With the elections over, New York governor Kathy Hochul will now be reintroducing her proposed congestion tax on drivers coming into a wide swath of Manhattan. The tax is to be set at $9, lower than the $15 that was originally put forward, but it will be gradually increased in years to come. Frogs, boiling, pot, you know how it goes.
“It’s the height of hypocrisy to spin this as a positive, touting dubious math while ignoring the reality that hardworking New Yorkers will still be forced to shell out $9 per trip and thousands of dollars a year just for the privilege of driving into their own city,” said City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens). “She must think we’re all stupid.” . . .
Car owners making less than $50,000 a year will get a 50% discount on every toll after their 10th in a month, and the fee will be reduced by as much as 75% after 9 p.m., to around $2.25, Hochul said.
“As much as.”
“The bait and switch, pretending to scrap this before the election only to relaunch it a week after the votes are counted, really underscores why people hate politicians and have no faith in elected leaders,” said Republican Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli – who represents a district in Staten Island, where motorists are poised to face two sets of tolls if they plan on driving into Midtown Manhattan.
“People trust us less than a used car salesman in a polyester suit and Governor Hochul just proved them right,” he told The Post.
The governor contended Thursday that “state law” required her to press on with congestion pricing, and denied that the election – as well as President-elect Donald Trump’s opposition to the tolls – had anything to do with the timing.
Sure, Kathy.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy raged against the move to force through congestion pricing in the Biden administration’s waning days.
In a blistering statement, Murphy contended Garden State officials weren’t consulted on the plan, either before or after the pause.
“All of us need to listen to the message that voters across America sent last Tuesday, which is that the vast majority of Americans are experiencing severe economic strains and still feeling the effects of inflation,” he said.
“There could not be a worse time to impose a new $9 toll on individuals who are traveling into downtown Manhattan for work, school, or leisure.”
Office property occupancy rates have been moving up but still remain at pre-pandemic levels, and that has a knock-on effect on businesses in the buildings’ vicinity. And while office workers have increasingly been returning to their offices, remote working will likely never go all the way back to the pre-pandemic status quo. In the city as a whole (much of which, of course, will not be directly hit by the new tax), store vacancy levels are still above pre-pandemic levels. This is despite the relatively healthy economy of recent years, which will not endure forever.
There is nothing scientific about this, but the part of Manhattan where I live (the West 30s) still feels quieter than before Covid. There continues to be more room in the subway than I remember before the pandemic, something that is backed up by data showing recovering ridership levels but totals still falling short of the pre-pandemic crush.
The fact is, Manhattan still needs to work on encouraging people to return to work there. Ripping off drivers yet more works against that: It’s not as if driving into Manhattan is cheap even now, with existing tolls and parking charges taken into account.
Part of what’s driving the renewed push for this tax is the long-standing war against cars. Of course, it’s also about money (passengers in taxicabs pay a “congestion” supplement even if their ride is at 3 a.m.), but the begging bowl that really counts is being held out by the Metropolitan Transit Authority, a shambles of an organization that could do with the Musk touch in the unlikely event he has any time left over.
The base toll – though lower than the originally planned $15 – should still be enough to secure $15 billion for MTA projects such as modern signals, the Second Avenue subway and new elevators for stations, Hochul and officials said from her Manhattan office.
I’m sure the $15 billion will be carefully spent.
Well, maybe not.