Where Do Top New York Politicians Stand on Hochul’s Congestion Pricing Pause?

Though she hasn’t explicitly backed the pause, New York’s junior senator has expressed sympathy for Hochul’s decision. During an appearance on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show,” Kirsten Gillibrand said implementation “is a decision for the governor” and noted that “there were problems with the implementation of congestion pricing as it was proposed.”

Gillibrand suggested that first responders, essential workers, and “people who live on Staten Island” get exemptions from the toll. As a possible alternative to congestion pricing, she proposed a 10-to-20-year plan to build “hubs outside of the city where people can leave their cars and fast rail or light rail into the city.” The senator’s spokesperson later stated that Gillibrand was referring to building housing near train stations.

The top Democrat in the House of Representatives has backed the governor. Earlier this month, his spokesperson said that Hakeem Jeffries “supports a temporary pause” in order to “better understand the financial impact on working-class New Yorkers.” 

An 2022 analysis by the nonprofit Community Service Society found that, of 481,000 low-income essential workers in New York City’s outer boroughs, roughly 3 percent drive to work in Manhattan, while over 60 percent use public transit. In Jeffries’s district, nearly 64,000 residents commute to downtown Manhattan by mass transit, while just under 6,000 drive.

Eric Adams said New Yorkers “need to support the governor” in her decision to pause the program. He has also said he expects state lawmakers to find another way to fund the MTA — which numerous budget experts have said is unlikely to happen without reducing state spending in other areas like education or health care.

Adams’s top aide, senior adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin, has repeatedly criticized congestion pricing. After the pause was announced, she said, “God answered my prayers by way of Kathy Hochul.” Lewis-Martin hasn’t taken the subway since the 1980s, she said last year.

Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents a swing district that includes the far northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City, supports the pause. He’s left the door open to supporting a modified version of the plan, though: He wrote in a statement that the MTA should work on changes to congestion pricing like “significant service additions” and “meaningful discounts for public servants.”

“Because public transportation is not an option, my constituents, including health care professionals, teachers, and NYPD and FDNY officers, have no choice but to rely on their cars to get to work,” Ryan wrote in an op-ed.

Around 7,000 of his constituents take mass transit to downtown Manhattan, while over 3,300 drive.

Congressperson Nick LaLota, a Republican who represents part of Suffolk County, thinks that congestion pricing should be trashed entirely — and that instead, the MTA should be funded by canceling all state support for recently arrived migrants, according to his spokesperson.

Lalota’s spokesperson did not respond to questions about the congressperson’s alternative ideas to reduce traffic and air pollution. Over 12,000 of LaLota’s constituents use public transit to commute into the central business district, while about 4,000 drive.

Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican who represents Staten Island and south Brooklyn, supports the pause and thinks the program should be scrapped. She is clearly hoping to keep congestion pricing a live issue in this fall’s election. 

A statement from her office warned: “We must all have our eyes wide open and understand that if [Democrats] prevail on November 5, congestion pricing will simply return on November 6.” Over 54,000 of her constituents take mass transit to downtown Manhattan, while just under 10,000 drive.

Mike Lawler, a Republican who represents many of New York City’s northern suburbs, wants congestion pricing killed. In a written statement, he called the program “a money grab to shovel more taxpayer dollars into the endless pit that is the MTA’s constant waste, and corruption.”

Lawler told the local news website LoHud that the gap in the MTA’s budget should be filled by cracking down on fare evasion, ending the state’s public campaign finance program, and stopping New York City’s financial support of recently arrived migrants. Nearly 25,000 of his constituents take mass transit to downtown Manhattan, while just over 9,000 drive.

Andrew Garbarino, a Republican representing Suffolk and Nassau counties, supports killing congestion pricing outright and called Hochul’s pause “an election year stunt.” Over 13,000 of his constituents take mass transit to downtown Manhattan, while under 4,000 drive.

Nassau County Republican Anthony D’Esposito wants to put the kibosh on congestion pricing. He told the Long Island Herald that the plan “should be an absolutely-never-going-to-happen.” Over 35,000 of his constituents take mass transit to downtown Manhattan, while fewer than 9,000 drive.

Last Sunday, the Senate majority leader told political organizer Peter Martin that he supports congestion pricing, according to Martin’s X feed. But he has declined to publicly criticize Hochul’s decision. When Martin asked the senator how he’s pressing Hochul to reinstate the program, Schumer said the governor “doesn’t react well to public pressure,” so he’s working behind the scenes, according to Martin. His office did not respond to similar questions from New York Focus.

