By Eric Wolf Schoen
So what we predicted in these pages came true. Governor Hochul paused congestion pricing in New York City so that the topic would not hurt her candidates for New York State and Assembly in this month’s election.
The pause was supposed to lessen the impact on taxpayers and truckers traveling in New York City below 60th Street and all Westchesterites to avoid paying an exorbitant fee for a night on the town or a little sightseeing.
SO,SURPRISE! Congestion pricing is alive and well in New York City 2 days after the election of Donald Trump to be President of these United States. Good ‘ol Governor Kathy Hochul has put it back on the table as motorists say they do not want it. Her little game here to get it up and running before she took off her Christmas pajamas calls for some changes in the program but no elimination of it.
Unacceptable! New Yorkers, whether you live in Yonkers to the north or commute to the city in a car from upstate New York don’t want another tax going to the enormous taxes we already pay to the M,T.A. For service for lousy service. We pay enough taxes without seeing where our money is going, and the funds from Congestion Pricing Plan are not going to fix our roads but to improve Mass transit ( subways, buses, trains) under the administration of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
So none of this money will be used to Repair our shady roads and bridges, you know the ones that cause our tires to go flat and the undersides of our cars to corrode and fall off causing accidents. You have a small group of environmentalists that push the Legislature to put congestion pricing in effect.
Now it’s our turn to tell our state officials that WE DO NOT WANT CONGESTION PRICING IN ANY FORM. But before I tell you who to call, let me remind you we have a new ally in our work to stop congestion pricing. Yes, he is the man who will become President in January of 2025. Yes, his name is Donald Trump.
DONALD TRUMP has made no secret of his thoughts about New York’s congestion pricing program. In a social media post in May, the Republican presidential candidate promised that he would “terminate Congestion Pricing in my first week back in Office!!”
There are at least three ways that he could kill the program or hold it up for years:
1. REFUSE TO SIGN THE DOCUMENT AUTHORIZING THE PROGRAM.
For congestion pricing to take effect, a final approval document must be signed by the federal Department of Transportation, state Department of Transportation, the MTA and New York City. Hochul ordered the state transportation commissioner, Marie Therese Dominguez, not to sign this document, and the feds have said that they won’t take action before New York does.
If the status quo was still in place when Trump took office, it’s likely that his Department of Transportation would refuse to sign the document, killing the program at least until 2029, when a new president would take office.
2. DEMANDING A MORE DETAILED ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY — AND DELAYING IT.
If congestion pricing still hasn’t been implemented when Trump takes office, he could trash the 868-page environmental assessment in which the federal Department of Transportation determined that congestion pricing wouldn’t harm the environment, a necessary element of getting the project approved.
Instead, he could order the department to prepare a longer and more rigorous study known as an environmental impact statement (EIP). This could delay congestion pricing by months or even years, since presidents of both parties have refused to approve environmental impact statements as a strategy to block projects they didn’t like.
3. SWITCHING SIDES IN A LAWSUIT SEEKING TO KILL THE PROGRAM.
The state of New Jersey is currently suing the federal government in an attempt to delay congestion pricing. The Garden State’s lawyers claim that the potential environmental harms to New Jersey weren’t fully studied in the environmental report and are asking the judge to order a more rigorous review by the Department of Transportation.
The Federal Department of Justice is opposing this lawsuit and defending congestion pricing in court. But Trump could order the department to stop opposing New Jersey. Instead, a Trump administration could seek a settlement where it would submit to New Jersey’s demand for a more thorough study, effectively putting the program on ice.
What I am worried about about is the conversations between the President Elect and Governor Hochul have taken place regarding congestion pricing in the week since Trump was elected to office.
As I write this column, the Governor has announced a 40% reduction in the Congestion Pricing Plan. We don’t want a reduction, the people of New York want NO CONGESTION PRICING PLAN. I am talking about people in New York City who live around the cut off area, 60th Street and are afraid of traffic jams. I’m talking about truck drivers who will add the price to the already high prices we are paying. And yes, I am talking about the people who visit New York City to see a Broadway show, or the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree.
Friends you must call your legislators and tell them NO CONGESTION PRICING IN NY. PERIOD. This is just going to be like the Red Light Camera plan. Today New York City, TOMORROW IS YONKERS, WHITE PLAINS, and you never know where they will expand it.
Don’t kid yourself they couldn’t care about pollution, traffic, and all of the other reasons to promote congestion pricing. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!
Call your elected officials from WESTCHESTER and tell them No Congestion Pricing for New York State:
Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins (914) 423-4031
Senator Shelley Mayer 914-934-5250
Assemblyman Nader Sayegh 1-914-779-8805
Assemblyman Gary Prelow 1-914-667-0127
If you are reading this paper outside of Southern WESTCHESTER, my bet is you know how to contact the Legislators who represent you!
And don’t forget Governor Kathy Hochul: 518-474-8390
Hopefully our Elected Officials will stop this plan from going through. But let’s not forget what our newly elected President, Donald Trump said in May:
“I will terminate Congestion Pricing in my first week back in Office!!’
We expect nothing less!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com, or friend him on Facebook Eric Schoen…just look for him in the picture with Joan Rivers!
