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The MTA’s plans to launch first-in-the-nation congestion pricing tolls fell apart Wednesday, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at the authority’s website, scrolling its social media or talking with its press team.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s leadership hunkered down and did not make any media appearances or issue a statement to address Gov. Kathy Hochul’s stunning move that’s poised to open a $15 billion chasm in the MTA’s capital budget. Multiple phone calls made to press officials went straight to voicemail. MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber was noticeably absent from TV news and radio airwaves, where he’s typically a regular.
MTA spokesman David Steckel, when reached for comment by phone Wednesday afternoon, flatly said, “We have nothing for you.”
The silence from the authority speaks volumes for how much of a shock the governor’s about-face on congestion pricing was for transit officials, who were likely scrambling to determine the implications of the move and what to do next. Hours after Hochul made the bombshell announcement Wednesday to indefinitely pause charging most motorists $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street, the MTA’s homepage continues to tout a June 30 launch date.
Frustrated MTA employees who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter griped to Crain’s New York Business. “Unbelievable! This has literally been years in the making, thousands of hours have been spent preparing for this,” messaged one employee, “and at the first yard line the governor fumbles the ball.”
Or more simply in the words of another employee: “What the f—! Hochul is a coward.”
Meanwhile, the MTA’s attorneys were busy submitting court notifications in pending lawsuits against congestion pricing that Hochul has directed the MTA to pause implementation of the tolls, and that they no longer expect the launch of congestion pricing by June 30.
Transit leaders may also be investigating whether the authority and its board have an obligation to move forward with congestion pricing, and whether a failure to do so would be a violation of the 2009 Public Authorities Reform Act, as veteran transportation journalist Aaron Gordon argued on X, since the move would leave the MTA on financially shaky ground.
Not to mention the millions of dollars the MTA has already spent on planning for the tolls, including a contract worth $507 million with Nashville-based firm Transcore to erect toll gantries with cameras and sensors along the perimeter of the congestion pricing zone.
Former city traffic commissioner and transportation planner Sam Schwartz said Wednesday afternoon he feared the lasting damage an indefinite pause would have for the MTA and transportation planning efforts in cities across the U.S.
“It’s tough to recover from this,” Schwartz said. “Other cities were excited for this and if you can’t make this happen in New York, you can’t do it anywhere.”
Schwartz added that transportation riders will ultimately be the ones to suffer if the MTA does not push forward with congestion pricing.
“We’ve seen the summer of hell in 2017,” Schwartz said, “there’s going to be many more summer, fall, winter and springs of hell without this funding.”
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Caroline Spivack , 2024-06-06 01:31:28
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