The Brooklyn and Queens Democrat sharply criticized Hochul’s decision earlier this month, saying that delaying the program was “short-sighted and a setback for NYC.”

Dan Goldman, a freshman House Democrat, opposes the pause. He said in a statement that congestion pricing “remains the only identified viable long-term solution” for reducing traffic and pollution and funding the MTA.

“I look forward to working with Governor Hochul and the MTA to ensure that this temporary pause is just that — temporary,” the statement continued.

Jerry Nadler, the longest-serving member of New York’s House delegation, has sharply criticized Hochul’s decision. He represents a large swath of Manhattan, including areas in the central business district.

“Without congestion pricing or a similar funding source, the MTA will be forced to make systemwide cuts,” he said in a statement earlier this month. “We cannot allow a vocal minority of drivers who don’t qualify for exemptions or discounts to dictate our policy decisions.”

Progressive star Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and the Bronx, called the pause “malpractice,” noting that congestion pricing would be an “opportunity to completely transform our public transit system.”

Bronx Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres hasn’t pulled any punches, telling Streetsblog early this month that Hochul’s pause “may be as erratic and chaotic, as arbitrary and abrupt, a decision as any I have seen in my 20 years of politics.”

The congestion pricing plan allocates more than $150 million to improve air quality and reduce asthma in the Bronx. Torres noted that “all of those dollars are now a question mark, because of the cloud of uncertainty that has been cast over congestion pricing.”

Brad Lander, the city’s financial watchdog, has emerged as one of the fiercest critics of Hochul’s move. He is currently leading a coalition of groups including transportation, disability rights, and environmental advocates that is considering several lawsuits to overturn the pause.

In testimony to the MTA board, Lander stated that without congestion pricing, “service reliability, safety, and frequency will all be jeopardized.”

The state Senate’s leader, who represents part of Westchester, hasn’t spoken decisively for or against the pause. But she has said that any potential replacement must address all of the goals of congestion pricing: raising revenue for the MTA, reducing congestion in Manhattan and its surrounding areas, and reducing air pollution and emissions. So far, Hochul hasn’t proposed an alternative that would do that.

The head of the state Assembly, who represents part of the Bronx, has sent mixed messages on the pause. He has declined to criticize the governor or her choice to delay the program’s start date. But he has stated that he supports congestion pricing, that he wants to see the MTA funded, and that reducing traffic is a “must” in any ultimate agreement.

So I would much rather work on a solution that all parties can agree to. But to some of you that doesn’t matter unless it’s exactly what you want. I’m sorry the world doesn’t work that way. Life is full of compromises.

— Carl E. Heastie (@CarlHeastie) June 24, 2024

Despite his status as a progressive standard bearer, Congressperson Jamaal Bowman, who will be leaving the House at the end of this year, declined to criticize Hochul’s pause at a debate earlier this month. He did not respond to questions about his position on the policy. He represents Westchester County and part of the Bronx; some 45,000 of his constituents use mass transit to commute to downtown Manhattan, while 9,000 of them drive.

Congressperson Yvette Clark has not publicly taken a position on congestion pricing and did not respond to questions for this story. Her district, which includes parts of Brooklyn, has nearly 69,000 mass transit commuters to downtown Manhattan and 5,000 drivers.

In a letter to the MTA earlier this month, Congressperson Adriano Espaillat criticized the agency for not having “contingency plans” to fund itself without congestion pricing. The letter did not criticize Hochul’s choice to pause congestion pricing or suggest alternate solutions for funding the MTA, and the congressperson did not respond to questions for this story. Espaillat’s district, which includes upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, contains 105,500 mass transit commuters to downtown Manhattan and about 6,000 drivers.

George Latimer, the Democratic nominee for New York’s largely uncompetitive 16th District, will almost certainly be inheriting current Rep. Bowman’s 45,000 mass transit commuters to downtown Manhattan and 9,000 drivers next year. Latimer has not publicly taken a position on congestion pricing and did not respond to questions for this story.

Congressperson Gregory Meeks has not publicly taken a position on congestion pricing and did not respond to questions for this story. His district, which includes much of southeastern Queens, has roughly 51,000 residents who use mass transit to commute to downtown Manhattan and 9,000 drivers.

Congressperson Grace Meng has not publicly taken a position on congestion pricing and did not respond to questions for this story. Her district, which includes large swaths of northern Queens, includes about 80,000 mass transit commuters to downtown Manhattan and 10,000 drivers.