Gov. Hochul said Thursday that she appealed in vain to President Trump’s instincts as a Jersey-skeptical New Yorker in hopes of winning him over to her side on congestion pricing.
The Democratic chief executive recounted telling Trump that the Manhattan toll project was good for his hometown, even if Garden State drivers might not like forking out $9 to drive downtown.
“I said, ‘Mr. President, we’re both New Yorkers,” she said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. “Why do we care what New Jersey thinks?’
Hochul said she sought to leverage Trump’s nostalgia about his deep roots in New York to win him over on congestion pricing.
“I’m trying to find a common ground here,” Hochul said. “I want him to understand that this is a city that he cares about, and he understands it more than any president since FDR.”
“So I was just trying to appeal to him as a New Yorker, and say, ‘This is good for New York,’” Hochul added.
She told him congestion pricing is already reducing traffic and improving quality of life “dramatically for everyone who lives in (Manhattan).”
“He’s got property here. He understands. We want to make sure that the city keeps moving.”
Despite the seeming soft touch, Hochul said she also sought to warn Trump that there would be a big cost to the feds if he wins his fight to ax the toll project.
She said there was no way to replace the cash coming in from congestion pricing and still keep New York’s world-class public transit system on the rails.
“You’re gonna have to give me $15 billion to invest in a subway system, then,” she recalled telling Trump.
Hochul ordered New York to implement the toll plan in January after she reduced the original planned $15 toll by 40%.
Trump’s Department of Transportation has declared war on the program, ordering New York to dismantle it by March 21.
The feds are siding with suburban commuters, led by New Jersey Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who deride the plan as a Big Apple rip-off.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which says it needs the revenue to fix aging infrastructure, sued to keep the toll in place and courts will end up having the final say.
New York officials say early results are extremely encouraging with fewer cars coming into midtown and lower Manhattan, public transit ridership increasing and streets much less clogged. Plus the toll cash is filling the MTA’s coffers.
