NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the green light to a controversial Manhattan toll plan, but her political foes and allies — President-elect Donald Trump and the powerful New York City teachers union among them — have separately vowed to stop it.
Hochul’s administration and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority rushed to have the program known as congestion pricing in place before Trump is sworn in — a move that came months after she temporarily blocked its implementation over political concerns. Now the MTA and governor are fending off multiple legal challenges aimed at squelching the tolls — attacks that are scrambling the region’s hard-charging politics.
In a dramatic and jarring move, Hochul suddenly delayed the tolls in June over concerns they would kneecap Democratic House candidates in battleground races. In another about face, she revived congestion pricing in the aftermath of the election and nixed a planned $15 toll in favor of $9.
Federal officials have signed off on the revived toll structure and the start date is scheduled for Sunday.
