‘If they want to try again, we’ll see them in court,’ a spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
President Donald Trump said Nov. 3 that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy will take another look at how the federal government can terminate New York City’s congestion toll for vehicles traveling into the city.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said of the revenue-raising policy, “New York City is getting KILLED by her ridiculous CONGESTION PRICING, where people have to pay a fortune to come into Manhattan – So they just don’t come!”
He blamed the fee for a decline in activity in the Big Apple.
“The place is a ghost town,” he wrote. “The entire State is going to hell, so the Federal Government will, of necessity, get involved!”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has said tourism and business have increased in the city because the fee is dramatically reducing gridlock.
A spokesperson for Hochul said: “The Trump administration tried once before to kill congestion pricing and lost. If they want to try again, we’ll see them in court. The cameras are staying on.”
The Epoch Times reached out to the Department of Transportation and the governor’s office for comment, but did not receive a response by publication time.
Legal Action
Trump’s post comes five months after a federal judge blocked a previous effort by the administration to force a lifting of the $9 peak-hour fee for passenger vehicles entering Manhattan south of 60th Street.
The policy was backed by the Cuomo administration and then Hochul to reduce traffic and alleviate air pollution, and is on track to raise $500 million this year after launching in January.
The funds are needed for financing $15 billion worth of bonds to fund critical improvements to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s aging transit system. It would also fund 23,000 jobs in New York state, advocates previously said.
The charge is in addition to what drivers already pay to use bridges and tunnels to get into Manhattan.
Similar policies have been implemented in Singapore, Stockholm, and central London, where opponents of the policy blame it for furthering class stratification.
In February, Duffy rescinded federal approval for the congestion toll that was authorized by the Biden administration under a Federal Highway Administration pilot program. The MTA filed a lawsuit, accusing the Trump administration of trying to terminate the plan for “blatantly political reasons.”
By Melanie Sun
