Albany city council members on Friday put the brakes on a final round of funding for the MTA in a sharp rebuke of Gov. Kathy Hockal’s sudden move to eliminate congestion pricing.
State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said lawmakers would leave the state and end the legislative session without an agreement to replace $1 billion that would have been collected in congestion fees each year for the next 15 years for the crumbling transit system with a nominal IOU.
“I’m not coming back tomorrow,” Stewart-Cousins said around 5:30 p.m. Friday as lawmakers struggled for nearly two days to reach an agreement on whether and how to make up for the MTA’s lost revenue.
Supporters of congestion pricing, which was scheduled to impose a $15 fee on drivers entering Manhattan below 60th Street starting June 30, hailed the postponement as a victory.
“The Governor’s proposed IOU is a pinky promise that the bond markets will never believe, let alone lend, and would spell the end of congestion pricing. No!” state Sen. John Liu (D-Queens) said in a post on X.
“This will force a longer discussion about what we should do, and I hope she will reverse course and allow congestion pricing to be implemented,” added Rep. Harvey Epstein (D-Manhattan).
The delay could leave the MTA without funding for years after Governor Hookl killed a controversial congestion plan without a clear Plan B to replace revenue beyond a tax increase that was widely criticized and quickly rejected.
Amid the political turmoil, the only real consensus across New York politics was about Hawkle.
“There’s a general consensus that Hockle is a fool,” John Samuelsen, president of the Transport Workers’ International Union, said of the MTA board, on which he serves as a non-voting member.
Governor Hawke’s decision on Wednesday to indefinitely suspend congestion pricing was a shock. It was welcomed by many in and around New York City who have long been concerned about the burden of the tolls on working-class residents, but the move came just two days before the end of the state legislative session.
High-stakes legislative elections are complicated by a real-life horse race, the Belmont Stakes, that could force state lawmakers out of their hotel rooms this weekend and make an extension of the session unlikely.
State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said lawmakers could return to the chamber “sometime between now and January” to vote on an alternative budget, but declined to say whether he had booked a flight to Europe for Saturday.
“I think the MTA would feel a lot better if they had the money to put in the bond market now, but if they can’t get the three legs of the chair in place, then like I said, they’re going to have to come up with a solution at a later date,” he said.
But some lawmakers who are outspoken opponents of the bailout argue that congestion pricing already exists to fund the MTA.
“I cannot in good conscience approve a decision that eliminates a critical dedicated revenue source for the MTA’s capital plan while leaving the MTA’s needs subject to the frenzy of annual Albany budget troughs,” state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) said in a statement.
“Cancelling this vital program at the last moment and asking Congress to come up with an alternative funding mechanism within 48 hours is irresponsible and runs counter to the principles of sound governance. That’s why I oppose IOU bailout,” said Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris.
Many rank-and-file lawmakers expressed frustration over the IOU proposal, which they were unable to read for long stretches Friday, and the congestion pricing confusion in general.
“It’s outrageous,” one lawmaker told The Washington Post about not being informed about the bill.
“This is a false choice and a manufactured crisis,” said Rep. Tony Simone (D-Manhattan).
“This was a stupid last-minute decision by the governor. I’m a big fan of hers and I’m still hopeful that she’ll change her mind and reverse course again.”
A spokesman for Mr. Haukl declined to respond to a question about whether he supported the decision to suspend congestion pricing indefinitely. The decision also raised questions from many lawmakers about how much money has already been put into the program, which includes license plate readers in Manhattan.
Sensing a bloody political climate, members of New York’s House Republican delegation demanded that Hoeffle and MTA chief Jano Lieber detail how much the aborted congestion pricing program cost.
“This suspension comes with over $500 million in contracts already awarded for equipment and installation, which now appear to be forfeit,” the letter drafted by Rep. Mike Lawler said.
“This plan appears to have been hugely expensive to develop and then abruptly halted for what can only be described as politically motivated reasons.”
New York City’s Independent Budget Office said Thursday that the MTA has allocated $427 million so far.
Samuelsen, the MTA executive, wasn’t the only transportation chief scratching his head.
“This is one of the most extraordinary actions I’ve seen,” David Jones, another MTA board member, told The Post about Haukle’s shift in policy on congestion pricing.
“There could be a genius behind it. We just haven’t seen it yet.”
