The Town of Hempstead is suing New York State and the MTA over its recently implemented $9 congestion pricing fee will be implemented in January.
Multiple Long Island Republicans are pushing back against it as well, calling it a tax on suburban commuters.
“We are standing up for our residents,” North Hempstead Town Supervisor Jennifer DeSena said. “They don’t need another tax…it’s another money grab, it’s another tax for Long Island residents and it’s a regressive tax. It hurts the workers, it hurts the small businesses.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul reintroduced congestion pricing Nov. 14, and on Monday it was approved by the MTA. It was also approved Friday by the Federal Highway Administration since some of the roads involved receive federal funds.
Congestion pricing is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 5.
The tolls will be for vehicles entering Manhattan’s Central Business District below 60th Street.
The fee will be set at a one-a-day daytime rate of $9 for passenger vehicles. Motorcycles will be charged $4.50 and small trucks and non-commuter buses will be charged $14.40 during the day.
The goal of congestion pricing is not only to ease traffic congestion in the city but also to achieve environmental protections by diminishing air pollutants and funding the city’s public transportation system, Hochul said at a news conference Thursday.
Town supervisors rallied Monday against the implementation.
“Once again, we have Gov. Hochul proposing an out-of-touch tax on hardworking Long Islanders,” Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin said. “This is nothing short of an egregious cash grab, and I will vehemently fight against this unjust tax by taking this matter to the highest level of government possible.”
Clavin called on President-elect Donald Trump to bar the state’s congestion pricing.
“Rising costs are out of control. We cannot add another tax onto Long Islanders who commute to the city in order to make a living,” Clavin said.
Other Long Island officials, have also joined in on the cries against congestion pricing.
Long Island Republican state senators rallied Tuesday against congestion pricing. Concerns included the costs imposed on commuting Long Islanders, higher costs for goods and services transported through the city and the agricultural impact due to the cost associated with trucking products into the city.
“This isn’t a Republican issue, this isn’t a Democrat issue, this is an issue that cuts across party lines and we have seen Republicans and Democrats all oppose this,” state Sen. Jack Martins (R–Old Westbury) said. “And, frankly, it’s also yet again another opportunity that Gov. Hochul has taken to show just how ineffective she is and has been as a governor of the great state of New York. I just wish that Kathy Hochul cared less about being the Democrat leader in New York and more about being the governor of New York and standing up for working families across New York State.”
Sen. Steve Rhoads (R-Wantagh) called it a political stunt that deflects from what he alleged is the MTA’s financial mismanagement.
“Sadly, hardworking New Yorkers are the ones who will be paying the price for Gov. Hochul’s commuter tax, adding to the growing sentiment that that New Yorkers feel forgotten and forced out of a state that has become unaffordable to live, work, and raise a family,” Rhoads said.
