New York transit chief says agency must shrink subway improvements following nixed congestion toll
NEW YORK — New York’s Transportation Authority will have to scale back its plans to maintain and improve its subways, buses and commuter rails after the state’s governor stopped abruptly a plan that would have funded the system by charging most motorists $15 to enter the core of Manhattan, the agency’s head said Monday.
Janno Lieber, speaking publicly for the first time since Gov. Kathy Hochul last week rolled back plans for the toll scheme, said the agency will have to shift to prioritizing maintaining the safety of the underlying system and ensuring service is not reduced. .
“It’s not something we do lightly. But we simply cannot award contracts without dedicated funding,” Lieber, CEO and chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, told reporters at a news conference. He said he learned of Hochul’s decision the night before she made the announcement.
The MTA expected to receive billions from it the country’s first congestion pricing system, where drivers pay to enter Manhattan south of Central Park. The tolls, which would go into effect later this month, would fund $15 billion in capital projects for the beleaguered transit system and are expected to raise $400 million this year and $1 billion annually after that, according to the New York City Independent Budget Office. .
Hochul, who had long openly supported the congestion pricing system, attributed her change of heart to the financial burden she said it would take on New Yorkers already struggling with the high cost of living, and the potential impact of it in New York. York City’s continued economic recovery from the pandemic.
The governor has not said how she would replace the funding the MTA hoped to receive from the tolls to pay for upgrades and repairs. Hochul had suggested increasing taxes on companies to compensate for toll revenues. But state lawmakers rejected that plan and has not passed any legislation to replace revenue from congestion pricing before the legislative session ended Friday.
To those frustrated by Hochul’s reversal, Lieber said, “I can imagine.”
But he dismissed suggestions that he might resign in protest over the situation, noting that he had previously worked on projects to rebuild the World Trade Center for 14 years.
“I am the patron saint of challenging projects,” Lieber said.
According to Lieber, the MTA still plans to pursue congestion pricing. And it will remain that way fight lawsuits of New Jersey and others who tried to shut down the program before Hochul did, he said.