New York Gov. Kathy Hochul indefinitely delayed implementation of a plan to charge motorists big tolls to enter the core of Manhattan, just weeks before the nation's first "congestion pricing" system was set to launch. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
In a bid to seize power in the U.S. House once more, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity with Politico, said senior-level Hochul officials and staffers for Jeffries recently began floating the idea of delaying the congestion plan, which was projected to bring in $1 billion in revenue per year for the public transportation system.
The move preemptively drew criticism from activists.
"Pumping the brakes on congestion pricing would be a massive betrayal of several million public transit riders," Danny Pearlstein, the policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, which has spent years pushing for congestion pricing, told the New York Times. "It would also mean taking cues from the likes of Phil Murphy, Andrew Cuomo and Donald Trump."
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Chair and CEO Janno Lieber warned in an interview with WABC-TV last month that there was "no Plan B" to raise the billions of dollars in funds the transportation authority needs for construction priorities – including making subway stations more accessible and buying clean electric buses – if a judge rules against the congestion pricing in one of at least eight federal lawsuits challenging the proposed program.
Pedestrians cross Delancey Street as congested traffic from Brooklyn enters Manhattan over the Williamsburg Bridge, March 28, 2019, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
In a March op-ed, he said "many things have changed since 2019 when we passed congestion pricing and while it is the right public policy, we must seriously consider if now is the right time to enact it."
"New York City still hasn’t recovered from COVID; office occupancy is still at only 48.9%. For many, traveling to the city is no longer a necessity — and for some it is an unwelcome hardship," Cuomo wrote for the New York Post. What impact will an additional $15 entry surcharge have on New York City’s recovery in this moment — when the migrant crisis, crime, homelessness, quality of life and taxes are all pressing problems? More important, the policy’s success hinges on people’s confidence that mass transit — which is still operating 29% below pre-pandemic ridership levels — is a safe alternative."
Cuomo criticized progressives' call to defund the police and its impact on public safety on the subways, also voicing the need to get "dangerous mentally ill homeless people out of the system."
Former Cuomo deputy, Melissa DeRosa, slammed Hochul, writing in an X post that there had been a "legitimate policy reason" for months to delay congestion pricing, but the governor had "doubled down."
"This is exactly why @GovKathyHochul is so wildly unpopular," DeRosa wrote earlier Wednesday. "There is — and has been for months — a legitimate policy reason to delay CP out of genuine concern for the fragile recovery of NYC’s economy. It is the right policy at the wrong time."
"Instead, like an ostrich she & @MTA doubled down," she added. "Now this will be seen for exactly what it (and she) is: transparently political."
A Manhattan federal court judge in May heard arguments in lawsuits brought by unionized public school teachers, politicians and other New Yorkers.
In New Jersey, a federal court judge has also heard arguments in legal challenges brought by Murphy, Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich and others. Many of those lawsuits argue the tolling scheme was approved by federal transportation officials without proper scrutiny and the court should order transit officials to conduct a more comprehensive environmental study before rolling out the plan.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Danielle Wallace is a reporter for Fox News Digital covering politics, crime, police and more. Story tips can be sent to danielle.wallace@fox.com and on Twitter: @danimwallace.
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