Big Auto And The Death Of Traffic Congestion Reform

Before her eleventh-hour decision to reverse course and “indefinitely pause” a landmark plan to charge drivers higher prices for clogging up Manhattan streets, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) received $36,000 from lobbyists for state automobile dealers. Half of that money came from a lobbying group that opposed congestion pricing, citing “consequences for dealers and the thousands of people they employ.”

As recently as two weeks ago, Hochul told world leaders at the Global Economic Summit that investing in public transit like congestion pricing is “what cities are meant to do.”

But on Wednesday, Hochul declared traffic reform was not in the best interest of New Yorkers.