Rejoicing as Congestion Pricing Gets Scrapped in New York City
They finally caught a break.
Working class New Yorkers celebrated on Wednesday as congestion pricing was axed by the Trump administration, relieving them of a significant financial burden.
Paul Belli, a Brooklyn-based plumbing business owner, expressed his excitement over the news, stating, “I’m ecstatic. Nobody needs this. Everyone has high inflation they’re dealing with already.”
Belli highlighted the thousands of dollars he spent on the toll since its implementation six weeks ago, attributing it to the necessity of driving to work due to the equipment plumbers require on the job.
“My customers are going to be very happy because now I can stop charging them for the congestion pricing adjustments,” Belli added. “Everyone’s been hurting through this whole thing.”
The US Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration announced the termination of the program, which aimed to reduce traffic and travel time while raising funds for the MTA. In response, the transit agency filed a lawsuit to keep the toll in place.
Blue collar workers, like Larry Zogby who owns a small trucking company in Queens, expressed relief over the scrapping of the program, emphasizing the burden it placed on small businesses.
“It’s ridiculous to pay to go to work in the city — not to have fun or go shopping — but to go to work,” said Paul Caminiti, a teacher commuting from Staten Island to Manhattan, highlighting the significant time difference between driving and using public transit.
The first-in-the-nation congestion pricing program charged drivers below 60th Street in Manhattan a base toll of $9, which could increase to $27 when crossing tunnels or certain bridges without an E-ZPass.
Firefighters, police officers, and other essential workers voiced their inability to afford the toll, with Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry stating, “Police officers shouldn’t be forced to dig deeper into their own pockets just to report for duty.”
“We welcome any change that will reduce the burden on our members,” he added.
— Additional reporting by Larry Celona
