned while pointing to another page with a photo of Trump Tower — “nice buildings that are recognizable,” she cracked — next to the words “TOGETHER, WE WILL…”
Her pitch also highlighted transportation projects in the MTA’s 2020-2024 capital plan that are supposed to be funded by congestion pricing revenues. Those include the next phase of the Second Avenue Subway and preliminary design and engineering on the proposed Interborough Express light rail line between Brooklyn and Queens.
“The people of this great city and region deserve nothing but the best,” Hochul said. “And when someone tries to say, ‘No, we have another vision for your city,’ we just have to stand up and say ‘We respectfully disagree,’ and take that to the courts, take it to the people.”
The MTA immediately sued USDOT in federal court after the Duffy order, which was followed up days later by another specifying that the tolling system must be turned off by March 21.
The governor and MTA officials on Wednesday also continued to promote some of the initial successes made under the vehicle-tolling plan that was supposed to launch in late June — when Hochul abruptly hit pause, a delay she moved to undo days after voters elected Trump for a second term.
The early gains include improved trip times across Hudson and East River bridges and tunnels, uncluttered streets, increased transit ridership and faster bus speeds on many express and local routes.
MTA Chairperson and CEO Janno Lieber said the Jan. 5 launch of the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program serves as proof of New York leaders being “not afraid to think big and tackle the region’s challenges.”
“Congestion pricing is one of the very few examples out there of government taking a big swing and then seeing immediate results for the public,” Lieber said. “This is like when we prohibited smoking in bars and a few weeks after it was instituted, all the naysayers were admitting, ‘Oh this is going to work out after all.’”
Hochu also claimed “the psychology” has changed around congestion pricing, noting how one-time opponents have come around on it after experiencing faster commutes.
“I can’t tell you how many people tell me, [in] places like Long Island, ‘I really hated the idea of congestion pricing,’” she said.
Early Wins
Hochul and MTA leaders have said congestion pricing scanners are staying on while the transit agency does battle in Manhattan federal court against the federal shutdown notification.
Congestion pricing launched after surviving multiple lawsuits filed on both sides of the Hudson River.
“The important thing is there’s going to be no cessation unless a court orders it,” Lieber said. “And we now have a matter pending in front of the Southern District [Manhattan federal court] where, as they say in the sports business, is a batting a thousand with all the lawsuits.
“Amd we’re very optimistic about where this next one is headed.”
Transit officials reported earlier this week that, after its first 27 days in January, congestion pricing is on track to raise the money needed for transit upkeep and expansion projects included in the agency’s more than $55 billion five-year capital plan.
President Donald Trump talks to the press alongside First Lady Melania Trump on the South Lawn of the White House, Jan. 24, 2025. Credit: Jonah Elkowitz/Shutterstock
On Monday, the MTA revealed that the tolls generated $48.6 million in revenue from tolling motorists who drive into the so-called congestion relief zone south of 60th Street in Manhattan.
That figure amounted to $37.5 million in net revenue after accounting for more than $11 million on expenses that include installing and maintaining the scanners, operating a customer service center, credit card fees and work toward establishing environmental mitigation projects in The Bronx.
In response to a question from THE CITY on Wednesday, Lieber said the MTA is “moving full steam ahead” on projects that would be jeopardized by a shutdown of congestion pricing, which include resignaling multiple subway lines and adding elevators or ramps to more stations=.
“One, [congestion pricing] in effect,” Lieber said. “Two, we’re already starting to move, albeit slowly, toward borrowing and using it as a security for our borrowing and three, we are very confident that it’s going to sustain whatever new legal situations develop.”
Debra Greif, a disability-rights advocate and user of the MTA’s paratransit service, described how her Wednesday morning Access-A-Ride trip from Brooklyn to the Midtown meeting had been accelerated by uncluttered streets.
“I got here in a little less than one hour,” she said. “Before congestion pricing, I would have had to leave the house at 7 or even 6 o’clock just to get into Manhattan on time.”
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