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    Will NYC Revive Congestion Pricing After Trump’s Victory?

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    Gov. Kathy Hochul, facing pressure from supporters of the contentious tolling plan, is said to be exploring options for adopting it in some form.Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is exploring options for reviving a congestion pricing plan for New York City before President-elect Donald J. Trump has a chance to kill it, according to four people familiar with the matter.Ms. Hochul’s move to salvage the contentious plan comes as she faces pressure from various corners, including a group that represents transit riders and is planning to start an advertising blitz on Monday in support of the tolling program.The plan that Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, is now exploring differs slightly from the one she halted in June. She is trying to satisfy opponents who had complained about the $15 congestion-pricing toll that most motorists would have had to pay as well as supporters who want to reduce car traffic and fund mass transit improvements.The governor has talked to federal officials about the possibility of a $9 toll and about whether such a change might require the lengthy, involved process of additional environmental review, according to a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member familiar with the matter. The discussions were first reported by Politico.Mr. Trump, a Republican, has said he opposes congestion pricing, and his victory on Tuesday has apparently pushed Ms. Hochul to try to find a compromise.“The timing is everything,” said Danny Pearlstein, a spokesman for Riders Alliance, the riders’ group that is planning the ad blitz. If congestion pricing has not started by January, he added “it’s very unlikely it would start.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      NYPD Officials Defend Shooting on Brooklyn Subway That Wounded Bystanders

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      “We are not perfect,” said John Chell, the Police Department’s chief of patrol, as protesters gathered in Union Square.New York City police leaders said Wednesday evening that officers had done the best they could when they shot a man wielding a knife, also hitting a fellow officer and two bystanders — including one who suffered a grave head wound.Police officials said that in the “next couple of days” they would release body-worn camera footage captured by the officers who fired their weapons Sunday at the man they said had the knife, Derell Mickles, 37. He was hit in the stomach and is expected to recover.Also shot was Gregory Delpeche, a 49-year-old hospital administrator who was on his way to work and in an adjacent car when officers firing struck him in the head. He was in critical condition. A 26-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet, the police said. The Brooklyn district attorney’s office is investigating the actions of the officers.John Chell, the chief of patrol, said that despite those injuries, the officers had acted according to the department’s guidelines, which allow officers to use deadly force when they believe their lives are in danger.“We are not perfect and every situation is not the same,” he said. “This is a fast-moving, fast-paced and a stressful situation, and we did the best we could to protect our lives and the lives of the people on that train.”The shootings were the violent culmination of a confrontation that started after Mr. Mickles twice evaded the fare to get into the Sutter Avenue L train station in Brooklyn, the police said. The officers’ response has set off criticism that the police are being too aggressive when trying to stop fare evaders and has led to demonstrations, including one Wednesday night in Manhattan.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      M.T.A.’s Financial Needs Grow With Congestion Pricing in Purgatory

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      Transit leaders proposed a plan on Wednesday to spend more than $65 billion to upgrade New York City’s subway and bus system. Whether they will be able to fully fund it is unclear.Transit leaders on Wednesday released an ambitious five-year plan to upgrade New York City’s subway and bus network, unveiling a $65 billion wish list of projects that includes buying new subway cars, fixing century-old tunnels and installing new elevators.But the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the state agency that runs the city’s mass transit network, only has about half of the money it needs to pay for those repairs. It was the first spending plan released by the authority since Gov. Kathy Hochul halted a congestion pricing program in June that had been set to begin later that month, and the largely unfunded plan puts the authority in an even more precarious financial position.The congestion pricing program, which would have tolled most drivers entering the busiest parts of Manhattan, had been projected to raise $15 billion for the authority. Ms. Hochul has pledged to make up the shortfall but it is not clear how she plans to do so.The authority had been enjoying a rare period of prosperity before Ms. Hochul’s decision to suspend congestion pricing. For the first time in decades, it had as much money as it needed, even while transit agencies around the country had struggled to recoup pandemic-related losses. But now that the authority’s projected windfall has evaporated, at least temporarily, it is back in the familiar position of needing to compete with other state interests to fill its coffers.The authority’s goals and upgrades were detailed in its latest capital plan, which covers the period from 2025 through 2029. Released every five years, it is the transit system’s most granular analysis of future maintenance needs and potential expansion projects.About half of the $65 billion has already been funded through bonds, federal grants and direct appropriations from the city and state, leaving the rest in limbo. Because the authority is controlled by the state, the remaining funds would most likely have to come from Albany.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      M.T.A. Says No More Free Bus Rides for Fare Evaders

