By Michael V. Cusenza
City Comptroller Brad Lander on Monday updated New Yorkers on the legal action against Gov. Kathy Hochul’s halt on Congestion Pricing.
Hochul stunned the Empire State in June when she abruptly pressed pause on the MTA Board-approved Central Business District toll program. Under the plan, passenger vehicles and small commercial vehicles – sedans, SUVs, pick-up trucks, and small vans – paying with a valid E-ZPass would be charged $15 during the day and $3.75 at night, when there is less congestion, to enter the congestion relief zone in Manhattan below 60th Street.
“Circumstances have changed and we must respond to the facts on the ground — not from the rhetoric from five years ago. So, after careful consideration, I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned Congestion Pricing system risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time. For that reason, I have directed the MTA to indefinitely pause the program,” Hochul said last month.
Hochul’s authoritative instruction “leaves a $15 billion hole in MTA’s budget – which means no improvements to MTA stations to keep passengers cool, and no capital projects to improve service and cut down on delays,” Lander said, characterizing the move as “illegal and ill-conceived.”
“Congestion Pricing is one of those rare policies that will deliver benefits that every single New Yorker is clamoring for – cleaner air, less traffic, better service – no matter who you are or where you live. It should have been implemented on June 30,” he added. “But instead of investments for on-time trains and accessible stations, working New Yorkers now face preventable subway delays, worsening gridlock, air quality alerts, and service cuts.”
“That’s why our legal coalition and upcoming suits on Congestion Pricing are so imperative,” Lander said.
In a joint statement issued last month, MTA Chief Financial Officer Kevin Willens and MTA General Counsel Paige Graves wrote that Hochul’s announcement “regarding the future of Congestion Pricing has serious implications for the MTA’s 2020-2024 Capital Program and likely other aspects of the agency’s financial condition.
“The MTA cannot award contracts that do not have a committed, identified funding source. Until there is a commitment for funding the balance of the 2020-2024 Capital Program, the MTA will need to reorganize the program to prioritize the most basic and urgent needs.
“As such, the MTA Board will be evaluating what changes need to be made to the Capital Program… Modernization and improvement projects like electric buses, Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible stations and new signals will likely need to be de-prioritized to protect and preserve the basic operation and functionality of this 100+ year old system.
The comptroller noted that last Wednesday the first lawsuit was filed by Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and Transport Workers Union of America Local 100 on behalf of bus and transit riders.
“It’s the first stop along the legal suit journey, and we expect our coalition of transit riders, disabled commuters, and environmental advocates to make more announcements concerning litigation in the coming weeks,” Lander said.
