The MTA board will reluctantly follow Gov. Kathy Hockle’s decision to pause congestion pricing for now.
A resolution drafted by the Met Office of Legal Affairs and obtained by The Washington Post says it is “allowed” that the nation’s first congestion pricing scheme “will not be implemented in June 2024 due to a pause in the program.”
The resolution is expected to be approved in a vote Wednesday in the MTA’s first board meeting since Hoekl announced he was suddenly putting the brakes on a plan to charge drivers $15 to enter Midtown Manhattan south of 60th Street, which was set to take effect June 30.
But the resolution, while acknowledging the suspension, leaves open the possibility of reinstating the program, and the MTA has made it clear it would like to do so.
They noted that the tolling law approved by then-Governor Andrew Cuomo and the state Legislature in 2019 remains in effect while the program is suspended.
The resolution also directs MTA fare collectors to continue “taking such steps as may be necessary or desirable to implement the program.”
“CBDP date [Central Business Tolling Program] “This extends the period from approximately June 2024 until the legally required tolling agreements are in place among the project sponsors,” it said, referring to the state DOT, city DOT, MTA’s Division of Bridges and Tunnels and the Federal Highway Administration.
The resolution does not mention Hockle by name, who has considerable influence over the agency, many of whose appointees to the commission and its leadership are appointed by the governor.
MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber is expected to announce a plan of cuts Wednesday to help make up for a $1 billion annual revenue loss and fund $15 billion in capital projects as part of a scaled-back capital construction program.
Transportation sources and critics of the Midtown Toll said the move to announce cuts to the program was clearly a ploy to pressure Haukle and lawmakers to reassess the Midtown Toll and identify other sources of revenue.
The tolling system should be abolished for good, said Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella, a leading opponent of the system who has filed a lawsuit to block it.
“The suspension of congestion pricing is a major victory for those who have opposed it since the beginning. We’re in a better position than we were a few weeks ago, but there’s still a lot of work to be done,” he told The Post on Tuesday.
He called for repealing the 2019 law that allows for the tolls to prevent the MTA and congestion pricing advocates from using it as a “pretext” to reinstate congestion pricing.
“We want the tolls sent overseas,” he joked.
Even Mr. Cuomo has backed away from a program he once championed after facing widespread opposition.
Meanwhile, State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said $21 billion in planned projects were under scrutiny, fanning the bleak scenario and leaving Hockle perplexed.
“The loss of congestion fee revenue means that the MTA’s current capital plan is likely to be smaller than its predecessor when adjusted for inflation…As a result, the plan represents reduced investment in the metropolitan region’s vital transportation system,” DiNapoli’s analysis, released Tuesday, said.
“The MTA will need to remove approximately $17 billion in projects from its current capital plan as part of its reprioritization efforts.”
