Congestion Pricing Pause Could Kill 100K New York Jobs

The loss of revenue due to Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul's "indefinite pause" of New York City's congestion pricing program could result in the loss of more than 100,000 jobs, according to a report released Wednesday.

Reinvent Albany said at least 101,500 jobs could be lost if the state doesn't find another way to fill the multibillion-dollar hole left in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget.

Analyses by the watchdog group found that roughly $3 billion, or 21% of the $15 billion raised by congestion pricing, would support in-house capital work conducted by MTA workers.

By her pause, Hochul has put the workers’ union jobs at risk.

Not only that, the MTA paid $35 billion to tri-state area vendors from 2014 to 2023, Reinvent Albany said.

Work to build new trains and buses and install new propulsion systems provides workers with an annual salary of more than $100,000, The New York Times reported.

"The M.T.A. is an economic development engine for the entire region — not just to get people where they need to go, but to create jobs through all the infrastructure they have to maintain and repair and build," Reinvent Albany Senior Policy Advisor Rachael Fauss said, the Times reported.

According to Fauss' testimony to the MTA Board on Wednesday, New York politicians throughout the state could face unhappy constituents.

"The economic reach of the MTA is vast, and our analysis shows that companies doing business with the MTA are present in every single congressional district in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut," she said.

"Additionally, 100% of NYS Senate and 98% of NYS Assembly districts have local companies that do business with the MTA."

On Tuesday, the office of the state comptroller released a report saying there were "no good options" for the MTA to fill the revenue loss created by the pause on congestion pricing. About $17 billion in projects will need to be removed from its current improvement plan.

"The MTA's decisions in the coming weeks and months will affect riders for years to come," State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli said. "The MTA will be forced to put off badly needed investment in expansion and improvements to the system. Those choices will directly affect riders."

Hochul's decision not to implement the plan stems from her concern it could hurt Democrats in competitive House races during November's general election, Politico reported.

The congestion pricing program aimed to reduce traffic, decrease pollution and raise $15 billion of the MTA’s more than $51 billion capital needs plan.

Under the plan, most drivers would have been charged up to $15 to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.