NYC congestion pricing axed as Trump’s DOT pulls approval of hated toll
President Trump’s administration signed the death warrant for New York’s congestion pricing scheme Wednesday — a move widely cheered as a win for the working class.
In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said he’d be pulling federal approval of the deeply unpopular program, which he called “a slap in the face to working-class Americans and small business owners.”
“Every American should be able to access New York City regardless of their economic means. It shouldn’t be reserved for an elite few,” Duffy wrote.
The Federal Highway Administration will work with the New York State Department of Transportation on an “orderly termination” of the program, which charges drivers $9 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which administers the toll, filed suit almost immediately to preserve the new tax — which upon implementation in January made the Big Apple the most expensive city in the US to drive in.
Trump – who vowed to kill congestion pricing during the presidential campaign – quickly took to Truth Social to ballyhoo his administration bringing down the axe in a grandiose statement.
“CONGESTION PRICING IS DEAD. Manhattan, and all of New York, is SAVED. LONG LIVE THE KING!” the Queens-born real estate magnate wrote.
Hochul, in a defiant press conference at Grand Central, vowed the toll would continue while the MTA’s federal lawsuit plays out — and clapped back directly at Trump’s “king” quip.
“President Donald Trump tweeted ‘long live the king.’ I’m here to say New York hasn’t had a king in over 250 years. We sure as hell are not going to start,” she raged.
“It feels like the commuters of our city and region are now the roadkill on Donald Trump’s revenge tour against New York,” said Hochul.
She pledged the state was in “fight mode” and that it would emerge victorious in its legal challenge.
MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber called the widely hated toll “a thoughtful local solution,” and said it was “mystifying” that the administration would look to reverse course, citing “four years of environmental study and a 4,000-page environmental review.”
He claimed that traffic in Manhattan was down 9% in January, and that 1.2 million fewer vehicles entered the central tolling business district.
“New York ain’t going back,” Lieber exclaimed, standing side-by-side with Hochul – who was decked out in a blue MTA windbreaker – pledging, “we’re not turning off the tolls.”
Trump, in an exclusive interview with The Post earlier this month, said plummeting traffic would hurt business in his hometown.
“Traffic is way down because people can’t come into Manhattan and it’s only going to get worse,” he told Miranda Devine. “People don’t know about it until they get the bill.”
In a statement and Duffy’s letter, the US Department of Transportation officially rescinded the Nov. 21 agreement signed under the Value Pricing Pilot Program (VPPP) that imposed the first-in-the-nation congestion pricing plan.
Congestion pricing runs counter to the federal highway aid program, which prohibits tolling on roads built with federal funds unless Congress grants an exception, the DOT said.
Duffy said ending the scheme was further justified because the toll rate was set to line the coffers of the MTA – which is tens of billions in arrears – rather than actually reduce traffic and pollution.
“New York State’s congestion pricing plan is a slap in the face to working class Americans and small business owners,” said Duffy, noting that commuters entering NYC have already financed the construction and improvement of city roadways through their taxes.
A well-placed source familiar with the Trump admin’s thinking suggested that Duffy’s letter is meant more as a negotiating tactic than a final move on congestion, and might be a gambit to get Hochul to go along with canceling congestion pricing in exchange for shaking loose some federal funds.
The toll — approved in a 2019 state law — was initially slated to begin last June, and at an even higher rate of $15, but Hochul stepped in at the zero hour and unilaterally put the scheme on “pause,” claiming it would be too burdensome for working class New Yorkers and commuters.
But a week after voters re-elected Trump, she announced that she was reviving congestion pricing with a $9 base toll, prompting even more criticism for her double-reversal.
NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat who had unsuccessfully sued to stop the toll, sharply criticized congestion pricing as a “disaster” for middle-class commuters in a letter to Trump just moments after the president was sworn in for his second term.
Hochul, meanwhile, has tried to present a “middle ground” strategy towards dealing with Trump since his reelection last year. The governor previously touted conversations with Trump about possible federal investments on transit projects such as the 2nd Avenue Subway extension in Harlem and rehabilitating Penn Station.
