Governor halts plan to charge most drivers entering Manhattan $15 for transit and traffic fixes

NEW YORK — New York Gov. NY governor puts brakes on congestion pricing AP correspondent Julie Walker reports New York’s governor delays plan to fund transit and fight traffic with big tolls on Manhattan drivers. In a pre-recorded video statement, Hochul, a Democrat, said she had arrived at the “difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system risks too many unintended consequences at this time.” She cited New York’s fragile economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the financial burden that the toll would pose on state residents struggling with inflation, as reasons to “indefinitely pause the program.” “A $15 charge might not seem like a lot to someone who has the means but it can break the budget of a hardworking or middle class household,” Hochul said. U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents a Hudson Valley district north of the city, touted his role in killing the plan, noting in a statement that he’s “proud to say we’ve stopped congestion pricing in its tracks.” Other opponents of the plan — including unions representing teachers and police officers, truckers and several officials in New Jersey and Connecticut — also celebrated the decision. New York City Mayor Eric Adams, a one-time supporter of congestion pricing who has voiced his own reservations about the plan in recent months, said he backed the governor’s decision to halt the program.