New Jersey MP Josh Gottheimer and New York Republican Mike Lawler Team Up to Fight MTA Congestion in Congress

The new bill in Congress would penalize the MTA by denying it federal funds if it continues to offer car tolls in Manhattan below 60th Street, the two bipartisan sponsors of the bill said.

“We’re introducing this bipartisan bill to tell the MTA if you’re going to push this – tell (Gov.) Kathy Hochul if you’re going to push this – then you don’t need our federal dollars anymore,” the newly elected member said in Fort Lee Thursday. Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) along with fellow Congressman Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ).

“Kathy Hochul and the mayor of New York must abandon this ridiculous plan that hurts commuters, hurts our economy, and hurts working and middle class families across the region.”

Proposed tolls passed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2019 could be as high as $23 per vehicle when they go into effect in the next few years, according to a preliminary environmental assessment released by the MTA last summer.

Congressmen said these new tolls could cost daily commuters arriving in the central business district $5,000 a year.

Gottheimer and Lawler’s bill would prohibit the U.S. Department of Transportation from issuing MTA grants unless “drivers from Jersey and the New York suburbs crossing Manhattan receive exemption from any entry tax.”

“New York and the MTA are literally playing Russian roulette with their economy and are ready to impose it on all these hard-working commuters from Jersey, the outlying suburbs of New York,” Gottheimer said.

“Many of us live in a public transportation desert where there simply aren’t many public transportation options. Families have to drive. Passengers must drive. They have no other options.”

The MTA received over $15 billion in emergency assistance to keep operating when COVID-19 reduced passenger numbers in 2020. budget.

The congestion charge will fund the authorities’ capital budget, which includes long-term improvements, including new elevators, modern subway signals, and the next phase of the Second Avenue subway.

An MTA spokesman responded to lawmakers’ criticism by saying that 90% of commuters in Manhattan below 60th Street don’t drive.

“Anyone who is serious about the environment and reducing congestion understands that setting a congestion charge is good for the environment, good for getting fire trucks, buses and delivery vehicles around the city, and good for the 90% of people who depend on public transport. ‘ John said. McCarthy, head of the MTA’s external relations department.

Hochul told reporters on Thursday that she “doesn’t get stopped by people holding press conferences.”

“The congestion we see in places like Manhattan is unsustainable,” she said. “It’s paralyzing, whether it’s ambulances, delivery trucks or the people who live there. It’s also a source of funding so we can continue to invest in what is the lifeblood of the New York region, which is our MTA.”

“It doesn’t hold me back. They can hold any press conference they want. It doesn’t work for me,” she said.

Additional report by Zach Williams