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      M.T.A. officials on Thursday announced an effort to curb rampant fare evasion on city buses that has cost the agency hundreds of millions in lost revenue.Transit officials on Thursday expanded efforts to prevent fare beaters from boarding New York City buses, where one out of two passengers fails to pay.While most enforcement efforts have focused on the subway, fare evasion is much more prevalent on city buses. According to the latest statistics from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, in 2022 the state agency lost $285 million to fare evasion in the subway system and $315 million on buses even as roughly twice the number of passengers ride the trains.It is the latest enforcement effort by an agency facing a dire financial future, in part because of widespread fare evasion. The M.T.A. has predicted deficits of almost $1 billion by 2028, mostly because of lower-than-expected fare revenue.The authority for years has sent groups of unarmed, uniformed employees to patrol buses and give tickets to riders who do not pay as part of its Evasion and Graffiti Lawlessness Eradication program, known as EAGLE. Last year, the M.T.A. expanded the routes the groups covered and focused on locations with high rates of fare evasion.At the same time, the Police Department created a unit specifically dedicated to bus fare evasion. As part of that effort, the department deploys officers alongside the M.T.A.’s teams to more effectively curb fare beating and to keep the transit workers safe from retaliation.It’s unclear how successful the latest round of enforcement will be. Past attempts to rein the problem in have failed to yield results on the subway, where 14 percent of riders failed to pay to ride during the first three months of the year. During the same time period last year, the rate was 11 percent.Enforcement is even more difficult on the buses, where there are no turnstiles or gates to block access. Transit experts say it is much easier to skip the fare, and some riders also feel justified because heavy traffic and a lack of bus lanes means that bus service can be slow and unreliable. On buses, the fare evasion rate was 39 percent at the beginning of 2023 and 48 percent at the start of this year.On a webpage posted Monday to announce the recent effort, the M.T.A. said that fare beaters who refuse to pay may asked to leave the bus and may receive a summons. More

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      Federal Audit Orders M.T.A. to Improve Subway Worker Safety

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      The Federal Transit Administration released the report nine months after the death of a transit worker. If the M.T.A. does not comply, it could lose funding.Federal transportation officials said on Wednesday that the death of a transit worker who was hit by a train in November, as well as a rising number of “near-miss” incidents on train tracks last year, reflected unsafe conditions and practices that were putting transit employees at growing risk.In an audit, the Federal Transit Administration counted 38 events in which track workers were involved in close calls in 2023. That tally was up from 24 incidents in 2022 and 23 in 2021.The majority of the dangerous events were caused by the failure of transit employees to “comply with key safety rules and established procedures,” according to the F.T.A.Half of the “near-miss” incidents last year involved one or more transit workers who failed to follow proper procedures while flagging — the job of notifying trains when workers are on the tracks. Other incidents involved factors such as improper communication and radio use, inadequate protection and train operator inattention. A “near-miss” incident is defined as an event in which death or injury is narrowly avoided and typically happens when a worker is struck by a train, steps on the third rail or slips and falls on the tracks.“The volume of close calls is pretty worrying,” said Jim Mathews, chief executive of the Rail Passengers Association, an advocacy group. “If you work in and around the subway, you’ve had an awful lot of close calls, and eventually close calls catch up to you.”The F.T.A., which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, drew up a list of remedies for the unsafe working conditions that included an updated safety plan from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees the city’s transit network.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      N.Y. Lawmakers End Session Without Replacing Congestion Pricing Revenue

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      State Senate Democrats rebuked Gov. Kathy Hochul over her decision to halt a long-developed plan to charge drivers tolls to enter Manhattan’s core.Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her decision to halt congestion pricing hours after State Senate Democrats said they would leave Albany without plugging the funding gap left in its absence.In her first public appearance since announcing she would backtrack from the plan, Ms. Hochul reiterated that the time was not right to increase the burden on New York City’s economy.“We thought that inflation would be lower,” she said at a news conference Friday night. “We thought that people would feel more secure about going on the subways. Yes, yes, we’re coming back, but we can’t afford a setback.”At the news conference, Ms. Hochul was pressed for details about when she had changed her mind about congestion pricing and whom she had spoken to beforehand.While she declined to provide details about the timing of her decision, she described conversations she said she had had with ordinary New Yorkers in diners, naming three diners on the East Side of Manhattan.Her decision leaves a billion-dollar hole in the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s budget, imperiling planned projects and raising grave questions about the future of public transit in the nation’s largest city.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      How Would Congestion Pricing Work in New York City?

