The lump of coal known as congestion pricing is back on the table just in time for cash-strapped commuters who have gone deeper into debt to buy holiday gifts for their friends and loved ones.
Like a creature from a horror movie that just won’t die, this evil tax is brought back to life again and again no matter how many stakes are driven through its heart.
And the resurrection comes at the worst possible time: when commuters get their first credit card bills for all the iPads and PlayStations they bought for Christmas.
“This is all about getting money for the MTA,” said Kathryn Freed, a former city council member who opposes the plan. “It’s not about better transportation.”
Freed was among the waving demonstrators who protested the congestion pricing plan at the federal courthouse in Lower Manhattan on Friday.
That’s where no fewer than four lawsuits challenging the plan were heard by a federal judge who was asked to issue a temporary injunction that would slam on the brakes on this runaway train.
The lawsuits include those filed by Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew, and the Trucking Association of New York, a trade group that represents delivery companies.
They argue the toll places an additional financial burden on commuters, hurts small businesses and shifts traffic and pollution to other parts of the city and region.
Supporters say the controversial plan to fine motorists entering Manhattan under 60th St. would reduce traffic, improve air quality and fund improvements to New York City’s public transportation system.
If we learned anything from last month’s election, it’s that voters were concerned about what they had to spend each day, and that for many people the price of milk and eggs was more important than issues like abortion and immigration.
Governor Hochul all but acknowledged this in June when she put the plan on hold just days before it was set to take effect.
She said at the time that the $15 toll would hurt ordinary people too much.
“Let’s be real,” Hochul said at the time. “A $15 levy may not seem like much to someone with the means, but it could break the budget of a hard-working middle-class household.”
What has changed between then and now? Last time anyone checked, those same regular people are hurting even more today.
But there were also political concerns. According to one report, Democratic leaders approached the governor and expressed concern that the congestion pricing plan could impact close races in the U.S. House of Representatives.
So it went away.
And now it’s back.
Hochul says the new and improved version will cost commuters just $9, which, when you do the math, is still nine dollars more than anyone is paying right now.
Why the rush? Hochul and his supporters hope to implement the toll before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
Trump, whose Midtown Tower is within the congestion charging zone, has heavily criticized the plan and vowed to derail the toll once he returns to the White House.
“Congestion Pricing is a disaster for NYC,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform in May.
“A huge business killer and tax on New Yorkers and anyone who enters Manhattan. I will END Congestion Pricing in my FIRST WEEK back in the office!!! Manhattan is looking for business, not killing business.”
It’s one of the few areas where Trump and most New Yorkers agree.
