Gov. Hochul mentioned Thursday that she appealed in useless to President Trump’s instincts as a Jersey-skeptical New Yorker in hopes of successful him over to her aspect on congestion pricing.
The Democratic chief govt recounted telling Trump that the Manhattan toll challenge was good for his hometown, even when Backyard State drivers may not like forking out $9 to drive downtown.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, we’re both New Yorkers,” she mentioned on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Why do we care what New Jersey thinks?’
This image provided by the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority shows New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, as she speaks while Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chair & CEO Janno Lieber presides over a meeting of the MTA Board at New York’s Grand Central Madison, Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025, in New York. (Marc A. Hermann/Metropolitan Transportation Authority via AP)
Hochul said she sought to leverage Trump’s nostalgia about his deep roots in New York to win him over on congestion pricing.
“I’m trying to find a common ground here,” Hochul mentioned. “I want him to understand that this is a city that he cares about, and he understands it more than any president since FDR.”
“So I was just trying to appeal to him as a New Yorker, and say, ‘This is good for New York,’” Hochul added.
She advised him congestion pricing is already lowering visitors and bettering high quality of life “dramatically for everyone who lives in (Manhattan).”
“He’s got property here. He understands. We want to make sure that the city keeps moving.”
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy speaks throughout a information convention to announce that George Helmy will take the U.S. Senate seat that may quickly be vacated by Senator Bob Menendez, in Newark, New Jersey, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. (AP Picture/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
Regardless of the seeming delicate contact, Hochul mentioned she additionally sought to warn Trump that there can be a giant price to the feds if he wins his combat to ax the toll challenge.
She mentioned there was no strategy to substitute the money coming in from congestion pricing and nonetheless hold New York’s world-class public transit system on the rails.
“You’re gonna have to give me $15 billion to invest in a subway system, then,” she recalled telling Trump.
Hochul ordered New York to implement the toll plan in January after she decreased the unique deliberate $15 toll by 40%.
Trump’s Division of Transportation has declared struggle on this system, ordering New York to dismantle it by March 21.
The feds are siding with suburban commuters, led by New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who deride the plan as a Large Apple rip-off.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which says it wants the income to repair getting older infrastructure, sued to maintain the toll in place and courts will find yourself having the ultimate say.
New York officers say early outcomes are extraordinarily encouraging with fewer automobiles coming into midtown and decrease Manhattan, public transit ridership growing and streets a lot much less clogged. Plus the toll money is filling the MTA’s coffers.
