Whatever time savings Manhattan resident Sally Cowan might have realized from a less-congested commute Friday morning evaporated the moment her M14 bus stopped to pick up Gov. Kathy Hochul.
As the driver waited several minutes for about 50 Hochul and MTA staffers and journalists to board at 14th Street and Irving Place, Cowan sat near the rear of the accordion-like articulated bus, her hands tucked to her sides to try to keep warm as cold air seeped in through the open bus doors.
But when Cowan learned the reason for her delay, all was forgiven.
“I was 10 minutes ahead of time anyway,” said Cowan, 81, a Hochul voter who supports congestion pricing and its stated goals of reducing traffic, improving the environment and investing in transit. “I wish we had more money for public works.”
The latest volley in an especially contentious week between congestion pricing supporters and the Trump administration, Hochul rode a bus to highlight what she said were less crowded roads and faster travel times for mass transit.
Awaiting the governor in the Meatpacking District were a couple hundred more supporters, there to celebrate what Hochul’s office called the “massive success” of the first-in-the-nation tolling program.
“What a morning this is! I just took the M14 over and guess what. It was fast,” Hochul said, arriving at the lectern at Chelsea Triangle about 20 minutes after boarding the bus a mile away. “We don’t need to wonder why.”
Last month, federal transportation officials, upon rescinding the Biden’s administration’s approval for congestion pricing, said New York had until Friday to stop the program, which charges most vehicles $9 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan. The move quickly sparked another federal lawsuit over the tolling program and a battle of wills that escalated this week, as Hochul and MTA leaders blew off the Trump administration’s order.
Firing back, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a post on X Thursday, said he was “putting New York on notice” following its refusal to cease the program and its “open disrespect towards the federal government.” He gave New York another 30 days to take down the tolls and warned “continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
On Friday, Hochul scoffed at “threats coming out of Washington” and “tweets from secretaries.” She doubled down on her vow that “the cameras are staying on.”
“I have a direct communication line to the president and I feel confident that we will find a path forward,” Hochul said.
Speaking to the EWTN Global Catholic Television Network on Thursday, Duffy reiterated a threat to withhold money from the MTA if it didn’t improve conditions on subways and tied the issue to congestion pricing.
“They don’t like cars. They don’t want you in a car. They want you on a bus or a train,” Duffy said. “If you want people to ride a bus or a train, make it clean. Make it safe.”
Hochul invited Duffy and other federal officials to “join me on a bus or subway ride” so they could see the city’s transit system for themselves.
“We don’t have to be at war over this,” Hochul said.
Brian Fritsch, associate director of the MTA Permanent Citizens Advisory Campaign, said while the Trump administration’s threats of cutting New York transit dollars is “cause for some concern,” he noted much of the state’s federal transit aid is formula-based and not at the discretion of the White House.
“That would be incredibly unprecedented,” Fritsch said. “I don’t think the Trump administration, or anyone, wants to see construction jobs, transportation jobs at risk around the country.”
While congestion pricing supporters chanted, “Traffic is down! Business is up!” Meryl Battistoni, walking her dog across the street, was less convinced of the plan’s benefits.
Midtown traffic “doesn’t really seem much different,” said Battistoni, 68, adding the biggest change she’s noticed from the tolling program is “I’ve been charged a lot of money for it.”
Whatever time savings Manhattan resident Sally Cowan might have realized from a less-congested commute Friday morning evaporated the moment her M14 bus stopped to pick up Gov. Kathy Hochul.
As the driver waited several minutes for about 50 Hochul and MTA staffers and journalists to board at 14th Street and Irving Place, Cowan sat near the rear of the accordion-like articulated bus, her hands tucked to her sides to try to keep warm as cold air seeped in through the open bus doors.
But when Cowan learned the reason for her delay, all was forgiven.
“I was 10 minutes ahead of time anyway,” said Cowan, 81, a Hochul voter who supports congestion pricing and its stated goals of reducing traffic, improving the environment and investing in transit. “I wish we had more money for public works.”
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Gov. Kathy Hochul rode a New York City bus to a pro-congestion pricing rally Friday to demonstrate what she said are the benefits of the new tolls, including reduced traffic in Manhattan.
- The move capped a contentious week in the fight between New York officials and the Trump administration over congestion pricing. Federal transportation officials ordered the Manhattan tolls to be stopped by Friday, but the MTA ignored the deadline.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has given the MTA another 30 days to take down the tolls and warned the federal government could withhold funding over New York’s “continued noncompliance.”
The latest volley in an especially contentious week between congestion pricing supporters and the Trump administration, Hochul rode a bus to highlight what she said were less crowded roads and faster travel times for mass transit.
Awaiting the governor in the Meatpacking District were a couple hundred more supporters, there to celebrate what Hochul’s office called the “massive success” of the first-in-the-nation tolling program.
“What a morning this is! I just took the M14 over and guess what. It was fast,” Hochul said, arriving at the lectern at Chelsea Triangle about 20 minutes after boarding the bus a mile away. “We don’t need to wonder why.”
Last month, federal transportation officials, upon rescinding the Biden’s administration’s approval for congestion pricing, said New York had until Friday to stop the program, which charges most vehicles $9 for driving below 60th Street in Manhattan. The move quickly sparked another federal lawsuit over the tolling program and a battle of wills that escalated this week, as Hochul and MTA leaders blew off the Trump administration’s order.
Firing back, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, in a post on X Thursday, said he was “putting New York on notice” following its refusal to cease the program and its “open disrespect towards the federal government.” He gave New York another 30 days to take down the tolls and warned “continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
On Friday, Hochul scoffed at “threats coming out of Washington” and “tweets from secretaries.” She doubled down on her vow that “the cameras are staying on.”
“I have a direct communication line to the president and I feel confident that we will find a path forward,” Hochul said.
Speaking to the EWTN Global Catholic Television Network on Thursday, Duffy reiterated a threat to withhold money from the MTA if it didn’t improve conditions on subways and tied the issue to congestion pricing.
“They don’t like cars. They don’t want you in a car. They want you on a bus or a train,” Duffy said. “If you want people to ride a bus or a train, make it clean. Make it safe.”
Hochul invited Duffy and other federal officials to “join me on a bus or subway ride” so they could see the city’s transit system for themselves.
“We don’t have to be at war over this,” Hochul said.
Brian Fritsch, associate director of the MTA Permanent Citizens Advisory Campaign, said while the Trump administration’s threats of cutting New York transit dollars is “cause for some concern,” he noted much of the state’s federal transit aid is formula-based and not at the discretion of the White House.
“That would be incredibly unprecedented,” Fritsch said. “I don’t think the Trump administration, or anyone, wants to see construction jobs, transportation jobs at risk around the country.”
While congestion pricing supporters chanted, “Traffic is down! Business is up!” Meryl Battistoni, walking her dog across the street, was less convinced of the plan’s benefits.
Midtown traffic “doesn’t really seem much different,” said Battistoni, 68, adding the biggest change she’s noticed from the tolling program is “I’ve been charged a lot of money for it.”
Alfonso Castillo has been reporting for Newsday since 1999 and covering the transportation beat since 2008. He grew up in the Bronx and Queens and now lives in Valley Stream with his wife and two sons.