Hochul suddenly decided to cancel a planned meeting with Trump in Washington DC last week after the Justice Department filed suit against her over New York state’s “Green Light Law” — which grants driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
“My objective is to secure the most federal dollars I can,” Hochul told reporters Wednesday of her talks with Trump, while signaling she’d still be open to talking with the president and that she refuses to play “whack-a-mole” with politics, preferring instead to choose her battles more carefully.
She noted she still plans on talking with Trump later this week while she’s in DC at the national governors association conference, which runs from Feb. 20-22.
Mayor Eric Adams did not comment on the DOT’s move, but his office pointed to previous statements he has made saying that congestion pricing is a state program and that the city has no jurisdiction over it.
But Hochul was far from the only New York pol to condemn Trump and praise congestion pricing, many of them repeating some variant of “we’ll see you in court.”
State Sen. Andrew Gounardes blasted the administration’s decision as “ridiculous” and “backwards,” calling congestion pricing a “successful program” which pulling the plug on will “hurt all New Yorkers.”
Follow along with The Post's coverage of Manhattan's new congestion pricing
- New York became the most expensive city to drive in when its congestion pricing began Sunday. New Yorkers now must pay $9 to drive below 60th Street during peak hours.
- Some drivers have begun concealing their plates in an effort to avoid the toll. Some residents of the area are saddled with the cost whenever they want to take their car out.
- Businesses, like funeral homes, have begun shifting the cost to customers. Rideshare app Lyft raised its CitiBike prices for New Yorkers hoping to avoid taking a car. The FDNY union and EMT union claim that congestion pricing will slow down their response times, as well.
- Many New Yorkers are skeptical about congestion pricing’s effects, especially after multiple publicized crimes on the subway in recent weeks. Drivers are expected to dump their cars above the zone, making parking more difficult uptown.
Congressman Jerry Nadler (NY-12) slammed the DOT for its decision, calling the department’s arguments “utterly baseless and frankly, laughable” in a statement, and questioning the administration’s legal authority to wind down the program.
Straphangers advocacy group Riders Alliance Executive Director Betsy Plum claimed in a statement that congestion pricing has benefitted public transit riders, and pledged to fight back against the administration’s actions.
“We organized for a decade, held two governors accountable, and prevailed in court in three states after years of exhaustive environmental studies. We are committed to maintaining and expanding on our victory and will defend it with everything we have,” she wrote.
Michael Gerrard, a Columbia Law School professor and congestion pricing supporter, said he didn’t believe the feds could legally kill the program.
“The Federal Highway Administration approved congestion pricing and allowed it to start up. It has survived several court challenges. It’s not at all clear that they can legally revoke the approval now. This new decision is likely to be back in court before long, and meanwhile the tolls will probably stay in place unless a judge rules otherwise,” he told The Post.
Others, including everyday New Yorkers and politicians, lauded Trump’s decisive action.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella — who had sued along with the United Federation of Teachers union to stop the toll — thanked Trump and Duffy for withdrawing approval for the program, which he called “always a three-strike loser and a nonstarter for Staten Island – more traffic, more air pollution and more tolls.”
“The MTA should follow this action by turning off the toll readers and relieving Staten Island residents from this unnecessary and burdensome tax once and for all,” he said.
“Today’s actions are a victory for hardworking, taxpaying commuters who have been unfairly burdened by this toll and we will continue to fight against such policies that treat New Yorkers like bottomless ATMs,” said Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11), who had lobbied Trump to stop the toll.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler (NY-17), a possible challenger to Hochul for governor, hailed it as “a huge win for New York families, commuters, and small businesses ruthlessly targeted by this unjust tax.”
“Make no mistake: this entire program is nothing more than a scam — a money grab — and is the symptom of a far deeper, systemic issue in our state – government overreach and rampant mismanagement at the hands of Kathy Hochul and her cronies in Albany,” he said.
“Instead of imposing new, crippling taxes on struggling families, we should be auditing the MTA, the worst-run authority in America, to find savings, address its outrageous waste, and make sure that commuters are kept safe and served as well as they deserve.”
— Additional reporting by Carl Campanile, Haley Brown and Peter Senzamici
