Hudson Valley lawmakers remain skeptical of Gov. Hochul's plans for congestion pricing

New York Governor Kathy Hochul is reportedly working on a new version of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s congestion pricing plan in New York City, after indefinitely pausing the toll this summer. But lawmakers in the Hudson Valley remain skeptical.

The original plan passed by the legislature years ago would have begun tolling drivers $15 to enter lower Manhattan south of 60th Street starting in June. Smaller tolls for night drivers and motorcyclists were to apply. The idea behind the toll was that it would decrease vehicle traffic in one of New York City’s busiest areas and raise roughly $15 billion for the MTA.

However, right before the toll was supposed to take effect — and amid a string of lawsuits trying to block its implementation — Hochul paused the plan. 

“Let’s be real. A $15 charge may not seem like a lot to someone who has the means. But it can break the budget of a hard-working or middle-class household," said Hochul in June.  

Now, the Democrat is reportedly working on a new plan that she expects to present to lawmakers around the end of the year.

State Senator Rob Rolison, a Republican from the 39th District who was part of a coalition of Hudson Valley lawmakers suing to stop congestion pricing earlier this year, says he won’t change his mind. The former Poughkeepsie mayor has no intention of supporting any new plan that includes congestion pricing.

“It’s another tax," he notes. "You know, I said when the governor – for political reasons I’m sure – went on the indefinite pause…I said, ‘Forget the pause. Cancel it.’ And I have not changed my opinion and I will not be changing my opinion on that.”

Hochul is also facing lawsuits now from advocates in New York City who say she had no authority to stop the toll, and the MTA has threatened to postpone millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure projects unless the state plugs the gap.

State Senator James Skoufis, a Democrat from the 42rd District in Cornwall, contends there are other ways to fund the MTA besides congestion pricing.

“There are a variety of ways to raise the revenue," he says. "[Hochul] had proposed in June adjusting the MTA payroll tax specifically for businesses in New York City.”  

Rolison adds the MTA is already leaving money on the table in the form of fare evasion, and that an audit would be a good idea. The MTA announced over the summer that 48 percent of bus riders are not paying.

"So you see all of these things, and then you’re going to ask individuals — many from the outer boroughs of course, and in the Hudson Valley — to pay a fee to drive south of 60th Street," says Rolison. "A.) It’s not fair, but B.) How does it even seem fair to people who are doing the right thing?”

The MTA has begun cracking down on fare evasion in the past week, pulling non-paying riders off buses and issuing summons in some cases.

Like Rolison, Skoufis was also part of the United Federation of Teachers lawsuit opposing congestion pricing earlier this year. However, Skoufis is willing to hear the governor out.

“I am happy to listen," he notes. "If the governor intends to resuscitate a version of congestion pricing itself, to be clear — and I’ve said this before — the only way I will even consider voting for something that resembles what was paused a couple months ago is if Orange County is exempted.”  

Unlike New Jersey, Long Island, and the Hudson Valley east of the Hudson River, Orange and Rockland Counties don’t have direct train lines into Manhattan. Skoufis says the original congestion pricing plan unfairly targeted his constituents — even though the MTA says they contribute less than 2 percent of the 1.2 million commuters into lower Manhattan — as Orange and Rockland drivers don’t have ideal transit options to replace driving in.

Skoufis says the UFT lawsuit is effectively moot now that congestion pricing is paused. But if Hochul's new plan leans more toward a pure revival of congestion pricing, then he’s willing to get back in court.

“If something deleterious is resurrected at the end of the year, certainly I’ll be looking to reconsider legal options," he says. "But I think that’s a couple of bridges down the road. I am certainly more hopeful that we’ll be able to get to a point here, a resolution, where lawsuits are not needed.”