The congestion pricing plan is back but will the plan stick—will it actually be reality?
The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last week voted 12-1 to
approve a $9 toll fee during peak hours for drivers of cars entering Manhattan below 60 th Street starting Jan. 5. The toll would be about 50% higher for drivers without E-ZPass.
And higher for trucks. The $9 is down from the $15 that New York Gov. Kathy Hochul initially proposed.
Then, in June, just weeks before the first-in-the-nation plan was to take effect, Hochul
announced what she termed a “pause.” The impact of the plan on Democratic chances in the
November election—including on Long Island—was reported as a main reason for the hold.
Still, there are possible roadblocks ahead: several lawsuits, and also Donald Trump after
he becomes president on Jan. 20.
The lawsuits include one in which Jack Lester, with an office in East Hampton, is the
attorney. He is representing 49 plaintiffs including seven members of the New York City
Council, State Assemblyman Michael Novakhov of Brooklyn, and a group New Yorkers Against Congestion Pricing Tax.