By Dan Murphy
On Feb. 19, US Secretary of Transportion Sean Duffy informed NY Governor Kathy Hochul and the MTA that NYC’s Congestion Pricing Plan Duffy is terminated because it was beyond the scope of the authority given by Congress, and that the $9 Toll that drivers started paying one month ago, to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street is being used to raise revenue for the MTA instead of reducing congestion pricing.
After Duffy’s letter, President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social “CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!”
An enraged Governor Kathy Hochul told reporters, “NY hasn’t labored under a king for more than 250 years and we are sureas hell are not going to start now. New Yorkers don’t back down from a fight, not now not ever. We are fighting for our residents, commuters, drivers our riders. Life has gotten better.New York commuters are now the roadkill on Donald Trumps revenge tour against NY. I’m confident we will win our lawsuit and we are keeping the cameras on next time you are stuck in traffic and your train isdelayed, blame him.”
President Biden’s adminstration had granted authority to New York on Nov. 21 to implement Congestion Pricing. Now the courts and Congress will determine the future of Congestion Pricing in NYC.
Congressman Mike Lawler released a statement which “Praised President Trump’s decision. “I want to extend my sincere thanks to President Trump and his Administration for taking swift and decisive action to suspend Kathy Hochul’s disastrous congestion pricing scheme. This is a huge win for New York families, commuters, and small businesses ruthlessly targeted by this unjust tax.”
“Make no mistake: this entire program is nothing more than a scam — a money grab — and is the symptom of a far deeper, systemic issue in our state – government overreach and rampant mismanagement at the hands of Kathy Hochul and her cronies in Albany.”
“Instead of imposing new, crippling taxes on struggling families, we should be auditing the MTA, the worst-run authority in America, to find savings, address its outrageous waste, and make sure that commuters are kept safe and served as well as they deserve,” said Lawler.
