Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) has made a U-turn on one of the most controversial moves of her time as governor right after Election Day.
Hochul is talking about reviving an unpopular congestion pricing plan that might have made the prospect of flipping several Republican House seats more difficult. President-elect Donald Trump also opposes the plan, so Hochul is trying to push it through before he takes office and possibly land a blow against the Republican.
To implement the plan, she has asked to reduce the toll for passenger vehicles from $15 to $9, according to Politico, and has asked the Transportation Department whether the price shift would require a lengthy environmental review.
The plan was supposed to raise the majority of funding for New York City’s transit authority before Hochul shot it down, citing costs on consumers. An uproar from progressive and environmental activists ensued, likely ensuring that Hochul would need to find a solution to fund the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Hochul also paused the plan out of fear that it would affect House Democrats’ hopes of flipping seats in the state. Her gambit appears to have paid off, as New York Democrats flipped three House seats in the 2024 elections, including the state’s 4th Congressional District, a Long Island district.
Now that the elections are over, Hochul could pursue implementing the plan aggressively. Riders Alliance, an organization in support of congestion pricing, has pressed her to do so.
“Sharks are circling New York’s public transit network and proposing absurd schemes destined to fail,” Riders Alliance spokesman Danny Pearlstein said in a statement. “Gov. Kathy Hochul must prove she can resist the insanity and take care of the basic infrastructure millions of New Yorkers depend on each day.”
Trump has promised to end congestion pricing in his first week in office, and Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) of Staten Island believes he will keep his word.
“We will have the ability to stop this thing,” she said.
Malliotakis has suggested ending support for illegal migrants to garner the money needed toward “fixing our transportation system” instead of the toll.
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Since Hochul paused congestion pricing in June, her favorability fell to an all-time low at 34% favorable to 54% unfavorable in a September poll.
For the sake of her 2026 gubernatorial ambitions, Hochul will likely hope that a reimplementation of congestion pricing will drive her back into voters’ good graces.
