ALBANY, New York – A solid majority of voters approve Governor’s proposal. Kathy HochulThe company’s decision to pause its implementation of congestion pricing is reflected in a Siena College Research Institute poll released Thursday morning.
But that doesn’t make them more favorable toward the Democratic governor, whose approval ratings fell slightly from the last poll in Siena to a record low.
Overall, 45 percent of registered voters in New York told pollsters they support indefinitely delaying the toll, while 23 percent said they oppose it. Another 16 percent said they were somewhere in the middle on this topic, and 17 percent gave no opinion.
Progressives, environmentalists and business leaders have criticized Hochul’s abrupt change to Manhattan’s traffic plan as a blow to public transportation funding and a setback for reducing air pollution. Yet none of the voters surveyed across Siena’s 26 demographic categories opposed her decision.
“There is little partisan difference when it comes to Hochul’s surprise decision at the end of the session to suspend congestion pricing,” Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg said in a statement. “It is supported by 46 percent of Democrats, 45 percent of Republicans and 43 percent of independents, all large pluralities.”
Regional support for the pause was strongest in the suburbs, where 56 percent of voters were in favor of the pause, compared to 18 percent who spoke against it. Those in New York City approved of her decision by a 45-30 split, with 35 percent of respondents in the state, who would be less likely to be affected by the toll, supporting the governor’s decision, compared to 19 percent who opposed it .
Yet Hochul’s numbers, which have been tepid for more than a year, have fallen to a record low. Only 38 percent of voters viewed her favorably in June, while 49 percent viewed her unfavorably, down from 38-46 in the May Siena poll. And while Democrats angry about her action on congestion pricing are considering a major challenge if she wins re-election in 2026, she remains popular with 56 percent of voters in her party, the survey found.
Thirty-four percent of respondents who said Hochul “cares about people like you” (up from 45 percent), 42 percent said she “works hard for the people of New York” (up from 47 percent), and 33 percent said she ” works effectively with other government leaders” (was 40 percent).
Hochul is not the only Democrat with problems in New York. President Joe Biden continued to vote poorly for a presumptive Democratic nominee in the solidly blue state, with a 42-53 favorable rating driven by deep unpopularity among Republicans. His lead over Donald Trump remained relatively small — a 47-39 lead compared to his 23-point win in the state in 2020.
Voters strongly approved the Hochul-backed bill to regulate social media, which was passed at the end of this year’s legislative session. Seven in ten voted in favor and only 12 percent were against.
And they supported the Equal Rights Amendment, which will be on the ballot in November with a 59-27 split, essentially unchanged from the 59-26 it received in May.
Siena spoke to 805 registered voters over four days between June 12 and 17, and the numbers have a margin of error of 4.1 points.
View the cross tables here.
