Gov. Hochul is pushing to delay congestion pricing less than four weeks before the NYC tolling program is set to start, the Daily News has learned.
Hochul has been floating the idea of a delay in Albany, said a state legislature source familiar with the matter, saying the toll could be delayed as long as she can secure “another revenue stream” — specifically an increase in the MTA payroll tax.
“The argument has been that if she can go to the MTA board and say, ‘Hey, don’t worry about the money, because I got it,’ they would delay it,” the source said.
Members of the New York delegation got calls this morning from Hochul’s office confirming the governor is weighing a congestion pricing plan delay, sources told The News.
The governor’s team did not say how long of a delay she’s considering, one source said, but told members that she’s looking into it because of concerns about current “economic conditions.”
Sources within the MTA expressed frustration over the apparent delay tactic, first reported by Politico on Tuesday night.
A spokesperson for the transit agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The congestion pricing plan, which would charge a base toll of $15 a day to any cars entering Midtown and lower Manhattan, is set to go into effect on June 30.
The MTA expects to raise $1 billion in revenue from the toll annually, and bond against that money to fund large-scale capital projects.
It remained unclear Wednesday how much money Hochul would seek in order to delay the program.
The Governor has been a strong backer of the congestion pricing program, which currently faces up to eight lawsuits seeking to curtail the tolling plan.
Hochul regarded congestion pricing as a legacy-defining as early as last year.
“From time to time, leaders are called upon to envision a better future, be bold in the implementation and execution, and be undaunted by the opposition,” Hochul said in December at a rally of congestion pricing advocates and MTA brass following a federal sign-off on the plan.
“That’s how you secure progress,” she added. “That’s what today is all about.”
