Why NY Governor Kathy Hochul Killed Congestion Pricing
A historic congestion pricing plan for New York City was slated to go into effect this month. NY governor Kathy Hochul suddenly blocked it this week — and has taken tens of thousand of dollars in campaign funding from auto groups opposed to the plan.
New York governor Kathy Hochul speaks before US president Joe Biden delivers remarks at the Milton J. Rubenstein Museum in Syracuse, New York, on April 25, 2024. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
Before her eleventh-hour decision to reverse course and “indefinitely pause” a landmark plan to charge drivers higher prices for clogging up Manhattan streets, Democratic New York governor Kathy Hochul received $36,000 from lobbyists for state automobile dealers. Half of that money came from a lobbying group that opposed congestion pricing, citing “consequences for dealers and the thousands of people they employ.”
As recently as two weeks ago, Hochul told world leaders at the Global Economic Summit that investing in public transit like congestion pricing is “what cities are meant to do.”
But on Wednesday, Hochul declared traffic reform was not in the best interest of New Yorkers.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.