New York’s working class and people of color have long had to breathe its dirtiest air. That’s partially because they often live closest to the city’s most heavily traffic-congested areas. Supporters of congestion pricing say that the policy would help alleviate that burden for many New York City residents while bringing the state closer to its climate goals.
Congestion pricing aims to reduce traffic in downtown Manhattan by tolling personal vehicles entering the area during busy hours. Those tolls would bring in up to $1 billion per year, which would go towards funding improvements to New York City’s public transportation system – a system that commuters will need to rely on more, if the state is to meet its climate targets.
But with the possibility of a Trump presidency looming, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause of the tolling plan leaves it vulnerable to federal interference. If Donald Trump is elected president and then kills the plan, residents and workers in and around Manhattan’s Central Business District – which policy-makers define as everything on or below 60th street except for FDR Drive – could pay the price.