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      The tolling program aims to diminish traffic while raising money for mass transit.For decades, New York lawmakers, transit officials and environmental activists have been pushing to implement a plan to toll drivers who enter Manhattan’s core business district — a concept known as congestion pricing.The tolling program intends to rein in traffic and pollution while improving travel speeds in some of the world’s most traffic-clogged streets. The money raised from drivers would generate $1 billion annually for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to use to pay for critical upgrades to New York City’s transit network, which is the largest and busiest in North America.Under the congestion pricing plan, which would be the first of its kind in the United States, most drivers would pay $15 to enter some of the city’s most famous destinations and neighborhoods, including the theater district, Times Square, Hell’s Kitchen, Chelsea and SoHo.The tolling zone would run from 60th Street to the Battery, but would omit the Franklin D. Roosevelt Drive and the West Side Highway along the borough’s edges. Drivers of cars, buses, motorcycles and trucks would pay a rate that varies based on vehicle size and time of day.The program has been delayed by many challenges over the years, and may yet stumble just weeks from its planned start date of June 30. Concerned that the policy might hinder the city’s post-pandemic recovery, Gov. Kathy Hochul is quietly working to delay the program, according to two people familiar with her efforts. And opponents of congestion pricing have moved to block it in court.Here are answers to some of the most common questions about the program:When would the tolling begin?The tolling is scheduled to start June 30. But the plan is highly contentious, and before that planned rollout, legal and political clashes could still block it.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      New York City Truckers Aim to Challenge Congestion Pricing Policy

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      The industry that moves nearly 90 percent of goods within the city is suing to challenge the policy, claiming it unfairly burdens their business.With a month left before drivers start being charged to enter Midtown and downtown Manhattan under New York City’s congestion pricing plan, a new group of challengers is joining a crowded field of critics: truckers.The Trucking Association of New York, a trade group representing a wide range of delivery companies, filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to delay the policy, claiming that it would unfairly charge vans and trucks that enter the new tolling zone as much as $36 per trip during peak hours. That cost, the group says, could soon be passed on to local businesses and consumers.“We’re not pushing back on the overall program,” Kendra Hems, the group’s president, said. “It’s simply the way that trucks are being targeted.” The suit was filed in federal court in Manhattan.The congestion pricing plan, scheduled to start June 30, will charge fees to most vehicles entering Manhattan on or below 60th Street. Passenger vehicles entering the zone will be charged up to $15 once a day, with some exceptions. Commercial trucks will be charged $24 or $36 per entry, depending on the size of the vehicle and the time of day.Transit leaders have already built in a 75 percent discount on tolls during off-peak hours, from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. on weekends. But Ms. Hems said that was inadequate, because customers often dictate that deliveries must be made during daytime shifts. The trucking association is seeking lower or less frequent tolls.The program has already raised the ire of critics including the governor of New Jersey, a teachers’ union, the Staten Island borough president and some residents of Battery Park City in Lower Manhattan. With this latest complaint, eight lawsuits challenging the rollout have been filed.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Amtrak and NJ Transit Trains Suspended Because of Fallen Wires at Penn Station

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      Fallen electrical wires in New Jersey brought Amtrak and New Jersey Transit service to a halt on the Northeast Corridor, leaving travelers stranded, according to transit agencies.Train service along the Northeast Corridor south of New York City ground to a halt Wednesday evening because of fallen overhead power cables in Kearny, N.J., stranding commuters and travelers on trains and at stations as far south as Washington.The power outage disrupted service between New York and Newark, starting at 5:05 p.m. and the backups cascaded down the corridor that is the main line between New York and Washington. Some trains bound for Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan, America’s busiest rail hub, terminated in Philadelphia, where passengers were left to find alternate transportation, said Jason Abrams, a spokesman for Amtrak.At 10:05 p.m., hundreds of people rushed the entryway of track 11 at Penn Station, where a train to Trenton was boarding nearly four-and-a-half hours behind schedule.At about 10:30 p.m., Mr. Abrams said trains were running again south of Penn Station. By 11 p.m., he said, northbound service had also resumed. But it was not clear if service would be fully restored before the Thursday morning rush.Sheydline Moise, 23, was shuffling forward in the crowd. She’d left work to catch a 6:27 p.m. train home toward Woodbridge, N.J., and had been waiting at the station ever since. At one point, she boarded a train for about 20 minutes, only for authorities to tell passengers to disembark, she said.“I almost started to cry,” Ms. Moise said, adding that Uber was quoting a fare of nearly $200. “This has been a super long night,” she said, sounding exasperated. “I’m definitely calling off tomorrow.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More