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   NEW YORK — Gov. Kathy Hochul is considering delaying the state’s pending   
   congestion pricing plan, out of concern that its June 30 implementation   
   would hurt Democrats in competitive House races this year, three people   
   familiar with her thinking told POLITICO.   
      
   The Democratic governor and her aides have recently begun signaling their   
   worries about the controversial proposal to charge drivers entering parts   
   of Manhattan, according to the people, who were granted anonymity to speak   
   freely about private conversations.   
      
   A fourth person familiar with the matter said Hochul is responding to   
   worries raised by Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader who is   
   fiercely trying to win back a Democratic majority this year. Republican   
   victories in New York congressional races helped the GOP seize power two   
   years ago, and Hochul and Jeffries are both anxious to reverse that   
   fortune.   
      
   That source — also granted anonymity to speak freely about a pending   
   matter — said top Hochul officials and staffers for Jeffries recently   
   began floating the prospect of delaying the pricing plan, which is meant   
   to reduce traffic, improve air quality and raise money for the beleaguered   
   public transit system.   
      
   A Hochul spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for   
   comment.   
      
   The move is the latest example of the governor seeking a larger role in   
   the Democratic Party. Earlier on Tuesday, she joined President Joe Biden   
   for a border security announcement in the White House.   
      
   And it comes as several lawsuits challenging congestion pricing — one from   
   the state of New Jersey — make their way through the courts.   
      
   Congestion pricing would charge many car drivers $15 for entering a   
   designated zone of Manhattan south of 60th Street during the day. Trucks   
   would pay more. The revenue — roughly $1 billion a year, the MTA estimates   
   — would go toward a $15 billion capital plan, to build and renovate public   
   transportation infrastructure.   
      
   Five years after the plan was passed into law as part of a negotiated   
   state budget between then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders in   
   2019, it remains broadly unpopular statewide. Some 63 percent of New York   
   voters opposed the plan, according to an April Siena College poll, while   
   just 25 percent approved.   
      
   Former President Donald Trump, whose New York home in Trump Tower lies   
   within the congestion pricing zone, has railed against it in the last   
   month, and said he would “terminate” it his first week back in office.   
      
   But criticism is bipartisan, both in and out of New York, and especially   
   in the suburbs. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, is among the main   
   foes of the tolling plan, which he has sued to block.   
      
   https://www.politico.com/news/2024/06/04/hochul-congestion-pricing-delay-   
   00161690   
      
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