Congestion Pricing Worked in London – Will it in New York?

New York Governor Kathy Hochul was cheery at a press conference Tuesday celebrating congestion pricing, which cleared its final federal hurdle on Monday and will finally be implemented in New York City after years of debate.

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration on Monday said the plan — which would charge motorists for driving in Manhattan’s central business district — would have no significant effect on the environment and doesn't need to be studied any further, allowing it to move forward.

Last week, New York State Sen. Jessica Scarcella-Spanton, who represents parts of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn, said congestion prices will also hurt essential workers who can’t afford to live where they work. 

"Police, sanitation, and other government workers have long called Staten Island home, thanks to its affordability when compared to the other boroughs, great schools, and safer neighborhoods,” the Democratic senator wrote in a searing op-ed in SI Live, who called the plan "just absurd.” 

"Yet that affordability is now being threatened by a pricing program to fund a system that consistently underinvests in our great borough,” she added, noting many of her residents drive because they have worse public transit options in the outer boroughs. 

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