NEW YORK – Gov. Kathy Hochul pauses on congestion pricing will face a legal challenge from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and several attorneys, highly placed sources tell CBS New York’s Marcia Kramer.
An official announcement from Lander is expected Wednesday.
Hochul made the stunning announcement last week that he was abandoning the years-long congestion pricing plan: less than a month before the plan was to go into effect.
“After careful consideration, I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system will create too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time. For that reason, I have directed the MTA to pause the program indefinitely,” Hochul said in her announcement.
Hochul pointed to the fact that congestion pricing was introduced before the COVID pandemic, when most people worked in the office five days a week. She cited concerns about New York City’s economic recovery in the wake of the pandemic as part of why she ended the program.
The pause effectively crippled the MTA’s ability to move forward needed projects such as upgrading the subway signal system and expanding the Second Avenue subway which relied on congestion pricing to raise the necessary funds. The MTA hoped the congestion charge would help it raise $15 billion to pay for the various initiatives. Last Friday, The New York legislature ended without a plan to finance these critical projects.
