BREAKING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Announces Indefinite Pause On NYC Congestion Pricing

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Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) announces an indefinite pause in NYC congestion pricing.  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript   Stay Connected Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com

Transcript

00:00New Yorkers have seen the price of groceries alone go up an average of 23 percent.

00:06Think about the cost of a dozen eggs, more than doubling from $1.20 to $2.86 all over our country.

00:13Housing prices have increased by 17 percent.

00:17The cost of child care has gone up almost 20 percent.

00:21And the strain on working and middle-class families is just too much.

00:27That's why, since becoming your governor, one of my priorities has been to address affordability

00:33and keep and put more money back in your pockets.

00:37That's why I fought to raise the minimum wage and tie it to inflation,

00:42doubled tuition assistance, held the line on income taxes,

00:47and invested billions in affordable child care.

00:51Our policies must support everyday New Yorkers.

00:55Like our small business people, police officers, firefighters, teachers,

01:01health care workers, truck drivers, and not add to their financial burdens.

01:06So let's talk about congestion pricing,

01:09which would impose a $15 charge on cars entering Midtown and below, beginning in just a few weeks.

01:17It was enacted five years ago to achieve two essential goals.

01:22Reduce traffic and emissions in New York City,

01:25and provide a funding stream for much-needed capital investments in public transit.

01:31It was also enacted in a pre-pandemic period, where workers were in the office five days a week,

01:38crime was at record lows, and tourism was at record highs.

01:43Circumstances have changed, and we must respond to the facts on the ground,

01:49not from the rhetoric from five years ago.

01:51So after careful consideration,

01:54I have come to the difficult decision that implementing the planned congestion pricing system

02:00risks too many unintended consequences for New Yorkers at this time.

02:05For that reason, I have directed the MTA to indefinitely pause the program.

02:12Now I want to be clear.

02:14My team worked into the final hours to find a way to implement this,

02:18because the goals of congestion pricing, in terms of reducing traffic and pollution, are important.

02:25But hard-working Yorkers are getting hammered on costs,

02:29and they, and the economic vitality of our city, must be protected.

02:35We cannot ignore the facts.

02:37Literally the year after the enactment of the law, New York City was the epicenter of the pandemic.

02:43It was the first and hardest hit of all U.S. cities.

02:47Many predicted New York would not recover.

02:50Well, thanks to hard-working and committed New Yorkers, those doomsayers have been proven wrong.

02:56While our recovery has been stronger and swifter than anyone imagined,

03:01it is by no means complete, and we cannot afford to undercut this momentum,

03:07and I won't allow this delicate recovery to be jeopardized.

03:11Anyone walking through midtown Manhattan or riding the subway, they've seen it.

03:16Streets and train cars are crowded Tuesday to Thursday, but much less so on Monday and Friday.

03:23Office attendance is down compared to before the pandemic,

03:27with many workers only commuting in two or three days a week at most.

03:32And Manhattan currently has a commercial vacancy rate of over 20 percent.

03:37This reduction in foot traffic has had an enormous ripple effect,

03:41with fewer people patronizing restaurants, delis, and dry cleaners.

03:46The idea behind congestion pricing is that it will encourage many current drivers to shift to public transit.

03:54But there is a third possibility that now poses a greater threat than it did at the program's inception.

04:01Drivers can now choose to stay home altogether, telling employers they need to work fully remote again,

04:08or they might just change their patterns and skip the visits to the city on a Saturday with their family

04:13or going out to a theater or a restaurant.

04:16At a time when inflation is still cutting into New Yorkers' hard-earned wages,

04:21the concern is that many would do exactly that,

04:25or that one more added cost would make residents rethink living or working here altogether,

04:31hurting our recovery even more.

04:34Let's be real.

04:36A $15 charge may not seem like a lot to someone who has the means,

04:42but it can break the budget of a hard-working or middle-class household.

04:46It puts a squeeze on the very people who make this city go.

04:51The teachers, first responders, small business workers, bodega owners.

04:55And given these financial pressures,

04:58I cannot add another burden to working and middle-class New Yorkers

05:03or create another obstacle to our continued recovery.

05:08Let me be very clear.

05:10I remain committed to these investments in public transit.

05:15We need to make the MTA service more accessible and reliable

05:20without the projected revenue having to come just from congestion pricing.

05:25And given the lawsuits and many other attacks on this process,

05:29we've already had to prepare for the possibility that congestion pricing could be delayed.

05:35We have set aside funding to backstop the MTA capital plan

05:39and are currently exploring other funding sources.

05:43We remain fully committed to advancing all the improvements that New Yorkers have been promised.

05:50That includes immediate investments in reliability and accessibility,

05:54track repairs, new signals, adding more elevators at subway and commuter stations.

06:00It means security cameras and other technologies

06:03to improve safety for riders throughout the system.

06:06And it means moving forward with transformative projects

06:10like the extension of the 2nd Avenue subway and the Interboro Express.

06:15We will tackle congestion in other ways,

06:18building on our partnership with the City of New York

06:21to make the quality of life better for all residents.

06:25Let me be equally as clear.

06:28My commitment to a greener, more sustainable future is unwavering.

06:34I have been more committed to combating climate change

06:37and protecting our environment than any governor in our history.

06:41And I'll continue working with our legislature to make urgently needed investments,

06:47including a nation-leading cap-and-invest program

06:51that will hold major polluters responsible for their carbon emissions

06:55and drive billions of dollars for clean energy.

06:59I've directed historic investments to develop offshore wind power

07:03along the coast of Long Island

07:05and to advance a $6 billion project to tap into hydropower in Quebec,

07:11bring it to the city.

07:13We're investing in electric vehicle charging

07:15and shifting cars and vehicles in New York to all-electric over the next decade

07:20and electrifying buildings and homes.

07:23And we have much more to do.

07:27I want to say this.

07:29I recognize and am so grateful for the individuals from the MTA,

07:34the community, the advocates,

07:36for their countless hours and hard work on this initiative.

07:40And we will continue to pursue our environmental objectives,

07:44even as we pause congestion pricing.

07:47We will continue to find strategies to address congestion.

07:51And we will continue to find solutions that benefit both our planet and our people.

07:58This decision is about doing what's right for the people who make our city thrive.

08:04It's about standing up for the hard-working men and women

08:07who get up every single day, do their jobs, and just want a fair shake.

08:14The little guy who feels no one listens to them.

08:17I'm here to say we are listening.

08:21This decision is about you.

08:24And to those cynics who question my motivation,

08:27I approach every decision through one lens.

08:30What is best for New Yorkers?

08:33And we need to make sure our solutions work for everyone,

08:37especially those who are struggling to make ends meet.

08:44Finally, this is not a decision I make lightly.

08:48From the time I took office,

08:50I have been investing and monitoring to help the state's recovery

08:55and expecting we'd be in a place to be able to implement congestion pricing

08:59on the proposed timetable.

09:02But in this moment of financial stress, high inflation,

09:05and already the high cost of living for so many New Yorkers,

09:09my focus must be on putting more money back in people's pockets.

09:14And that's why I must stand up for them

09:17and say no to implementing the congestion pricing toll at this time.

09:22In the coming months, I'll work to continue working with the city, state,

09:27and federal leaders to ensure we can achieve the objectives of congestion pricing

09:32without putting undue strain on already stressed New Yorkers.

09:37There never is only one path forward.

09:40Together, I am confident we'll be able to deliver the world-class public transit

09:44that riders deserve, ensure a cleaner planet for future generations,

09:49and to continue to fuel the vitality and the comeback of New York City.

09:55Thank you.

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