Trump’s transportation secretary gives Hochul last-minute extension to shut down NYC congestion pricing
Congestion pricing got out of another jam – for now.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy backtracked at the last minute Thursday on the feds’ deadline to kill congestion pricing, giving Gov. Kathy Hochul a 30-day extension to stop collecting the Manhattan tolls.
Duffy told Hochul that President Trump and the feds were putting her “on notice” after she and Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials vowed to keep the toll cameras running past the DOT’s original Friday cutoff.
In a post on X, Duffy read the riot act to Hochul over her supposed disrespect and refusal to end “cordon,” or congestion, pricing – but then gave her some leeway.
“We will provide New York with a 30-day extension as discussions continue,” he wrote after a litany of grievances.
Duffy ended with a threat against New York’s federal funding for the MTA – his second such ultimatum this week.
“Know that the billions of dollars the federal government sends to New York are not a blank check,” he wrote. “Continued noncompliance will not be taken lightly.”
Hochul’s camp – which didn’t get a heads-up about the extension – gave a response as passive-aggressive as Duffy was blustery.
“We’ve seen Secretary Duffy’s tweet, which doesn’t change what Governor Hochul has been saying all along: the cameras are staying on,” a spokesperson for the Democrat said.
Despite the bitter posturing between Hochul and the Republican administration, there could be a wider deal for New York in the works that may involve congestion pricing, sources said.
Hochul and Trump, between public squabbles, have carried on face-to-face talks for a potential agreement including a revamp of Penn Station and the president’s demands to restart dead pipeline projects running through the Empire State.
Despite failing to reach an agreement over congestion pricing at their sitdown last week, a source familiar told The Post Thursday that the governor still believes Trump can be persuaded to stand down on his promise to kill the first-in-the-nation tolling program.
Trump told Hochul in the Oval Office last Friday that he wants safer subways, one source familiar with the pair’s talks said.
In response, Hochul’s team told Trump that her push to fix the state’s evidence laws and to implement a mask ban on the subways were steps to addressing safety concerns, the source said.
Just days after the meeting, Hochul reinserted the issue of a mask ban into state budget talks.
But Trump’s side didn’t stay silent on the subway crime issue. Duffy this week demanded the MTA fork over data on plans for transit safety, or else risk losing federal funding.
His post on the congestion pricing deadline also hinted Hochul’s talks with Trump over a pipeline deal could have led to the extension.
“Just as your high tolls and no free road option are a slap in the face to hard working Americans, your refusal to approve two vital pipelines that will lower fuel costs by 50% are against the public’s best interests,” he said.
Postponing the congestion pricing deadline, however, makes Trump look weak, said Nicole Gelinas, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
She said Hochul and the MTA – at least up to now – are standing up to Trump’s “bluff” to stop congestion pricing.
“It would seem that Hochul is winning right now,” Gelinas said.
The high-level war of words – and 11th-hour extension – is sure to cause more whiplash for motorists already unsure about how congestion pricing will affect them.
The uncertainty began last month when Duffy declared he’d pull federal approval for the program – a promise that came with a March 21 deadline for Hochul and the MTA to kill it.
Hochul and MTA officials quickly sued to thwart Duffy’s effort — and vowed to keep collecting the $9 tolls for cars entering Manhattan south of 60th Street so long as the lawsuit was alive.
“We are stuck between both the federal government and the governor right now,” said Wellington Espinosa, 55, an Uber driver from Washington Heights.
“I’m going to continue to pay, but I hope if the governor loses in court, they give me my money back.”
Gelinas noted federal judges have stopped some of Trump’s actions to slash spending without Congress’ approval.
She also counted herself surprised that the feds still haven’t taken any action on the MTA’s lawsuit to save congestion pricing.
“It looks like federal officials don’t believe they’re on solid legal ground to stop the congestion toll,” she said.
Former US Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, who had been in the trenches dealing with the White House from Presidents Ronald Reagan through Bill Clinton, had another take: Trump means business.
The former New York pol claimed there was no tradeoff to continue congestion pricing to be made — and said Hochul and the MTA should take note of the Trump administration stripping funding from Columbia University for not addressing antisemitism.
“Hochul is playing with fire,” D’Amato said. “Trump is serious. Trump will suspend aid to the state if they don’t comply.”
– Additional reporting by Georgett Roberts and Kevin Sheehan
