© Seth Harrison/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK
Syndication: Democrat and Chronicle
NEW YORK (77WABC) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul won’t budge on her congestion pricing plan for New York City.
On Monday, Hochul in a press conference said the long-delayed toll to drive into Manhattan’s central business district is crucial to cutting car traffic and combating climate change. She boosted the fee for motorists entering Manhattan below 60th Street as a way to fund upgrades to the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s aging mass transit system.
Earlier in the day opponents on both sides of the political aisle and the New York-New Jersey border rallied against the fee.
Frequent critics of congestion pricing — including Reps. Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey and Nicole Malliotakis from Staten Island — called it as a “cash-grab” and announced they plan to introduce a bill in congress requiring the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Inspector General to audit the MTA’s spending of $15 billion in federal COVID relief.
