Briefs

Gounardes to Hochul: Implement congestion pricing before Trump blocks it

November 8, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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STATEWIDE — STATE SEN. ANDREW GOUNARDES (D-Western Brooklyn) on Friday urged Gov. Kathy Hochul to revive congestion pricing immediately, before President-elect Donald Trump takes office and blocks the plan. Gounardes issued his statement following a report in Politico that the governor’s office recently asked the U.S. Department of Transportation whether implementing tolls lower than the planned $15 would require another lengthy environmental review. “Trump has made clear that he wants to block funding that would better connect New Yorkers to jobs, schools and each other, and which would also protect our climate,” Gounardes said in a statement. The congestion pricing cameras are already installed and collecting data, so “let’s prove we’re serious” and turn them on, he said.

“She’s asking for it to go from $15 to $9,” according to one of Politico’s sources, described as an MTA board member. The $9 toll is significant, Politico says, because it falls within the $9 to $23 range already analyzed — meaning it could, in theory, be quickly approved.

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