NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Wednesday that she is indefinitely postponing New York City’s congestion pricingwhat had been starts on June 30.
The plan was touted as essential to raising $15 billion in much-needed funds for major MTA projects and priorities, such as upgrading subway signals to improve service. The MTA has said an improved signaling system will allow trains to run closer together, making trains less crowded, especially during rush hour.
There is also Phase 2 of the 2nd Avenue subway, which would extend it to Harlem. Phase 2 would have added new stations at 106th Street, 116th Street and 125th Street, including adding connections at 125th with Metro-North trains and select bus service to LaGuardia Airport.
Other MTA projects that officials said congestion pricing would fund: improving station accessibility with ramps and elevators, a new fleet of electric buses, replacing escalators and elevators as needed, track upgrades and bridge repairs, repairing electrical substations and more.
During an MTA board meeting in February CBS New York’s Elijah Westbrook asked MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber if there was a ‘plan B’ to get these projects off the ground.
“No, it’s not. We have 20 stations that need to have ADA accessibility. It’s an equity issue, it’s not fair and it’s a real concern, so there is no Plan B for $15 billion. ,” Lieber said at the time.
Representative Ritchie Torres released a statement expressing concerns about the future of these projects.
“The Governor has announced that she will postpone the congestion pricing indefinitely. Left unmentioned in the announcement is the answer to a fundamental question: If the revenue for the MTA’s desperately needed $15 billion capital plan doesn’t come from congestion pricing, where exactly does the money come from?” Torres wrote. “The central concern is not so much the congestion pricing as maintaining a public transportation system that is too big to fail. Make no mistake: Without the funding it needs, the MTA will fail and New York will become a shadow of its former self.”
In its statement announcing the delay in the area of congestion pricing, Hochul has discussed this topic.
“Let me be very clear: I remain committed to these investments in public transport. We need to make MTA service more accessible and reliable, without requiring expected revenues to come solely from congestion pricing. And given the lawsuits and many other attacks As far as this process is concerned, we have already had to prepare for the possibility that the congestion charge could be postponed,” said Hochul. “We have set aside funding to support the MTA Capital Plan and are currently exploring other sources of funding. We remain fully committed to advancing all the improvements New Yorkers have been promised. That includes immediate investments in reliability and accessibility: track repairs, new signals, adding more elevators to subway and commuter stations.”
